Pan-Fried Bananas

You know that feeling you get when you want to eat something but no one is around to cook you food? This happens to me almost every day. Instead of feasting on my large stash of leftover Halloween candy, though, today I decided to try a new vintage recipe.

I looked in the kitchen to see what sounded good. I spotted some bananas and thought I could probably make something quick and easy from the Chiquita Banana's Recipe Book and I was right! Here is my interpretation of:

Pan-Fried Bananas

1) Peel four firm bananas. 

Or maybe just peel one banana because I'm not sure how this is going to turn out. Also because I'm only making this for myself and not a party of four. Though fried bananas probably wouldn't be my first choice of party food even if there were four of us here.

2) Keep whole or cut crosswise into halves. Fry bananas slowly in butter or margarine until tender...easily pierced with a fork...turning them to brown evenly. 

3) Sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve hot as a vegetable. Four servings.

Serve hot as a vegetable? What does that even mean? As opposed to a mushy lukewarm fruit? How is this banana going to transform into a vegetable just because I let it spend some time in a skillet with butter? I looked again to the photo for help and noticed this notation under the recipe:

IMPORTANT: Pan-Fried or Broiled Bananas, served as a hot vegetable, are excellent flavor partners with fish, meat, poultry or eggs for luncheon or dinner. Pan-Friend Bananas with hamburger patties and whole carrots make an appetizing, colorful and nutritious plate combination.

So it's about what you serve it with. Okay. I looked again in the fridge and found some sausage patties and baby carrots. Close enough--let's do this!

At the bottom of the page there was another recipe for "Bananas Pan-Fried with Ham and Eggs" where I read this note/variation:

Sausage or bacon may be used in place of ham but should be fried separately. Sausage or bacon and cooked bananas make an excellent flavor combination. 

And you know what? They're right! All in all, this weird little plate of food tasted pretty good! There's something about the salty sausage and the sweet banana that's really good together. I'm not sure where the carrots come in, but I guess it added a little veggie legitimacy to this dish.

I might make this again sometime--after all, who isn't looking for good vegetable recipes?

Banana Nut Tea Bread

I'm not sure there's anything better than a warm slice of banana bread on a chilly fall morning. If you're still looking for the perfect recipe for banana bread, then look no further! I've got you covered.

Banana Nut Tea Bread
1 3/4 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)

1) Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. No, I didn't spill flour on Sheila's head. She just looks like that.

2) Beat shortening until creamy in mixing bowl. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.

3) Add flour mixture alternately with bananas, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Add 1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts to mixture (optional).

I've got to say, recipes like these are made so much better with a stand mixer. Never let 'em see you sweat, that's what I almost never say.

And bananas help, too. In fact, Chiquita Banana says: "Banana helps keep bread fresh and moist!" In other words, the bananas are what makes this bread so a-peel-ing.

Haha! Banana joke for the win!

4) Turn into a well-greased bread pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 inches) and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) about 1 hour 10 minutes or until bread is done. Makes 1 loaf.

I've made many loaves of banana bread in my short Millennial/Gen Y existence. It's one of my more common culinary attempts, and, even pre-blog, almost all of them have turned out just fine. Mild banana flavor, moderate moisture, you know--typical banana bread. But this recipe really takes the cake....er...bread? (What's the expression here?) It's flavorful and soft and moist, with a perfect golden crust, which is probably due to all of the unhealthy stuff, like shortening and sugar, but I don't care about that. There's fruit in the name, and it comforts me in times of cold weather. Bread will keep us together.

Banana Shortcake

Chiquita Banana says: "A fresh fruit shortcake for all year around!"

With shortcakes on hand from earlier this week, let's get a little more mileage out of those biscuits with this recipe from Chiquita Banana's Recipe Book.

Banana Shortcake
(Use fully ripe bananas...yellow peel flecked with brown)

Split homemade or baker's gingerbread, cake, cupcakes, or biscuits into 2 layers. Place whipped cream and sliced ripe bananas between layers and on top. Garnish with a cherry, if desired. Just before serving, peel and slice additional bananas and arrange them around the base of the Banana Shortcake, if desired.

It's amazing that those three simple ingredients could turn into such a light, delicious treat!

While preparing my banana shortcake, I was advised by a smart-looking banana wearing glasses and a mortar board, "Don't skip these 'how-to-do-its'!" So, of course, I'll share them with you. By the way, did you notice Professor Banana is also wearing a dress and heels? Pretty progressive for 1950.

Enjoy this plethora of tips and factoids as you buy, ripen, flute, slice, spread, preserve, and dress up your own bananas.

Just in case you need some help, here's a tutorial on how to mash bananas.

And see here, bananas are for everyone! I'm no teenager, but I could use some of those eye-brightening, skin-clearing benefits. Duly noted, Bananas.

Finally, some notes on nutrition and measurements for your recipes. Did you know that a cup of mashed bananas requires more bananas than a cup of sliced bananas? You did? Well, I didn't. I'm a beginner.

There you have it! Strawberry Shortcake's cousin, Chiquita Banana Shortcake. Not to be confused with this little shortcake, Sheila. She's my favorite.

Even though this is an all-year round type of recipe, banana shortcake feels particularly well-suited for summer. But with temperatures getting a little cooler this week, I think it's time to dig up some recipes that are better-suited for fall. Here's looking at you, apples!

Banana Bran Muffins

One part of cooking that I'd like to improve is the ability to make creative use of ingredients we already have on hand. Over the past few days, I've had a bunch of bananas ripening on our kitchen counter, and have been thinking about ways to use them.  So while shopping at the Grand Antique Mall last week, I pounced on this recipe book:

The book was printed in 1950 by the Home Economics Department of the United Fruit Company, now known as Chiquita Brands International. It includes dozens of recipes featuring bananas at varying stages of ripeness. Because mine were nearly rotten at this point, I flipped to the "fully ripe" section of the book, and selected this recipe for Banana Bran Muffins.

This time I did the cooking while Taylor took the pictures. Hey, I'm growing up!

Banana Bran Muffins
1 cup sifted flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup bran
1 egg, well-beaten
2 tablespoons sour milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted shortening or salad oil
2 cups thinly sliced, ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)

1) Sift together flour, soda, salt, and sugar into mixing bowl. Add bran and mix well.
(Corgi-shaped helper optional.)

2) Combine egg, milk, shortening, and bananas. Add to dry ingredients, mixing only enough to dampen all flour.
3) Turn into well-greased muffin pans.

4) Bake in a moderate oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30-35 minutes, or until muffins are done. Makes 8 large or 16 small muffins.

I filled each muffin cup all the way to the top, so the recipe yielded 12 muffins for me. After about 32 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins came out clean, and the muffins were nicely golden brown.

There are few things better than a warm muffin topped with melting butter. These muffins are solid--they are perfectly moist, and pack just enough banana without being too sweet. They are a tasty, filling choice for breakfast or a snack. I'm sure they'll make another appearance around here soon.

So there you have it! A great use for overly-ripe bananas. And bran. Oh, and aren't these pictures just lovely? I think I'll keep this photographer around.

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P.S. Don't forget! Vote for your favorite "popular" peanut butter sandwich recipe by Wednesday, August 26th and I'll make it for Taylor to try!