Do your bananas ever look like this?  Surprisingly, it happens in our house quite often.  I have a hard time understanding it, though.  My daughter likes them almost totally green.  The little ones like them just barely yellow and I like them just before they turn brown.  How is it that some of them get to the point of being over-ripe?

I definitely don’t have the answer to how they get to that point, but I do have several ideas of what to do with them when they do.  I buy lots of bananas, because each of the six of us eats one almost every day.  So sometimes, one or two slip through and are past the fresh eating stage.  Try some of these ideas.

Make Banana Bread.  Make Banana Pancakes, all you have to do is mash the bananas and add to your regular pancake mix or recipe.  Or you could make Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Cookies!  My daughter found this recipe and these cookies are delicious!

Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup mashed bananas

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg (fresh grated if possible)

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir in the egg.  In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and mix with the soda.  Let sit for two minutes.  The soda will be activated and this will produce light cookies.  Add the banana mixture to the butter/sugar mixture.  Stir in the spices and salt.  Add in the flour and mix until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a non-stick baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 11 – 13 minutes or until nicely golden brown.  Makes about 30 cookies.

What if you only have one over-ripe banana?  My mom taught me this trick.  Peel the banana and drop into a large freezer bag and freeze.  The next time you have one or two over ripe bananas, peel and add them to the bag.  Soon you will have enough for a recipe and nothing will go to waste!

Cookbooks are a great tool.  The index makes it easy for you to look up a favorite ingredient and find something new to make.  You may even be reminded of a recipe you tried in the past and just forgot about.  Cookbooks also usually have basic cooking techniques that you can try on whatever ingredients you have on hand.  Several of my favorite cookbooks are “Fanny Farmer – Boston School of Cooking,” “Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook” and the new “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School.”

I like to just browse the ads and food section when I am unwinding after work.  The Thursday Food Section of the newspaper and the weekly grocery store ad have some of the same benefits.  Both usually have either sales or articles and recipes on seasonal items.  When strawberries are in season, they are usually on sale.  If you open the food section you will usually find articles and recipes, also.   Often, the articles and sales relate to an upcoming holiday.  You can almost always find a nice ham on sale at Easter time and the food section will have recipes and articles on traditions or histories of foods. 

Another way I like to plan healthy meals if to break down the types of meals I want to cook and how many of them.  For instance, I try to cook at least two meatless meals per week.  Those meals might be egg based, meat-free pizza, vegetable soups or cheese ravioli or tortellini.  I then try to plan three meals using poultry and two meals with beef or pork.  Making a plan helps me make sure that we aren’t just feasting on red meat every night of the week.

It does take some time and energy to plan healthy, tasty meals for your family.  But, I truly believe that it is worth the time and effort.  With a little planning you will not only eat healthier meals, where you can control the amounts of oils, salts and seasoning, but you will save money and time running out to restaurants or fast food places.  You and your family will be healthier when you plan your meals around fresh, seasonal produce and you won’t believe how tasty everything will be!

Today we celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day!  Johnny Appleseed became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance of apples.  Johnny Appleseed, whose real name was John Chapman planted apple trees across the American Frontier. John Chapman was among the American settlers who were captivated by the movement west across the continent.  During the life of John Chapman, the “West” was places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois.  As Johnny Appleseed travelled west, he planted apple trees along the way, and sold trees to settlers.

Johnny Appleseed’s dream was for a land where blossoming apple trees were everywhere and no one was hungry.  A gentle and kind man, he slept outdoors and walked barefoot around the country planting apple seeds everywhere he went.  It is even told that he made his drinking water from snow by melting it with his feet.

Johnny was a friend to everyone he met.  His clothes were made from sacks and his hat was a tin pot.  He also used his hat for cooking.  His favorite book was the Bible.  John Chapman was a deeply religious person and was known to preach during his travels.  According to legend, Johnny Appleseed led a simple life and wanted little.  He rarely accepted money and often donated any money he received. 

So today let’s celebrate an American legend.  Eat an apple or two.  You know what they say.  “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”

Why garlic and onions? Whole books have been written about garlic, an herb affectionately called “the stinking rose”. A member of the lily or Allium family, which also includes onions, garlic is rich in a variety of powerful sulfur-containing compounds including thiosulfinates. While these compounds are responsible for garlic’s pungent odor, they are also the source of many of its health-promoting effects. In addition, garlic is an excellent source of manganese, a very good source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C and a good source of selenium.

Onions are low in calories yet add abundant flavor to a wide variety of foods. With only 45 calories per serving, onions are fat and cholesterol free, very low in sodium, high in vitamin C, and a good source of fiber and other key nutrients. Higher intakes of fruits and vegetables have been associated with a variety of health benefits. Research shows that onions may help guard against many chronic diseases. That’s probably because onions contain generous amounts of a flavonoid called quercetin. Onions not only provide flavor; they also provide health-promoting phytochemicals as well as nutrients.

Making garlic and onions a staple in your healthy way of eating may greatly lower your risk of several common cancers, suggests study from Southern European populations (Galeone C, Pelucchi C et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). Study participants consuming the most garlic had a 39% reduced risk for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, 57% reduced risk for esophageal cancer, 26% reduced risk for colorectal cancer, 44% reduced risk for laryngeal cancer, 10% reduced risk for breast cancer, 22% reduced risk for ovarian cancer, 19% reduced risk for prostate cancer, and 31% reduced risk for renal cell cancer, compared to those eating the least garlic. Similarly, those eating the most onions showed an 84% reduced risk for cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx, 88% reduced risk for esophageal cancer, 56% reduced risk for colorectal cancer, 83% reduced risk for laryngeal cancer, 25% reduced risk for breast cancer, 73% reduced risk for ovarian cancer, 71% reduced risk for prostate cancer, and 38% reduced risk for renal cell cancer, compared to those eating the least onions.

So it stands to reason we should be eating garlic and onions, lots of them. There are so many varieties of both to choose from. Red, yellow, green and white onions are just the beginning and garlic comes in many varieties also: Persian Star, Inchelium Red, Chet’s Italian Red, Chrysalis Purple and Elephant garlic. So what’s the problem?

For me garlic and onions are not a problem in any way. I love them fresh or cooked. I like all the varieties and flavors. Unfortunately, not all of my children feel the same way. What’s a mom to do? I have found a few things that help my children eat them, because I rarely cook anything without garlic and onions. Here are a few ideas to try:

I will often grate rather than chop my onions before sautéing them. My kids tell me it is not so much the flavor that they don’t like; it is the texture of the onions. When I grate them, they don’t seem to even notice the onions in their food. You can also grate garlic using a microplane or the smallest side of a box grater.

If I am going to make a soup or stew, sometimes I will take the garlic and onions after sautéing and puree them in the blender with some of the stock for the soup. Then when I add the carrots, potatoes and other vegetables, the kids don’t even know garlic and onions are in there.

You can also try roasting garlic. Cut the tops of the garlic. Place on parchment paper or wax paper with a layer of foil underneath. Pour the olive oil over the garlic and sprinkle with a little salt. Wrap the parchment and foil around the top of the garlic. Roast in a 350°F over for about 1 hour until the garlic is soft and caramelized. Allow the garlic to cool before trying to work with it. I have a great recipe for Roasted Garlic Cheese Spread. Give it a try.

I love onions and garlic. With all the evidence indicating they are super-foods, I am going to continue to eat them in abundance. Maybe you should, too.

“I will not move my army without onions!”

-Ulysses S. Grant

“It’s hard to imagine civilization without onions.”

-Julia Child

“The onion and its satin wrappings is among the most beautiful of vegetables and is the only one that represents the essence of things. “

-My Summer in a Garden by Charles Dudley Warner

“For this is every cook’s opinion,
No savoury dish without an onion;
But lest your kissing should be spoiled,
Your onions should be thoroughly boiled.”

-Jonathon Swift, Irish satirist

“No one is indifferent to garlic. People either love it or hate it, and most good cooks seem to belong in the first group.”

-Faye Levy

“The air of Provence was particularly perfumed by the refined essence of this mystically attractive bulb.”

-Alexandre Dumas

“The best thing to do with garlic of course, is to eat it.”

-Sylvia Rubin

I got a lot of help from my freezer on this one! I had a great stir-fry vegetable mix with everything I love in it. I also had a ring of frozen shrimp left from New Year’s Eve. Just a few more ingredients plus 20 minutes and dinner was done! This was a big batch for the six of us. You can always halve the ingredients for a smaller portion.

Stir-Fry Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice

4 cups water

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons grated ginger (I keep it in the freezer)

2 garlic cloves minced

1/4 cup sesame seeds

large pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups orange juice

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 – 1 pound bags frozen stir-fry vegetable mix

1 – 20 oz. ring of cooked shrimp (thawed, trim off tails)

Boil the 4 cups water. Add in the white rice. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until done. In a saucepan, sauté the ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until the sesame seeds start to brown. Stir the cornstarch into the orange juice and 1 cup water to dissolve. Add the orange juice mixture, vinegar, salt and honey to the sauce pan and bring up to a soft boil. Allow to simmer until the sauce thickens slightly. In a large skillet, add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the vegetables and stir-fry them until they are done to the tenderness you desire. Stir in the sauce and the shrimp. Keep cooking until the shrimp are warmed through. Serve over the rice.

The word diet has become one of those dirty, four letter words in our society. The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language defines the word as: The usual food and drink of a person or animal. Not the definition of the average person today, which is more like the second definition: A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss. I like the first definition better and I am going to improve my family’s diet.

I am also going to try to get more exercise into our lives. When my children were smaller, we walked all the time. Need postage stamps? Go for a walk. Time to pick up the kids from school? Go for a walk. Grumpy baby? Go for a walk. What happened? When did I stop going for a walk? Even though it is really cold here in the winter, I am planning on bundling up (me and the kids) and going for a walk. Often!

We had a great walk at the zoo yesterday and today’s plan is to walk around our neighborhood and see how everyone’s animals are doing. We live a rural area and there are goats, horses, geese and other animals everywhere. In the spring and summer when the weather was nice, we were walking to see the baby goats all the time. I haven’t seen them in a couple of months. They are probably not looking like babies anymore, but we are going to go and see them anyway.

So, this is the basic idea behind my resolution. I want to be healthier. I want my family to be healthier. I want to set a better example for my children and I want to teach them that being healthy and eating well can and should be a part of their lives. Their whole life. Now, I am off to gather my children, bundle up and go for a walk!

My husband on the other hand really wants a gingerbread house. Years ago he saw someone make a “gingerbread” house out of graham crackers. That was the beginning of “his” Christmas tradition. Every year he goes off to by all the crackers, icing, candies and sprinkles. He sets it all up and then together with our children they create their beautiful “gingerbread” houses.

It is a wonderful thing to watch. He helps the younger ones get their houses built, makes suggestions for the decorations and basically has a great time helping the kids with their creations. The kids love this special time with their Dad. They know that this is something they do together every year, and they love it.

My husband will be the first to tell you, that if he can do this, so can you. He covers pieces of cardboard with foil for the bases. He buys everything else: the graham crackers, canned icing, food color, sugar cones (for the trees), mini M&Ms, big M&Ms, red hots, marshmallows and candy sprinkles. His secret is to attach the graham crackers to the base as he builds the house. You can carefully use a serrated knife to saw the crackers into different shapes for the roof or chimney. Then the fun part – decorating!

This year our three oldest grandchildren got their first chance at the “gingerbread” houses. They had so much fun! The youngest one mostly ate the decorations, but he had a wonderful time decorating with all the big kids and

Grandpa. So if you want a truly fun, easy and creative project to do with a special child in your life, try this one!

. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:14

My mom taught me the basics.  As a matter of fact, she was a very good teacher.  She would give directions and leave me to follow them.  She didn’t just do it herself and let me watch.  She let me do it.  Being that I am a hands-on, visual learner this worked very well for me.  I learned how to brown and season ground beef, roast a chicken, make mashed potatoes, bake a cake, make spaghetti sauce and so many other things.

My earliest recollection of being allowed to cook in the kitchen alone is when I was in fourth grade.  At that age I can remember being asked to make the beef stew for dinner or bake a birthday cake for one of my siblings.  It seems that past that age I have numerous memories of cooking in our kitchen alone and with my family.

I also credit my dad for giving me the confidence to cook.  He would always rave over any meal I made.  Often comparing my meals to mom’s.  I am sure he was being generous with his praise, but he made me feel so good about cooking that I am sure he is a big part of why I love to cook so much.

I also have to give credit and thanks to many of my mom’s friends and other family members for teaching me their techniques and recipes.  Androula taught me some delicious Greek dishes.  Germaine showed me how to stretch a dollar and some Mexican cooking.  Both of my grandmas took the time and energy to show me how to prepare several of their special dishes.  Aunt Lorene showed me how to make creamed pearl onions and dilly beans.  Annette (our neighbor) taught me to make egg rolls.  I learned so much and didn’t even know it at the time.

So if you don’t know how to cook and you want to learn to cook, ask someone close to you who does.  I have found most people are very willing to share their knowledge with an enthusiastic learner.  Also, watch Food Network!  You would be amazed at how much you can learn from watching a few good episodes.  Get a good cookbook.  My favorite cookbook of all time is the Fannie Farmer Boston School of Cooking Cookbook.  I have had three different versions, but it is still in print in several variations.  Another great cookbook is the new Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons for the Home Cook. 

And if you already love to cook, don’t forget to cook with your children!  Not only will it benefit them as adults, but the time spent together in the kitchen is quality time.  You will enjoy working with them and creating something wonderful to share.  They will thank you someday.

Thank you Mom!