Banana-rama

Banana: a tropical ,mostly yellow, fruit that comes from an overgrown herbaceous plant (not a tree). The fruits have a rind that peels from the top offering great portability and a convenient handle for out of hand eating.

The banana has many culinary applications, ranging from sweet to savory, depending on the ripeness and thus the starch vs. sugar content. A green banana has a very high starch content and can be fried or mashed like a potato. A ripe banana will have a yellow or yellow-brown color and possibly soft brown spots that are sweeter than the rest. As the ripening process happens, the skins will turn from green to yellow, meanwhile on the inside of the fruit, the starches break down into sugars and the pectin found naturally soften the flesh.

We often see bananas at the supper market in their greener less than ripe state. I resist these bunches in favor of the bags of "Ripe" bananas. Ripe bananas are less expensive due to their shorter shelf life and have already started turning brown and are perfectly soft. These are the ones that are just right for baking purposes.

Banana bread is my usual "go to" application, though I often improvise fruit combinations for variety, my favorite being strawberry-banana. Another favorite banana confection are my Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They tend to be quite moist and are packed with flavor.

The following recipes call for mashed bananas. To do so efficiently, slice them up on a cutting board first, then use a fork to smash them against the board. If you try it in a bowl they just slide all over the place.

As per the Joy of Cooking, 75th anniversary edition:

Banana Bread

A classic recipe, quick to make and a great standby.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)butter, softened
1 to 2 large eggs
1 to 1 1/4 mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 350* F. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. (You can re-use the wrapper from your butter)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until its creamy. Then add the egg(s) one at a time, beating until incorporated. If you have closer to 1 cup banana, use both eggs, if you have more use just the one egg. Beat in the bananas until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in about three parts, beating until smooth after each addition.

Scape batter into the greased pan. Bake the bread about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly then unmold. Cool completely before slicing.


This is my take on the basic banana bread recipe.

Strawberry Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)butter, softened
1 to 2 large eggs
3/4 to 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (1 or 2)
3/4 to 1 cup mashed ripe strawberries (6 to 8 berries)

Use the same steps as above.


When choosing the strawberries, choose the soft or bruised "over ripe" berries. Since they are going to be mashed, their appearance won't matter, and they will be all the sweeter for their ripeness. When mashing use the same technique as above for the bananas; slice off the hulls, or the leaves. Then flip the berries onto the flat you just made and slice the berries into quarters. Mash the quarters with your trusty fork.

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 350* F. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. (You can re-use the wrapper from your butter)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until its creamy. Then add the egg(s) one at a time, beating until incorporated. If you have closer to 1 cup banana, use both eggs, if you have more use just the one egg. Beat in the bananas until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in about three parts, beating until smooth after each addition.

Scape batter into the greased pan. Bake the bread about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly then unmold. Cool completely before slicing.

NB - I used a 8 x 8 inch pan for the pictures. In doing so I was able to cut the cook time in half, to 30 minutes. Since the 8 x 8 inch pan is wider there was more surface for the oven heat to bake. Again, check for doneness with a toothpick or a fork.



Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

These cookies come out super soft and are very delicious!

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Cup Banana, mushed (approximately two whole bananas)
1 large egg
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
(1/2 cup slivered almonds, optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets (nonstick cooking spray works, but I like to use the butter wrappers, after I've dumped the softened butter into the mixing bowl.)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl beat the sugar and butter with a wooden spoon, until just combined; do not over mix. Add the banana mush and the egg and stir just to blend.

Add the flour mixture in three parts and stir well after each addition until just combined.

Drop the dough by rounded Tsps on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheets about 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to continue cooling completely.

*NB, I have made these before with a combination of rolled oats, and banana flavored instant oatmeal, approximately a 1/2 cup of each. This yielded a cookie with an extreme banana flavor.

One added bonus; since these are made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats they have a bit more fiber than your run of the mill chocolate chip cookie, not to mention the extra potassium and other vitamins contributed by the bananas.

A Little Color to Beat the Blues

Spring has arrived! After much teasing from Mother Nature, we are starting to see a solid run of warm days. Along with the warmth, we are starting to see more color outside. The grey of the roadside trees is starting to be broken up with patches of faint green and reds of the buds, and ground is sporting patches of creams and yellows thanks to the daffodils.

Produce is also becoming more colorful as more fruits and veggies come into season. I celebrated this fact by using up some frozen veggies to make room for fresh. Inspired by a recipe from the Rachel Ray show, I made Beer and Honey glazed Chicken with a Spiced up Succotash and a basic Risotto. The beer and honey simmer down to form a glaze on the chicken and the succotash is quite colorful and full of flavor.

I didn't give specific amounts here because I didn't use any. This is certainly a technique you can adjust to suit your own needs. When I made the succotash, I used two different types of corn and the baby Limas. About half a bag of frozen vegetables went in per each vegetable.. That did result in a rather large batch of succotash.



Beer and Honey Glazed Chicken with Old Fashioned Succotash

1/2 Red Onion 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
EVOO
Yellow Corn (frozen or fresh of the cob)
Baby Lima beans (Frozen, fresh if you are lucky)
1 can of diced tomatoes
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast or Thighs
Salt and Pepper to taste
EVOO
1/2 can or bottle of beer
Good squeeze of honey

Start the succotash first by sauteing the onion and garlic in olive oil, in a medium to large saute pan. After a few minutes add the corn. Allow the corn to brown up, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

In the meantime, start the chicken. If you cut it into bite size pieces it will take less time to cook. Season it well with salt and pepper. Heat up some olive oil in another medium pan and place the chicken in seasoned side down. Season other side and allow the chicken to brown up, stirring often if using bite sized pieces. If using whole parts, just check a few times to prevent sticking, and flip when the first side has a nice golden brown.

Once the corn has started to brown up, add in your Lima beans and give that pot a whirl. Allow them to saute a bit and then add in your tomatoes and hot sauce, always season to taste. If you like yours hotter, try adding a whole diced jalapeno to the tomato mixture (as was originally called for in Rachael's version). I like my food more mild so I added about 2 dashes of hot sauce, but made sure there was plenty of cracked black pepper. (In fact I managed to drop the pepper mill into the pot entirely.. )Let your veggie mix simmer together.

Meanwhile, back to the chicken. For whole pieces, remove them once both sides have been browned and the pieces are cooked through and hold them on the side. For smaller pieces you can leave them in the pan to absorb flavor. Pour in about half of your bottle of beer. (the rest is for you, you deserve a nice beer for all of your hard work) You will be essentially de-glazing the pan with the beer, so be sure to give it a good stir, picking up all the browned bits at the bottom. Squeeze in a good bit of honey, 2 or 3 turns around you pan, and stir to combine. Taste your seasonings and adjust if necessary. Allow the beer and honey to simmer down into a glaze, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour your glaze over the whole pieces or just spoon out some extra when you serve the bite size pieces.

The resulting dinner is quite simple and very flavorful :)

For the risotto, usually made with arborio rice, just follow the directions on the package. I use chicken stock when being served as a side with chicken, but vegetable stock works just as well. If you are good at multi-tasking you can make the risotto at the same time on another burner. (start it first, then succotash, then the chicken)

Any starch could be used as a base, and the rice could be cooked with other methods. My notes from the original recipe mention using a summer squash as a replacement for a starch, and would be quite good with this recipe.