Banana Upside-Down Cake

I really don't like over ripe bananas, so I'm always looking for ways to use them up. Tonight I was scavenging the pantry and found nothing readily available but 4 over ripe bananas. So I decided I would actually have to put some effort into my sugar hunt. So here is the fruit of my quest for sugar. Caramelized bananas and pecans over a heavy cake, almost like a pudding. And all of it jam packed with bananas.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/2 cup pecan halves 2 medium bananas. sliced CAKE: 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 TBSP  cold butter or margarine 2 medium bananas, mashed or roughly chopped 1/2 cup plain yogurt 2 eggs, beaten 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and butter; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook without stirring until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a greased 9-in. springform pan. (Make sure it seals. And just to be safe put a cookie sheet under it.) Arrange pecans on top with flat side up. (I just chopped them roughly and sprinkled them in) Pour remaining lemon juice into a small bowl; add bananas and stir carefully. Drain. Arrange bananas in a circular pattern over the pecans; set aside. in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine bananas, yogurt, eggs, lemon peel and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon over bananas. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan; invert cake onto a serving plate.

Banana Lassi

I hate old bananas. Once they've lost their green I think they taste really awful, which is a problem when you buy your own bananas and can't depend on your siblings to eat them for you. Luckily my roommate has a magic bullet (think little tiny single person smoothie blender) and while playing with my old bananas I came up with this recipe which I've been craving every night since I made it. I call it banana lassi after it's more traditional cousin from India.

Ingredients-
1 banana
1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt
a dollop of honey ( usually I just drizzle as much honey in there as I can fit on a spoon....than lick the spoon)

Blend. Drink. Rejoice in your potassium and calsium filled creation.

Dutch Apple Pie

• 6 cups sliced, peeled, tart apples
• 3/4 cup sugar
  
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  
• 2 Tbsp. margarine
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1 crust pastry (9”)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry lined pie plate; dot w/margarine. Cover with crumble topping. Cover edge w/foil; remove foil last 15 min. of baking. Bake until crust and juice begins to bubble around the edge, 40 to 50 min.

Fresh Peach Pie

• 4 c. sliced peaches
  
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. Minute Tapioca
  
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• two 9" pie shells

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix above ingredients in a bowl; let stand 15 min. Fill pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate with fruit mixture. Dot with 1 Tbsp. margarine. Cover pie with top crust; seal and flute edge. Cut several slits to permit steam to escape. Brush crust w/milk and sprinkle w/cinnamon-sugar. Cover edges w/aluminum foil. Take foil off the last 15 min. Bake 1 hr. or until juices form bubbles that burst slowly. Cool.

Fresh Pear Pie

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. flour or Minute tapioca
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
  
• 5 c. peeled, sliced, fresh pears
• 9” Pastry for Single crust pie

Directions:

In a large bowl sprinkle pears w/lemon juice. Combine sugar and flour, mix, and add to pears. Toss to coat fruit. Fill pie crust. Sprinkle crumb mixture over pear filling. Cover pie edge with foil; bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 min. Remove foil; bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until pie is bubbly and crust is golden. Cool.

Applesauce

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.