It Takes Being One to Cook Like One

We've all heard the saying, "It takes one to know one". Well, I'm changing it to "It takes being one to cook like one". My Mom makes the best banana bread. My recipe is even called Mom's Banana Bread. For years, I have tried to make it so it was as good as hers. Without fail, mine was always overcooked, undercooked, not enough banana, too many nuts, the wrong nuts...etc etc. It was still good, but not "like Mom's". Over the last few weeks, I've been stowing very ripe bananas in the freezer, thinking that if I had time, I would, once again, attempt to mimic my mother's baking. So this morning I pulled out three very brown, very frozen bananas out of the freezer and started baking. Have you ever peeled an over-ripe, semi-frozen banana? Tricky stuff. I didn't really measure, which, if you know me, is very unlike me. I'm a measurer to the core! Mostly I didn't have time to be nit-picky, since (of course) right as I started my project, Audrey woke up, the dog wanted out, and the mail arrived. At one point I think the dough (or is it batter?) sat in the mixer for about 20 minutes while I fed,changed, and played with Audrey. I threw in some nuts at the last minute, some pecans, some walnuts, even some pine nuts just to get them out of the freezer. Tossed the concoction into the oven and waited. VICTORY! I tasted a bit after it was finished and it tastes like Mom's! How did I do that? Was it the frozen bananas? The non-measuring? The intermission brought on by Audrey? The random nuts? Maybe it just takes being a mom to cook like Mom. I will never know, but for now, I am enjoying another slice of "Mom's Banana Bread".