A rare yellow lobster, named Banana, has been caught off the coast of Maine

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(CNN)A rare yellow lobster has been caught off the coast of Maine and has been lovingly named Banana.

The University of New England (UNE) said in a news release that Banana was caught by lobsterman Marley Babb and donated to the university on Wednesday. The yellow color comes from a pigment in the lobster's shell and the odds of catching one are about one in 30 million, according to the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.
Babb contacted the Maine Department of Marine Research (DMR) after his once-in-a-lifetime catch to see if they would be interested in housing the lobster.
Lindsey Forrette, a lab coordinator and chemical hygiene officer in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs said Babb drove two hours from his location in Tenant's Harbor to drop off Banana.
"UNE has cultivated strong connections with lobstermen and Maine DMR," Charles Tilburg, director of the School of Marine and Environmental Programs said in a statement. "It was through those connections that (researchers) learned about Banana and Lindsay was able to coordinate with Marley from there."
The University of New England is sharing an $860,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, and Hood College in Maryland to study the impact that a warming Gulf of Maine is having on lobster larvae and their success in growing to adulthood.
In the beginning, there was banana bread. Or at least, in the beginning of the pandemic there was banana bread. Approximately three or four days after our first panic-fueled, pandemic shopping trip, we were confronted with the inevitable: a bunch of bananas, quickly ripening on the kitchen counter. 

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So the baking began. And it began so innocently.

Banana bread, with its hard-to-mess-up batter and sweet, cozy rewards, seemed like such a breeze. But really it was the gateway recipe into a host of deeper, more complex baking issues. For a while at the start of the COVID shutdown period last year, everything was going fine. I binge-baked like a lot of quarantined souls and even wrote about it in these pages, making homemade pizzas and Bahamian bread.
If only that early enthusiasm hadn’t gone somewhere dark. Yes, I’m talking about sourdough. It was the enigma that dashed my baking illusions. Turns out, I stink at sourdough. (Please, no suggestions about how one can buy a starter from King Arthur Flour -- I KNOW.) I carried my starter around more than I carried my kids, going from one spot to the other, thinking it would be the perfect spot. Then, when I found what I thought was the perfect spot, I killed the starter. I could go on about my sourdough saga, but I’d rather talk about something that has never broken my heart: banana bread.
Banana bread won’t let you down. It doesn’t need some weird chemical reaction to happen, that only happens if your house is over, like, 80 degrees. Banana bread doesn’t need to be fed every day. It doesn’t even need fancy flour. Good old all-purpose flour will do. Banana bread counts on reliable things like baking soda and sometimes baking powder. And it’s always delicious. 
In light of the upcoming National Banana Bread Day, which is Tuesday, Feb.23, I thought it an appropriate time to share one of my favorite recipes. 

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For years, I’ve relied on my “Joy of Cooking” book for my go-to recipe. It is one that my neighbors, the loyal taste-testers of many of my baking projects, know well by now. But I wanted to try something new, or at least new to me. I found my new favorite recipe in a vintage James Beard book, “Beard on Bread” (1973, Knopf). It couldn’t be simpler, yet it hits all the right sweet-salty notes, thanks to the super-ripe bananas, nuts, honey and butter. It’s the most banana-rich bread of the banana breads I’ve made. 

I think my neighbors approve as well. After years of sampling my previous breads, they now ask for this recipe. And this makes me happy, especially on the most bananas of days. 
Some thoughts on this recipe:
1. Hand mixing? Boy, the 70s were crazy. Actually, this step turned out to be fun. Just make sure your butter is room temperature.

2. Did you know you can ripen your bananas super-fast by putting them in a 300-degree oven for a few minutes? Just make sure you keep an eye on them as they darken quickly. This method seems to work in a pinch but it’s our opinion that naturally ripened bananas have more flavor.

3. I used chopped walnuts but would have used pecans if I had them. 

4. I used a nonstick cooking spray with flour to grease the pans. It feels a little bit like using Aqua Net but it has the opposite effect. Besides, in the interest of banana-bread beauty, one must do what one must. 
5. This recipe works in your standard sized loaf tin. But it’s adaptable. I used 3 mini loaf tins (5.5 x 3 inches). These are the perfect tins for making a loaf for yourself and two to give away. Or freeze. (It does feel good to give them away. Just make sure to ask about nut allergies first.)

6. If you use the mini loaf tins, reduce your baking time by 15 minutes to 45 minutes. Check doneness with a toothpick or knife. You may have to check them frequently to avoid drying them out.