banana | breakfast | brown sugar | cinnamon | dip/salsa/spread | fruit | jam | lime | recipe | treats

I’m going bananas.

November 25, 2011

I hope all you Americans had a lovely Thanksgiving, and also that you remembered not only our troops who couldn’t be home for the holiday but also remembered the real Americans, the Native Americans, that were treated so poorly & unfairly by our original settlers (& their ancestors). And not to be a total wet blanket, I hope you enjoyed your families (& food, too). I had an absolutely lovely day & ate (& drank) way more than any human my size possibly should. Thanks to my cousin Tommy & his girlfriend Dawn for an amazing day- I hope you enjoy the goodies I left with you as much as we enjoyed all that food & excellent company!

So am I going bananas? Not really. Well, kinda. I guess I’m sorta going bananas. Between the holidays, blogging & getting myself together “in real life” I’m kinda pulled in a million directions lately. And truth be told, it’d be nice if this horrendous cold/flu/whatever it is I have went away for good, & took the lingering cough/malaise with it. Not only all that- but where has the time gone?! I feel like Sleeping Beauty; as if I fell asleep in July, after canning fresh fruit & veggies & sweating my ass off… & woke up to Thanksgiving being over & the temperature dipping down to the 30’s at night. Strange. But my saving grace in life is staying busy, enjoying the little things & the sad truth that food rules my life; put those together & no matter what happens you’ve got a broad who’s cookin’ something up. So this blog will never see a lull in posts, hah.

And of course, I like to try unique things. And banana jam sounded pretty unique. Not only that, but bananas are good for ya (thanks, Wikipedia!):

Bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 and contain moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and potassium.

Along with other fruits and vegetables, consumption of bananas may be associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and in women, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

This particular recipe was something I stumbled on coincidentally after realizing my bananas had once again turned dark brown & spotty. My mind started to click through recipe ideas. See, I hate throwing good food or fruit away, especially when it still has delicious potential. Yet I didn’t feel like banana bread, I couldn’t even fathom banana ice cream & I was too tired for making muffins, so luckily this recipe found its way onto my laptop screen one dark, chilly, quite frozen evening at about 11 p.m. However, I didn’t actually open it to use it until the next day. In case you’re wondering, that’s Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread, toasted, accompanying it. But I guarantee you it will be equally stellar on whole wheat or white toast, pancakes, or vanilla ice cream. Or now that I think about it, bran muffins, too… or a spoonful on top of oatmeal.


BANANA BROWN SUGAR BUTTER/JAM (adapted very slightly from Neo-Homesteading)

Makes 1 8-oz. jar

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, the riper the better
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions:

  1. In a small pot combine banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, lime juice and butter.
  2. Whisk over medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved and the the banana has softened. Adjust the heat as necessary to prevent burning. Using the whisk thoroughly smoosh the banana.
  3. Once the mixture is smooth-ish, you are simply thickening without burning. The mixture will bubble 3-4 minutes over medium heat and it should be about ready at this stage. Refrigerate and use within one to two weeks.

Note: I did indeed say this recipe makes ONE 8-ounce jar. You may halve it to make a 4-ounce jar, or double it, but being I’ve done neither I can’t vouch.

AMAZEBALLS. Super rich, buttery & caramel-y ’cause of the brown sugar. Holy crap. If you like bananas, this is a must-make for you. The only downside? Banana can’t be canned safely (unless you’ve got a pressure canner), so it has to be eaten pretty quick. But if you make a small batch, 4-8 ounces, that should be fine. Especially for a brunch date or something, where more than just one person will be having it. Maybe for a Christmas morning brunch, maybe even for an afternoon tea. Speaking of Christmas, it seems it’ll be here before we know it! Jeez, seriously, is it just me or does it seem like just last week it was June?

This has a very home-y flavor, sweet & kinda rustic. Reminds me of a fall morning, a fireplace going at a nice blaze & old family photos.

t…

That photo is so important to me because it’s the only photo that I have of my great-grandmother as a young woman. She’s all the way on the right, holding my grandmother in her lap, and the woman next to her is my great-great-grandmother. I’m lucky to have pictures like this, and I know that. This time of year especially it’s important to remember family & the generations before you, even if it’s only by doing a holiday tradition that’s been passed down through the years. As my Christmas tree goes up this week, & I start to put up my lights & garlands, I’m struck by that. How each generation of my family has done the same thing before me. I can trace parts of my family back to the 1100’s & that’s the one thing that can humanize them & make them relatable to me when they’re just names/dates on paper- that they all celebrated Christmas, albeit in very different ways, & loved their families. So time goes on and the generations go on… and at some point, we’re all just special, cherished photographs on a wall.

Well that was fucking cheerful. Sorry. Have some banana jam & you’ll cheer right up. Anyway, like I said- I personally can’t believe it’s almost December, let alone almost 2012, can you?

..

PSST... SHARE THIS:
Facebook Twitter Email

Only registered users can comment.

  1. What a beautiful post my ‘Cupcake’ girl…your awesome recipes aside, you’re so right about family & traditions..it’s the traditions in our family that keep those no longer physically here with us still a part of us,just in a different way..You know how seriously my family took the holidays, all the German traditions my father got from his father, and I from him..I’m so glad you are keeping the traditions going, that it’s important to you to keep the ‘torch lit’ and their spirits alive..All those past generations are smiling down on you and saying, “What a smart cookie that little girl is”…and the beat (and our family..) goes on…The jam was amazing and so are you..I’m a proud mom…XXX

  2. I have the same lingering cough that just REFUSES to go away! But on the upside, I am definitely going to try making this banana “butter”, it looks amazing!!

  3. I am extremely inspired along with your writing abilities as smartly as
    with the layout for your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify
    it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is uncommon to look a
    nice weblog like this one today..

  4. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well written article.
    I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info.
    Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return.

  5. Hello, you used to write fantastic, but the last few posts have been kinda boring…
    I miss your great writings. Past several posts are just a little out of track!
    come on!

  6. Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks
    fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
    I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!
    Other then that, amazing blog!

  7. If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  8. Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better!
    Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him.
    Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

  10. If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.

  11. I don’t know whether it’s just me or if everyone else encountering problems with your website.

    It looks like some of the written text in your posts are running off
    the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is happening to
    them too? This could be a issue with my browser because I’ve had
    this happen before. Many thanks

  12. Hello! Quick question that’s completely off topic.
    Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone.
    I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to correct
    this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share.
    Many thanks!

  13. I feel this is one of the such a lot vital information for
    me. And i am satisfied reading your article. But want to observation on few general things, The website style
    is perfect, the articles is really excellent :
    D. Excellent activity, cheers

  14. Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favourite reason appeared to be on the net the easiest
    factor to be mindful of. I say to you, I definitely get irked
    while people consider issues that they just do not recognize
    about. You managed to hit the nail upon the highest as well as outlined out the entire thing with no need side-effects , folks can take
    a signal. Will likely be again to get more. Thanks

Comments are closed.