Someone's In The Kitchen With Momma: Seven Bananas Pudding

Chapter 1: BiLo 



Sometimes her list would require six, but usually, scrawled in blue Bic ink beside 'bananas' was a (7) in parentheses; a week’s supply of potassium until the next shopping day rolled around.



I try to remember now who did her shopping before it became our job. Likely an array of her extended network of family and friends, for though she didn't drive, Aunt Nellie June was well-known, and well-liked.

She needn't go out, we came to her. And truly, it was our pleasure to help; to just be in her orbit. 

So it was, back when we were not just kinfolk but also neighbors, I would take the list she had made after consulting the weekly circular, along with her envelope of carefully counted money, to the Bi-Lo on the corner, and do her weekly shopping. 

Her list was quite specific, calculated for maximum savings and minimal waste.

Seventy years in one primary location had worn a groove in her routine.



Amongst a rotation of seasonal produce and various household products, every week her list included the same fare: 

• Whole milk (PET brand only) 


• One pack of hot dogs (Oscar Myer or Carolina Pride) 


• Cool Whip (the plastic container to be recycled as food storage) 


• Pepsi (an anomaly in Coca-Cola's dixieland domain, but she was a woman confident in her choices)


• Butter pecan or cherry vanilla ice cream (as much for her neighbors as for herself, but she did have a sweet tooth or three ) 


• Bananas (6 or 7) 

I still count bananas in the store, or tell my children how many to get when I ask them to walk back to Produce for things I inevitably remember I've forgotten (but only after crossing at least 2/3 the length of the store)



I always get (6) or (7), not less or more.

Chapter 2: Rodger, that!



Mary Rodgers was the graceful wife of Roger.

That's right, Roger Rodgers.



Mary and Roger served in the church I grew up in for many, many years.



Mr. Rodgers owned an old fashioned barber shop in town, complete with barber pole out front and Mayberry atmosphere inside.



Mrs. Rodgers was gifted in the art of hospitality and often opened her home to our family.



One of my favorite dishes Mrs. Mary served was a thick and creamy banana pudding unlike any found in the Corningware dishes of the other saintly church ladies or served at our myriad local BBQ restaurants.

I was too young to decipher her recipe back then, but the development of my own "kitchen presence" as a young bride coincided with the rise of Google, Food Network and Paula Deen.



I may have never learned the recipe's secret  if not for the ability to cross-reference keywords against a database of tried and true Southern recipes; those iconic Chessmen cookies my Rosetta Stone.  

Chapter 3: Let's Go Krogering 



I am the sum of all my parts, as I believe we all are.

I have been shaped by different environments, exposures and experiences.

I am grateful for them all.



I am thankful for Aunt Nellie June and Mrs. Mary Rodgers as well as a host of other influential souls.

I am thankful for the time they shared with me, the space they created for me in their homes and kitchens and the recipes for life they left for me to follow.



Tonight, as I prepared for the Freewheeling Widows to drop by, I realized banana pudding would be agreeable to all.

In this way, these two precious ladies who've gone-on-to-Glory were welcome in my kitchen as I got ready for two precious ladies who are still going-along-with-me.



I went Krogering to count bananas and gather the following supplies:

• 1 Quart of Heavy Whipping Cream (the secret ingredient, shhh!)  


• One large box of instant vanilla pudding


• One large box of instant banana cream pudding 


• One tub of Cool Whip or can of whipped cream 


• Chessmen Cookies and/or 


• Nilla Wafers (for the purists) 


• Bananas (6 or 7)

Chapter 4: Redeeming The Spotty Ones

I mashed up two leftover bananas that were too far gone for cereal but not yet brown enough for banana bread then added the pudding mix and heavy whipping cream.

I think bananas go spotty like they do to teach us about redemption, if we're inclined to learn.



I included both kinds of cookies because when I am faced with a decision where one person may be disappointed, I become paralyzed with indecision. As a result, I have developed a coping mechanism called 'overcompensation'. When I am in a hurry and can't make up my mind, I jump straight over 'either/or' to 'both and all'



Someday, it will sink in that I really cannot please all the people, all the time and should therefore just pick one already...but, until then, double cookies!

Seems completely healthy and reasonable, no?

I'm sure Cookie Monster approves. 

I layered everything lasagna style and almost alphabetically: "cookies-bananas-pudding-whipped cream-repeat" then chilled the whole thing until the Freewheelers arrived.



We ate tiny glazed Ham on Hawaiian sandwiches and watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium before I scooped banana pudding into the Atlanta Braves helmet bowls I'd picked up on Kroger's clearance aisle - for only thirty-five cents each!



Southern Grocery Shopping Rule #1 : The hurry is never too big to bypass clearance. You never know, what you need may be on those shelves. What you don't know you need is probably there, too. 





Chapter 5: Time and Togetherness 



From Bi-Lo to Kroger, there have been many good-byes that came as a surprise.



I'd go back, pay closer attention,  and take more notes if life weren't so insistent about this forward staccato marching we do.



We are allowed only to glance back, not turn back, so we plan for the future ever crossing new horizons.

Tucked in our pockets of memory, or transcribed on a notepad in shaky blue Bic ink, we bring with us instructions from time, left behind.



My freewheelin' gals took leftover sandwiches and pudding home with them, because I'm still learning to cook for just a few.



They also took a little bit of Aunt Nellie June, Mrs. Mary Rodgers and a piece of my heart, too.



We're getting together for Chinese take-out and a Dolly Parton movie soon, because time and togetherness are key ingredients to a life, well-recalled.

"Your life is an occasion, rise to it." 

                                            ~Magorium

Someone's In The Kitchen With Momma: A Hodgepodge of Southern Hospitality

In their homes, and more intimately, their kitchens, I was always warmly welcomed.

Warm, probably because there was always something delicious being cooked.

Even at a young age, I was offered a helping role, a listening ear and the priceless gift of examples to follow.



There are days in those kitchens I wish I could visit again, recipes I wish I had watched more closely, and soft, fleshy old women I wish that I could still glean advice from.



This series of short essays and stories is an overdue payment of homage on the investments they made in me, a bank note of gratitude for those who are still, thankfully, with me.

Sesame Crunch Candy

Sesame Crunch Candy (I don't know if that is the official name) is one of my favorites. 

In times past, I have had to locate a good health foods store in order to enjoy this treat. Every once in a while, I have been delighted to discover it in a specialty candy shop. 

Then I stumbled on this recipe at Spoonful.com: 

• 1 cup sesame seeds (about 6 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• -----------------
• 
  
• 1. Generously coat two large sheets of waxed paper with cooking spray. In a medium skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium-low heat, stirring often, until they're fragrant and golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
     
     
  2. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and honey. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes (because melted sugar can get quite hot, this is a step best left to parents). Add the sesame seeds to the sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon.
  3. Place one sheet of the waxed paper on a work surface, greased-side up. Scrape the mixture onto the paper and top it with the remaining sheet of waxed paper, greased-side down. Using a rolling pin, roll the mixture into a square about 1/4 inch thick (a great job for kids).
  4. Remove the top sheet of paper and cut the candy into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife. Let the candy cool completely. Break apart the pieces and store them in an airtight container at room temperature until you're ready to package them. Makes about twenty-four 1-inch squares.

How easy, right? 

So I tried it. I snuck in one packet of Flax seed, too. 

It was as easy as it seemed it would be and as tasty too. It didn't last very long. 

Corn Nugget

The recipe seemed easy enough:

 Mix a can of corn and a can of creamed corn

Scoop into rounds and freeze

Dip frozen rounds in batter

Fry

Enjoy corn nuggets at home instead of in our default restaurant.

I thought it was SO simple, I could imporvise a little. I tossed in some red pepper flakes and shredded cheddar. I think the cheddar would be my recipe's undoing in the end. 

Dipping nuggets in batter. A thicker batter may have made a difference: 

Things started out well: 

Promising looking nuggets: 

A combination of thawing and cheese strands extending past the "batter barrier" led many nuggets to spread... our overall result was something like Scrambled Corn Nugget Fritters... 

*BOUNUS*

Let's talk about deep fried foods and your arteries... 

Palatable Pita Pockets

Another entry in the "Not Pretty But Palatable" files: 

Pita Pockets

I followed the recipe linked in the title loosely. I used White Whole Wheat along with regular All Purpose flour. I believe it added a chewy quality that I appreciate in bread. I made two batches of dough, and due to life circumstances, I left them covered on the counter overnight - as opposed to for a few hours. This turn of events gave a sour dough like quality- also appreciated in breads we consume.

Pita dough discs waiting to be flung into the oven.

Two factors made my pita less than desirable: My hastiness to finish the project and my fear of very high temperatures. 

Had I rolled the discs more uniformly and had I not flung the discs haphazardly onto the HOT baking sheet in the oven, leaving them to cook more or less in the shape that they landed, they'd have no doubt been easier to use for sandwiches.

I chose to roll some discs smaller with the kids in mind, but they were too small in the end. 

I think if I had given them more time for a second rising after rolling into discs,  an even better puff may have occurred in the oven- this goes back to the hastiness problem I carry with me through life. 

475 is HOT. Use a water bottle to spray in steam.

Pockets too small for sandwiches were pulled into pieces and enjoyed warm from the oven by all... in a sort of very informal 'communion' held spontaneously in the kitchen...and without wine. 

Though they exited their trials by fire misshapen and rather flat, they did have pocket potential. We have used them for ham and cheese, breakfast egg sandwiches and cheese pockets thus far.

Riley helped me with rolling out the pita discs.

Frozen Banana Whip

The first time we tried this, we only had a blender handy and the results did not resemble all the pins you see of this recipe on Pinterest and such places.

Since that time, I finally replaced my old food processor. So we gave the recipe another go.

Ingredients:

Bananas~ sliced into 'medallions'

>>For ease of use, we lined plates with the banana slices and covered them with wax paper. This allowed for stacking the plates due to limited space in the freezer. <<

Once bananas are frozen, pulse in a food processor until creamy. We neglected to make this recipe the day we intended, so the bananas were frozen pretty solid. It took a little extra scraping down the sides of the processor for everything to mesh together.

Serve immediately. Delaying too long will not lead to melting as with ice cream, but it will lead to more of a mashed banana treat than a frozen one.

Personally, I am a fan of banana ice cream. When I used to work at an ice cream scooping place, my favorite thing was to crush Reese Cups into a scoop of banana. As children, we used to get frozen, chocolate covered bananas a lot. So, we topped our 'sundae' with a mix of those flavors- peanut butter and chocolate.

Riley insisted on sprinkles of course.

If you are a banana split fan, this whip may be equally as tasty with strawberry or pineapple topping- or both!

Browned Butter Brownie Bullet Bites (B5 Shots)

As I was looking for a quick, easy recipe for Sweet Potato Bread using baby food sweet potatoes, I came across this recipe. Now, between trying several recipes on this one blog and the usual course of meals in the past week,  I am down to one last half stick of butter (down from 10), but it has definitely been worth it. 

The recipe I used:

BROWNED BUTTER TOFFEE BROWNIE BULLET BITES

Makes 36 bites 

•  1 2/3 cups sugar 
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter 
• 1/4 cup water 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
•  1 1/3 cups flour 
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder 
• 1 cup toffee bits 

I had no toffee bits, so we had brownie bites... decadent "you-only-need-one-every-once-in-a-while" brownie bites.

Again, I substituted half the sugar with brown. 

Photos of the steps: 

(Yes, I could have taken more photos, but I was too busy minding the butter- it is pure heaven when browned, not so much when burnt...in fact, burnt butter is quite sad...) 

That one missing brownie is the "hot-out-of-the-oven-quality-control" bite. 

Jiffy Chips

We had salsa, and I thought we had chips, so I had begun to anticipate the part they would play in our mid-day snack.  When I got to the pantry, I discovered what we really had was a bag of crumbs. Ever resourceful, my crew will hold on to a package until they have licked it clean...

The salsa sat forlornly in a bowl beside sour cream and our improvised "Hummus-ish"

What to do? What to do? 

Thankfully, I had purchased the family size pack of tortillas for our menu's "Taco Night" (which is where the remaining salsa and sour cream originated) 

If you ever run out of chips, but have tortillas... it couldn't be easier. 

(and if you don't have tortillas, but you do have flour... there's hope yet.)

JIFFY CHIPS

• Using a pizza cutter, slice tortillas into strips/triangles/abstract art shapes.
•  Spritz with oil... I keep olive oil in a mister, so I used that. 
• Sprinkle with salt & seasoning. (I used dill) 
• Bake appx 10 minutes @ 350 Degrees.
• Polish off that salsa or whip up some Hummus-ish or somethin'                                                                                     

Lemon Dill Hummus-ish

Lemon Dill Hummus-ish

(with white wine)

I didn't have tahini on hand, so this isn't really a traditional hummus. Most of the ingredients were added by sight & feel...so this isn't a traditional recipe, either.

We needed a snack in the house the other day, and the cupboard was about as inspired as Old Mother Hubbard's... so we improvised for both the dip and the chips. And they vanished quickly, so I suppose they fit the bill. Here's what I tossed in the food processor:

One Can of Garbanzo Beans ~rinsed & hulled
Minced Garlic
Lemon Juice
Dill
Sea Salt
Splash of White Wine/ or liquid from can

An /improvised Snack: Hummus-ish & Jiffy Chips

Sweet Potato Bread

The Big Kids had a science project requiring 5 Baby Food Jars (for planting seeds in various conditions). I bought baby food that I knew I could incorporate into our meals and snacking (Bananas make a nice stir in for yogurt, etc) I chose sweet potatoes with a mind towards making bread. This is the recipe I grabbed quick-like off the internet to follow: 

SWEET POTATO BREAD 

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 cups sweet potato puree
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Bake @ 350 Degrees for 60-75 minutes or until "Clean Toothpick Prick" 

I made two substitutions. I halved the sugar between brown & white, using 1/2 c of each. And I used coconut oil in place of canola (because I didn't have canola, I did have coconut) 

Pictures of the process: 

Whatever I bake, I always try to pour/spread a little butter on top while warm.

I would normally share the first loaf and keep the second, but most of our neighbors were away when I made this, so we had two loaves to take us through the week. 

This afforded me the luxury of two toasted slices with my coffee every morning until we ran out. 

Marzipan Cookies

Betty Crocker Marzipan Cookie Recipe 

Once upon a time, in the far away Land of Kentucky, under the floor beams of a Wesleyan church, in a magical place called the Night Kitchen (of Fellowship Hall),  Brother Ben and I worked long into the wee hours making miniature marzipan vegetables.

 Sir Chandler was turning 3 and had requested a "LarryBoy" cake... I'll leave the remaining dots for you to connect :) 

Marzipan VeggieTales & Larry Boy Cake

Marzipan candies call for Almond Paste, but Barren County, KY was barren of this ingredient...amongst many other things. 

So we bought almonds and made a rustic paste of our own. 

In a blender.

Hours of buzzing and blending and mulching and molding later... we had crafted several marzipan VeggieTales. 

It was a LOT of work for little vegetables. 

Sometimes, the experience of making an item is as much the reason for undertaking an endeavor as the anticipated joy of using or eating the item in question.

 In this case, I decided the  decorative nature of marzipan was its only redeeming value. I did not care for the taste. I was not a big fan of almonds in general- whole, crushed or as flavoring. And while it was an experience to be sure, it was not one I was eager to repeat. 

 I chose all future cake decorating projects to exclude a need for tiny marzipan anythings.

Join me now a decade later...

Sir Chandler is now 13,  I have grown to love almonds in all forms... and almond paste is readily available in all the grocery stores I frequent. 

I found this adapted recipe for marzipan cookies in my favorite Betty Crocker cookbook. I have known it was there for a long time... I cannot explain what compelled me to succumb to it yesterday. 

I just did. 

I think it all started with the 'fortune cookies' that we made earlier in the year... I only needed 1 Tbs of almond extract for those. I've been using up the remainder of the bottle ever since. As I was looking for something to make that only used a few ingredients, I noticed the recipe for these mini fruits did not require almond paste- only almond extract. 

The dough recipe is pretty simple.  

Marzipan Cookie Dough

The shaping of the fruit requires a little patience. 

Marzipan Cookie Fruits 

Because we had errands to run and baseball practice and because I didn't have colored sugar and spent even more time making a batch of each color, a great deal of time elapsed from the time I started making the cookies and the time I finished. 

Making colored sugar turns out to be incredibly easy.

  It was with a wry grin that I switched the oven off in the wee hours of the morning... leaving the cookies in the oven to finish and cool til the arrival of a more decent hour. 

"Good Morning, Cookies. I shall eat you with coffee after my nap."

No matter how much some things change, other things never do :) 

**The marzipan cookies spread a little during baking. A longer chill may have prevented this. 

MARZIPAN COOKIES

1 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 c Sugar

2.5 c All Purpose Flour

1 ts almond extract

Food Coloring

Cream butter & sugar

Add Flour & extract

Divide into 3 or 4 parts

Add food coloring

Form fruit shapes

Roll in colored sugar & paint with additional food coloring as desired

Chill 

Bake @ 300 degrees for about 30 minutes~ until set but not browned. 

*The book calls for cloves and cinnamon sticks for the stems and fruit accents- I used pecan slivers for lack of the prior

**Only after dividing the dough did I realize I had accidentally used half the amount of butter called for. To make up for it, I drizzled in coconut oil. This may account for more of the spreading in the oven. 

Cheesy Potatoes (w/Bacon &amp; Onion)

Cheesy Potatoes w/Bacon & Red Onion

• 5-7 Potatoes (we used red) Washed, Peeled, Cut to Fries
• Cheddar Cheese (the more the better, the more varied the sharpness, also the better)
• Half & Half/ Heavy Whipping Cream (about a cup and a half)
• ~Optional: Red Onions, Bacon (about 5 slices cooked & crumbled) 

Preheat Oven to 400º ~Wash, Peel & Cut Potatoes~ Fill 9x11 Greased Baking Dish w/sliced potatoes~Season Well Season Potatoes.

~Optional Steps~ Cook Bacon & Crumble.  Sautee' Onion in bacon drippings. Mix with potatoes. ~

If you do not prefer Bacon or Onions, omit & go straight to covering the potatoes in cream & cheese.

Pour Heavy Whipping Cream/Half & Half enough to engulf potatoes. Cover with Cheese. (I used a combination of half&half & whipping cream & various degrees of sharp cheddar) 

Cover top with greased foil. Bake for apps. 1 hour. When everything looks good enough to eat, remove foil, add more cheese, return to oven for appx. 10 minutes. 

Allow cheese to set up for about 10 minutes before serving.

EAT!