No more consternation over whether to turn those brown bananas into banana bread or just throw them away. Save the bread for comfort food in the winter...Thanks to one of my daughters, I have a better plan.
Do you love ice cream? Hate what's in the stuff found at the grocery store? (Like...believe it or not...your vanilla flavored may contain BEAVER ANAL GLANDS. Check out the Jamie Oliver video from the Tonight Show below for more about that.)
Maybe you like making your own...except for the time it takes, the ingredients that must be gathered, and...ugh...clean up?
Well, if you like bananas, I have something you will likely love. Banana ice cream...and since I'm the Nana and it just fits so well...around here, it's "Nana Cream". It's made of 'yukky' brown bananas. And if you want to keep it to a single ingredient, the more brown or black, the better, because that guarantees sweetness. But if it's not quite sweet enough for your tastes, add a little honey or even better, real maple syrup, and bring the ingredient total up to a whoppin' two.
Here's how.
Get a bunch of bananas from the store. The browner they are when bought, the faster the whole process. To speed things along, put them in the fridge. (You knew that bananas brown in the fridge, right?)
When they're good and brown...probably about 2 days, peel them, slice them into 1 or 2 inch slices, then put them in the freezer. When they're good and frozen and you're ready with your processor out, take them from the freezer and...
...Process. Be Patient...It won't look like anything good is happening for several minutes. Then, around minute five or so, the transformation will begin and you'll see it turn into cream.
When it's good and creamy, taste it. If you want it sweeter, add a tablespoon of honey or other sweetener (*See first comment below), or more if you like, and process a few seconds longer.
'Nana-Cream' may be eaten as-is (like soft-serve) or if a more 'scoop-able' version is desired, it may be poured into a suitable container, covered well, and placed back into the freezer to harden.
Serve alone or with: melted peanut butter, chocolate syrup, both of the latter. Or with crumbled spice or oatmeal cookies on top... OR... Take two large oatmeal cookies, coat bottoms thinly w/peanut butter and put about a tablespoon of 'Nana-Cream' between them. Freeze again until the cream has hardened.
In short, this is every bit as versatile as any other ice cream. It's ease, tastiness, appropriate-for-the-season coldness, economy and most of all, lack of extra ingredients, (no glands of any kind here), are what makes this my Summer of 2012 Favorite Treat.
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