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| My sister Carro (aka Bee) on a recent baking mission. She is the ultimate in authentic retro. Bless her… UHG |
This recipe
comes from the very heart of Banana Land, from someone who has bananas in their
blood. This I know because he happens to be stark raving bananas. His name is
Greg, aka Gregorius: he is my brother in-law. Ever since I have known Gregorius,
he has always had a few banana trees in his garden.
A good
banana tree will produce about 400 bananas, so that surely means Gregorius must
know an awful lot about dealing with piles of bananas. What better recipe to
follow than his one, passed down from his late father Nevil.
Those mushy
brown bananas that have passed their best are the perfect ones to use. This
recipe requires no baking powder, which I think is rather clever.
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| Bananas for a double batch & the 50 year old beater UHG |
WHEN TO PICK
A BUNCH
Gregorius
says:
“Things
grown in your garden at home have nothing to do with yellow being ripe. If you waited
for a paw paw / papaya [he has got plenty of these trees in his garden too] to
be completely yellow before you picked it, you would find it to be virtually
vrot [rotten]. That is, if the birds haven’t beaten you to it, because a bird
knows a thing or two about ripeness. A slightly yellow paw paw is the perfect
breakfast one. Likewise a bunch of bananas: there are a gazillion [400] bananas
in a good bunch, so you want to chop them off at exactly the right time. How do
you know when is the right time?
The ‘policeman’
comes to tell you. From the time the sharp edges of the bananas start to round
you must cast a beady eye over them every day, until - lo and behold - one
banana of the bunch turns yellow. That is the ‘policeman’ telling you to start
greasing your bread tins.”
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| A retro way of 'chopping' nuts UHG |
WHAT YOU
NEED
125g butter
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
25ml yogurt / sour milk
1tsp vanilla essence
6 ripe bananas
50g chopped nuts
250g flour (sifted)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch salt
WHAT TO DO
Cream
together the butter, caster sugar, eggs, yoghurt/sour milk and vanilla essence.
Fold in mashed bananas and chopped nuts. Fold in flour, bi-carb and salt. Spoon
into a well-greased baking tin and bake for 45 mins at 180 degrees C, or until a knife comes out
clean when pressed into the loaf. A fine cup of tea is the perfect
accompaniment.
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| Gregorius & Carro UHG |
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| Banana smashing UHG |
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| In goes the sour milk (Amasi) UHG |
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| Left over cherries made it into the mix UHG |
