h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm about to rustle up a batch of banana muffins, and possibly a banana daquiri, and I've shoved another brown miscreant in the freezer to have some other day. Apparently they're one of the most wasted foods in the UK, though I thought that accolade went to bagged salads. The possibilities for using up old bananananas are much wider than the potential of leaves that have turned to mush, mind. And they usually involve the use of sugar, honey, alcohol, ice cream, nuts, yoghurt etc

Thing is, I rarely buy them myself. Dai buys some for his son, but he's only here one night a week, and Dai somehow can't manage to buy just one banana. Matty eats them when he's on a health kick, but he's too fussy to eat them once they start going soft. I quite like banana mashed on wholemeal toast, but one full 'nana is just too much! Smoothies are good for breakfast, though I find banana repeats on me, so I prefer them sans banane.

Right,muffin mix first, then I'll have a dacquiri reward

Sounds yummy.

"I've shoved another brown miscreant in the freezer"

Is that not a bit racist?

Got any tomatoes waiting to ripen? There's nothing like ripe bananas in the vacinity to speed them up!

Any fruit will ripen faster with bananas in the vicinity. Keep the fruitbowl fresh by storing bananas separately.

if the bananas in a smoothie repeat on you, doesn't this also happen with your banana recipes?

apples too - they'll nicely ripen fruit for you. But bananas... they are the food. Nasty, tricksy things. There is a perfect banana window for every fruit and I rarely get to eat them.

I had 4 brown ones today but it was too hot to bake muffins (although in the end I could have since I spent an hour over a hot stove making risotto) so we made smoothies.

That was a gooood daquiri, though!

nah - bananas. Just say no, kids.

The muffins will be a present to the office to cheer up Monday morning.

Bananas in cakes of all sorts make them lovely and moist and tasty.

I do agree with you about the mashed on toast, Bea.

Did anyone else's Mum make them banana sandwiches for school? They were with fresh bananas, though, little slices with a bit of sugar on white bread and butter (well we didn't have anything else).

Nom nom, just trying the muffins, warm from the oven.

Definitely worth doing again - ridiculously easy recipe.

Cream 125g butter with 125g caster sugar.
beat in 2 eggs
add 125g plain flour and 2tsp baking powder
Finally fold in 2 mashed banananananas.

Spoon into 12 muffin cases and bake for 20-25 mins at 180 degrees C.

I'd experiment with vanilla essence, cinnamon, and crushed nuts.

Try this yourself first, it's not to everyone's taste - but anything I'm making with crushed nuts, I add the tiiiiniest bit of black pepper to it. It seems to bring out the nuttiness.

Hubby always makes bannannna cake when we have a couple of slightly over-ripe ones. He adds chocolate if we've got any*




*there's usually a bar or two of really dark stuff in the fridge as a matter of course

In defence of bananas- they're full of potassium, which (turns out) does important stuff. Like run your muscles. Your heart is a muscle. Etc.

Back to the daiquiris!

I made some banana bread a few weeks ago. Ate most of it before things... started growing on it.

Why is it though, that bananas are so easy to forget to eat?

Well, they are a carbohydrate plantain, basically. Some are sweeter than others.

I want a daiquiri now.

Is there a collaborative entry on using up food that would otherwise be binned? I had a quick look and cant find anything in the Guide.

get going girly! Are you going to start an Ask thread?

The biggest problem I have with bananas is that they smell so disgusting. They really make me feel ill.

Banana bread, banana cake or banana fairy-cakes are totally scrummy.

We froze what was left of our smoothie mix and made the most yummy ice-lollies.

Bananananana bread is the simplest, and sliced ... freezes and makes yummy lunch add-ons for long time.

(It's also the only way to eat zucchini/courgettes)