on May 29th, 2008Things to make with bananas
So the other day I was in the produce department at the supermarket and was about to buy a few bananas at 79¢ per pound when I noticed a couple brown paper bags marked 99¢. Inside were eight or nine bananas and only a few were beginning to develop spots. I took one, a middle-aged woman next to me reached for one too and asked if I was going to make banana bread.
I’m still not used to strangers speaking to me and I’ll never get used to them asking questions that the New Yorker in me thinks are nosy. Basically, any question beyond asking the time. So I simply said, “No.”
“No?” She drew it out to two wide-eyed syllables.
I’m not much of a fan of quick breads, except a few using pumpkin, but I saw no reason to explain that. I just shook my head.
“What are you going to do with them?” she asked. “Just eat them?”
I rattled off a few possibilities, one of which was banana cream pie. Her face lit up. Excited, she told me she’d get some pudding mix and Cool Whip.
That was my clue not to suggest she come here to find some ideas. Just call me Sherlock Holmes.
Bananas are fabulous. They’re loaded with potassium and other nutrients, they’re high in fiber, low in calories and fat. Their natural sweetness makes them a perfect snack without having to add sugar and they freeze beautifully. That opens up several possibilities.
A couple of my bargain bag bananas are sliced and in a freezer bag, waiting for me to pull out a handful as a guilt-free frozen treat. Sometimes with ripe, even over-ripe, bananas I make an “ice cream” that doesn’t need a machine. Here’s how to do it: Slice 3 or 4 large bananas and freeze them in a single layer. Take them out of the freezer and let them thaw a little. Put them into a food processor or blender with 1/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of honey and blitz it for about a minute, till it’s perfectly smooth. Transfer it to a bowl, cover it, and pop it back into the freezer for several hours till frozen really well.
The other end of the spectrum is to make banana chips. A dehydrator works best but thin slices can also be put on a baking sheet and popped into a 200 - 225 degree oven for two hours. Turn them over and bake another 1 - 2 hours until they’re crisp.
While I won’t be making a heavy, soggy banana bread I will be making Joan Nathan’s outstanding Mexican Banana Cake and four peeled bananas are in the freezer for that. Her cake is moist and light, made with oil and baked in a Bundt pan. No creaming or big mixer necessary; a bowl, a spoon and a way to whip a few egg whites will handle the job. It’s perfect with just a dusting of powdered sugar or, my preference, cocoa powder. Who doesn’t love chocolate and bananas?
That reminds me: firm bananas are divine when sliced lengthwise and grilled. For every banana, mix together 1 tablespoon of melted butter and 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar and coat the bananas. Grill 1 - 2 minutes per side and serve with a chocolate sauce drizzled on top and maybe some ground nuts. Like nuts and chocolate? Try Nutella with these instead.
And if an honest banana cream pie strikes your fancy, one that tastes the way they used to taste and should taste, in my opinion, this is the one we made in pastry school. It’s wonderful and not difficult.
Bananas are one of the few fruits that continue to ripen after they’re picked. You can find storage tips here and if you’d like to see a bunch ripen, watch this fun video, with its New Age-y music, that I first enjoyed on She Eats, a cyberpal’s blog.
Sphere: Related Content
Next week I’m filming Nutella Crepes with (of course!) bananas!
I agree, frozen bananas are great, but they have a shot freezer life!
Oooh….I can’t wait for that video! I have Nutella on hand so I’m armed and ready….
Bananas do have a short freezer life, but my snack ones don’t last long enough to matter and the ones I want to keep longer I freeze then vacuum seal. They stay perfectly good for months and months. Big fan of Tilia Food Savers here.
I make banana ice cream, only I use yogurt. Haven’t tried sour cream, I look forward to it. Also, agave nectar is a nice substitute for the honey. Honey has too much of its own flavor, agave is just as sweet, has a lower glycemic level (much lower), and more smoothly blends with most foods in terms of flavor. You don’t taste anything distinctive, rather just the nice rich sweet syrup base that the nectar provides, along with a ton of great nutrients, and that ever important great glycemic number.
Now I did not know how to make banana chips. I have always hated having oils and sugars added to the less expensive ones, and having to pay a lot for the better quality ones, when bananas are one of our most inexpensive produce items. I have three here that are nice and ripe, and I am going to throw them in the oven this afternooon, as I have yet to invest in the coveted dehydrator.
And I love the idea of grilling them . . . ooooohhhh, what a divine treat. With some nuts and good organic dark chocolate drizzled on them . . . I do have the chocolate melter for these things.
Another great thing about bananas: Environmental Working Group has them ranked low on the pesticide and insecticide list. Unlike apples, peaches, strawberries, the tropic fruits like mangoes, papayas, and bananas (probably because their tough skins make them resistant to vermin and environment) can be purchased non-organic and you’re not ingesting a wealth of chemicals.
Three cheers to bananas, a sweet treat during tighter grocery times.
Great entry. Could you tell I enjoyed it?
Thanks.
Blue Smoke of Paradise’s last blog post..Mind Demons
post-script: I love the overly ripe almost “rotten” freezer bananas for smoothies. They get so darn sweet . . . throw them in with some blueberries (another lower pesticide - insecticide fruit) and kefir, some agave, and a little vanilla extract, and you have something pretty near the pearly gates.
Blue Smoke of Paradise’s last blog post..Mind Demons
Ooh, blue…I love the agave nectar idea! Must try. I don’t think yogurt would give this the creaminess of sour cream, but an ice cream machine could turn the fruit and yogurt into something wonderful, especially if starting with Greek yogurt. (Cabot has a new Greek-style that’s super and much less expensive than the imports.)
I don’t have a dehydrator either, but I’ve used the oven (in hot weather, my toaster oven) for this and it works a treat.
Your smoothie sounds fabulous! Thank you for the great ideas.