I've got another 2 bunches of bananas ripening and that means I'm going to be drowning in banana bread, banana muffins, banana pudding, my freezer will be full of bananas and all my friends will avoid me.

I finally used up the last of the frozen bananas from the last bunch, I've been baking with them a lot these last few weeks as I watched these bunches get larger. It's a good problem to have but it does get kind of tiring when they all start ripening at once.

Might as well add these here too. I finally harvested enough passionfruit to make a pitcher of juice. These are the last two that fell off the vine. I discovered that letting them sit for a couple of days actually makes them sweeter. I still had to add sugar and water but the resulting drink is really good.



Plus... two years ago I planted the tops of a couple of pineapples. One was the regular kind and it produced a pineapple the next year. This one was from one of the Honey type pineapples and it just sat there on the roof and didn't do much. I kind of got used to it just sitting in the corner and I'd spray it with water in the winter but ignored it other than that. I noticed this week that it is finally producing a pineapple!




I may not grow veggies but I'm doing pretty well with fruit

That's so cool! Now that's a problem to have....too many bananas! We have a few bananas varieties here, but they never get past the tiny size before a freeze gets them.
After many years of buying bananas, I've finally learned that if I buy six, I throw away three. Buying three, I'll throw away one or two. Finally learned to freeze the overly ripe ones. Found an easy recipe for " banana bread." It's a box of yellow cake mix, 3 eggs, and 3 or 4 over ripe bananas.

Bubbles said:
After many years of buying bananas, I've finally learned that if I buy six, I throw away three. Buying three, I'll throw away one or two.

I'm so glad you posted this! My DH constantly buys bananas and we end up throwing away a good portion (and I keep telling him to just buy fewer!), and now I know it's just one of those things with bananas!

I peel them when they get too ripe for cereal and put them in a plastic freezer bag, I keep adding to it until it is full. I can "chip off" enough bananas for banana bread, muffins, pancakes, etc from the bag of frozen ones. You can also freeze them without peeling them but I find it harder to peel a frozen banana.

Jonna , your fruits are impressive. Wowee that banana bunch is gigantic! A little monkey would help you eat them. Lol or donate to the zoo? Is there a Merida Zoo?

Love those bananas Jonna! Oh it reminds me of home Not that we grow them in our backyard, but there are so many sources around there and unlike here where you buy bananas sometimes by piece, over there in the provinces we buy them in that whole fruiting stalk! Yummy! Plus the leaves are used in ironing, makes the iron glide well. And also when cooking food, the aroma it adds just yummy flavor too! Or instead of using paper plates, using those wide leaves as the plate yum yum yum! Oops, just to make it clear, not eating the leaves hehehhe!

I try to peel them next time! And Hetty, it does seem to be a bit of a Banana Conspiracy!

Didn't know that about banana leaves making the iron glide!

It seems the heat from the iron releases the organic wax from the leaves, making the iron glide well and keep the metal plate clean too.

COOL...wish I had know that years ago before I threw out the iron. Now the clothes just match the "laugh lines" on my face

Wow your banana plants are so healthy. I'm trying to overwinter my Ice Cream banana in my shed. So far only a a small tip of the pseudo stem turned to mush.

Luv that pineapple plant too Jonna I think mine is all dead now after our cold weather here...don't know if I will try again yet...

- yes, there is a zoo here but from driving by it looks like they have a lot of their own banana trees. I do usually take bags of frozen bananas to my favorite cafe and they make lots of goodies with them. When I lived over on the coast, after hurricane Wilma, we put out bananas and other fruit for the monkeys and the toucans. All of their normal vegetation had been stripped by the hurricane.

-Tarev, I used to cut the whole stalk off and hang it on the terrace but it seemed like they all got ripe at once more than when I leave it as long as possible on the plant. I don't know if that's true or not, it just seemed like it. I'd like to keep them getting ripe a few at a time as long as possible. My housekeeper told me about that ironing trick. That was when I was considering buying an iron, I never did get one. It has been years since I've bought an iron and I was shocked at the price and then decided like Ginger to just let my clothes match my face.

-I got these banana plants for the foliage not the fruit. I wanted these because they have very wide leaves and stay pretty short. If I were getting them for the fruit I'd get the one with the small, red fruit. They are much sweeter and I like them better. Those plants though have long, thin strap like leaves and get really, really tall. It wouldn't work as the sort of tropical screen I want, they keep the sun off the terrace in the afternoons. I've no idea what kind they are, I got them from a friend because I liked the look. The fruit is pretty good though, a little smaller and sweeter than the Honduran ones in US supermarkets.

I doubt I'll plant anymore pineapples either, it's not really worth it. They are cheap and available in the markets all year and frankly, they taste better than the one I grew. Two years is a long time to wait for a crop of one rather small pineapple.

A co worker last night is from Puerto Rico. He told me his mother used to fry a whole banana in a bit of oil, a little more than you would for saute but far less than deep frying. Like frying a whole sausage until it is hot. The sugars caramelize as the banana heats up. He said he could eat it with any meal.

Yes, fried bananas are a staple side dish here although they generally slice them the long way. Usually they are the platano macho, a more starchy, less sweet banana that is large and thick. They get sweeter when cooked and they are really good. Here they mainly use the ripe ones, in some of the caribbean islands they cook them when they are green. It's served as a savory not a dessert and often mixed with rice.

I think you can get close to the same taste by frying a slightly green regular banana, it will fall apart faster than the platano macho but it should taste similar.

Yes, he mentioned that his mom also cooked the sliced yellow sweeter plantains as well as the less sweet green plantains which I have heard of and tried. He recommended pan frying a whole ready-to eat "regular" banana I guess so it wouldn't fall apart being softer, but also so that it is soft and pudding-like when you eat it. I had never eaten one that way. I think I will try it this week.

In our neighborhood, when we have too much fruit, we put out a box by the street with "Free Fruit" written on it. It's a nice way to share with your neighbors, and for them to share with you. I get wonderful oranges for juice from one neighbor, and grapefruit from another. Keeps me going for walks in the mornings, too. The mailman, and guys who pick up the trash get some as well. I'm going to be sharing mangoes in June, it would appear.

Just remember to bring the box in at night, or the raccoons (here at least) and rodents get into it.

My GF takes her extra veggies to the local shelters. I bet orphanages would take it, too.

I should check with the girl's home, I intend to start teaching english there a couple days a week. It's volunteer and a project of a good friend of mine. The girls spend the week at the home, all their school and living expenses are paid, and they go home on the weekend if things are ok at home. They come from really dysfunctional families and this is their escape from chaos and a chance to go to school. I haven't started yet, I'm taking over the english class from another volunteer. I am sure they would enjoy the bananas.

Here's another pic of my pineapple, you have to click it to get it in focus. They are so cute when they are growing.