Posts Tagged ‘Bananas’
Rainy Day Ponderings … or Freezing Bananas
I love bananas … I could eat 2 or 3 a day as I attempt to meet the recommended daily number of fruit servings. However, not unlike Goldilocks, I am very picky about the ripeness factor of my bananas. I probably like them greener than most people, almost “crisp” if a banana can be such a thing.
You can only make so many loaves of banana bread! I’ve even been known to share what I consider to be bananas-ripe-beyond-edibleness with Jen and her family (who live conveniently right down the street) or take them into work.
I bought some bananas yesterday – they had just the right amount of green and I’ve already eaten a couple. By tomorrow they will be “too ripe” on the ripeness scale! The reason I bought new bananas yesterday is because I had bought a large bunch prior to last weekend thinking I would do some baking before a good friend came to visit. Well, I did bake, but made those yummy Butterscotch Brownies again and some Irish Soda Bread muffins for our St. Patrick’s Day dinner … no banana recipes! So, I had six ripe, but not yet mushy, bananas sitting on my counter … Jen and the kids are out of town and the college is closed for spring break – I couldn’t bring myself to just throw them away, so what to do? I’ve frozen over-ripe mushy whole bananas still in the peel before, which is convenient for future banana bread or muffins, but needed another plan.
I follow the Freezing Your Way Fit blog of one of Jen’s friends (the source of that yummy hummus recipe). Her post on “Unleashing the Power of Your Freezer” under “Getting Started” helped me change the way I was saving leftovers; previously a large container of frozen leftover soup would eventually be thrown away to make room for something else (and probably was harboring some bacteria since larger portions take longer to freeze), but small individual portions go with me to work for lunch … saving time and money! This past year I’ve lost over 50 lbs. (and kept it off without denying myself treats) by doing two things – trying to eat healthy and adding some minimal exercising to my daily routine. Instead of eating half of a pie, my guilty pleasure now is sucking down a frozen fruit/Greek yogurt/honey smoothie!
Back to the bananas … I wondered if they could be frozen in a manner which would be convenient for adding to my smoothies? Yep, it worked! I knew if I just sliced and threw them into a bag they would probably end up in a sticky lump so I sliced and then froze them individually overnight on a cookie sheet. They didn’t even turn brown.
This morning I divided the frozen little nuggets into six freezer bags.
And, then put the six small bags into a larger labeled bag (wouldn’t do any good if I just lost them in the freezer!).
Who would’ve thought I could write a whole post just about bananas? :-) Rain is pounding down outside today, our last day of spring break … I think I saw some split pea soup in the freezer this morning.
Enjoy!
JoAnna Banana Cake
*UPDATE!* First and foremost, this cake has been aptly renamed JoAnna Banana Cake after my wonderful MIL who came up with the idea. Secondly…OH. MY. GOSH. This cake was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. I brought it to a neighbor’s for a New Years Eve party and I am pretty sure I saw eyes rolling back into some people’s head in ecstasy. I know, paints quite a picture, hmm? When I posted this I had only tried some extra cake with some extra peanut butter frosting. Putting it all together in the cake with the layers of peanut butter frosting and the chocolate on top made this one of the most remarkable cakes I have ever eaten in my life. The cooking style of the banana cake made it incredibly moist and a terrific choice to mix with the peanut butter and chocolate tastes. I can claim no credit for this because if it weren’t for JoAnna Banana it never would have happened!
Original post:
After a conversation with my mother-in-law the other day, my husband and I decided I just had to try to create this cake. My MIL had whipped up a quick lunch for herself the other day – slices of banana bread with peanut butter on top. She told my husband about it and they joked how if you stuck them together and dipped them in chocolate it would be the perfect meal. So, well, WHY NOT??? The challenge was on. I went searching for a few banana cake recipes but none of them were exactly what I wanted. I found one that was close enough and put my own spin on it. I added a few ingredients like chocolate chips and pudding mix and changed a few other things like sour cream instead of buttermilk.
To fill the cake I used a peanut butter buttercream recipe that I ADORE and my ever faithful chocolate ganache to top it off!!! Peanut butter sandwich dipped in chocolate! I only wish my MIL was here to taste it. I am sure she would LOVE it.
Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Sandwich Cake. I know the name is a mouthful, but you should try the cake! It really is a party in your mouth. Very rich with the crazy combination of bold flavors, but I don’t feel like it is too much. All three, the chocolate, banana, and peanut butter hold their own in this cake and combined make it EXPLOSIVE! That, of course, makes it perfect to bring to the new years celebration we are attending tomorrow.
Thanks for the idea J! It’s awesome! (Pics to come later).
Tags: Bananas, cake, chocolate, Marissa, peanut butter
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 24
The theme for today was muffin madness! I made the most delicious muffins ever! Unfortunately, if I share the recipe with you, I have to kill you. No, really. I am sorry to say that due to the proprietary nature of this recipe (came from a friend who manages a wonderful brunchery) I can’t divulge its secrets. I did, however use it to bake today and still felt it was necessary to share its amazingness! I added bananas to my recipe, but next time I make it I will most certainly be adding mangos, as we originally ate them at the restaurant. I will say that it takes more vanilla then you would probably think and I am sure this is what does the trick. The vanilla does a fantastic job of bringing out the delicate tastes of the fruit. So good luck finding a muffin recipe this good…I don’t know if its possible! Sorry I can’t share it!
