Banana Strudel - A Great Banana Recipes

Here is a Banana Strudel recipes taken from the 'Going Bananas Cookbook' now available on Kindle for only $0.99!! The 'Going Bananas Cookbook' has over 100 great banana recipes, with everything from great banana desserts to savory banana dishes and banana cocktails. Why not try Banana Honey Nut Cake, Banana Beef Soup, or a Banana Melon Cooler? If you love that sweeet banana flavor, or just unusual unique cookbooks, then the 'Going Bananas Cookbook' is a cookbook you won't want to miss.

(And don't forget that bananas are good for you, providing your body with the potassium it needs!)

Banana Strudel

2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg,slightly beaten
2 TBSP. cooking oil
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup butter,melted
1 1/2 cup white bread crumbs,browned in 1/2 cup butter
6-7 bananas mashed
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped finely
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Sift flour with salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add egg and cooking oil. Stir while adding the water gradually to make a soft, sticky dough. Work the dough in the bowl until it comes away from the sides. Turn out of bowl and knead for about 15 minutes. Frequently slap the dough down and work it until it is elastic and silky smooth. It must not stick to the hands or board. Add a little flour if necessary. Form into a ball, set on a clean towel. Let rest for 1 hour in a warm spot, covered with a bowl which has been warmed in hot water.

Warm your rolling pin. While the dough is resting, cover the work surface with a cloth and rub in about 1-2 TBSP flour, brushing off any excess. Then place the ball of dough in the center of the cloth and roll with the warm rolling pin into a sheet 1/8" thick. Lift and turn to prevent sticking to the cloth. Stretch the dough, using floured hands, palm side down under the dough. Work carefully, stretching from the center toward the outside. Don't raise your knuckles too high, make a fist and lift from the wrists only. Work gently and do not puncture the dough. Stretch as thin as possible, moving around the table. It should cover the table & hang slightly over the sides of an oval or rectangle about 36" to 40" long and 30" wide. Trim off the edges, which may be a little thick. Patch any holes by moistening the area around it with a little water and patching it with a thin piece of dough from the trimmings. Let the dough rest and dry to 15 minutes.

Pureé bananas, ¼ cup sugar and vanilla together in blender.

Brush entire surface with melted butter, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. About 3" from on edge of the pastry and running the long way, spread banana mixture and sprinkle walnuts over top, leaving 2" margins each side. Fold 3" end piece of dough over bananas then fold the 2" margins in too. Now lift the corners of the cloth & let the pastry roll up. Stop after each turn, patting filled pastry to keep rolled shape even. Roll until stretched dough is used up. Brush with melted butter & side strudel onto lightly buttered baking sheet, curving it into a U shape.


Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar & serv warm. Pan size 10x15 Serves 10-12

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Bananas

Bananas are the world’s most popular fruit, but did you know that bananas do not actually grow on trees? They are actually the world’s largest herb? Bananas are a fruit that everyone enjoys but they don’t seem to be one that people know a whole lot about.

Bananas grow on a banana plant in clusters that are commonly called a bunch. The true name of a bunch of bananas is called a “hand”, and each of the individual bananas on the hand are called “fingers”. The weight of an average banana is 1approximately 25 grams, which consists of approximately 75% water and 25% of dry matter content. The fleshy inner portion is sweet and delicious and widely enjoyed, but generally the peel or banana skin in not eaten.. The stringy parts of the banana flesh are called ‘phloem bundles’. Bananas contain valuable sources of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and potassium that are healthy and that our bodies require. Many athletes commonly use bananas for energy in their physical health routines.

Bananas are grown in at least 107 countries worldwide, although they were originally native to Southeast Asia and Australia. Bananas, eaten raw in their yellow form and cooked green or red bananas, are the main staple of many African populations. Boiled or baked green bananas or plantains (a starchier version of the banana) can also be found in many Caribbean Island recipes. Bananas can be very versatile. When they are dried, bananas can be eaten as a snack food or they can be ground up and made into flour.

Bananas come in various sizes and colors, including the yellow, purple and red banana. Green bananas that are cooked and enjoyed in Caribbean and African cultures are really the unripe version of the yellow banana. The red banana is generally sweeter than the yellow banana and has a slight raspberry-type flavor. The skin of the red banana is red to purple in color, and has a slightly pinkish flesh. These sweet bananas can be eaten raw, or they can be used to add a wonderful color to various cooked banana dishes.

Bananas are picked green and shipped in an unripe condition due to the fact that ripe bananas are easily damaged when being transported to market. Bananas need careful handling and are easily bruised.

The flower of the banana plant (or the banana blossom or heart) is also often used in the Southeast Asian, Bengali and Indian cuisines, where they serve it raw with dips or cooked in soups and curries. Some cultures also use the tender core of the banana plant’s trunk in several dishes. Bananas can be fried, boiled or steamed and the juice extracted from the core of the plant is often used to treat kidney stones. In various cultures, banana leaves are useful for cooking as a wrapping, for carrying things in, and even as umbrellas (because of their waterproof properties).

With all of the uses of the banana plant and the general good taste, it is no wonder that bananas have become one of the world’s most popular fruits. Where else can one get so much delicious taste and healthy benefits from one source?

One Bowl Fudge Cupcakes

Here is a cupcake recipe you can delight in making. This recipe is included in my cupcake recipe book, 25 Yummy Cupcake Recipes. Read the interesting article on cupcakes below, then try these delicious cupcakes tonight. You family will love you for it!

1 ¾ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup shortening
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Stir flour, salt, baking power, baking soda and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Add room temperature shortening, eggs and ½ cup of the milk. Mix of low speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add (cooled) melted chocolate, vanilla and remaining milk. Beat for 2 more minutes. Scoop batter into cupcake cups filling 2/3 full. Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes (until done when tested with a toothpick). Makes 1 ½ dozen medium sized cupcakes. Frost with chocolate frosting or as desired.

The Newest Sweet Trend - Cupcakes!

Have you been to an event recently and been surprised that instead of a regular cake, you were treated to an elaborate cupcake display? Cupcakes seem to be all the rage nowadays. Cupcakes seem to be the trendy thing to serve at any gathering, from baby showers to weddings, or birthday galas to Super Bowl parties. Cupcakes are easy to eat, full of delicious flavor and exciting eye-catching delights. It seems everyone loves those sweet little concoctions. But, are they really just cute little miniature cakes, or are they a wonderfully flavorful dessert deserving their own title?

The origins of cupcakes are controversial. Some believe that cupcakes were invented by people baking cakes in little teacups, so that the little cakes would not take so long to bake and would cool faster. Others believe that cupcakes were named by the way the ingredients were measured (1 cup of flour, 2 cups of sugar, etc.) Whatever the origin, the cupcake has come down through history as a delightful treat that everyone can enjoy.

Cupcakes are making a surprising reappearance in today’s society and are becoming extremely popular and trendy. They are sweet little treats that are easy to make, satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth and can be made in various eye-catching ways.

Cupcakes can be served as a dessert for an everyday supper, at birthday or special occasion parties, or today can even replace the traditional wedding cake. They are great at baby showers, as Halloween treat give-aways, for Christmas buffet tables, or as a sure money-maker at bake sales and church bazaars. Cupcakes can even be served at masculine events, or at a sports party—like the Superbowl! And, what can be sweeter than a cupcake as an individual Valentine’s Day love offering?

The variety of flavors you can use to create a cupcake are varied and many. You can have delicate white cake cupcakes, velvety chocolate cupcakes, light lemony cupcakes, marble-cake cupcakes or many other combinations of flavors. Cupcakes can even have good-for-you ingredients like applesauce, shredded carrots or zucchini in them to help them stay moist.

Cupcakes are generally frosted as are most cakes, with vanilla, chocolate, orange-flavored, or any other flavor that compliments the small cake underneath. Cupcakes can also sport various toppings, like rainbow or chocolate sprinkles, coconut, miniature chocolate chips, candies, pieces of gumdrops or even can be glazed. You can decorate the tops with faces, create tiny animals or flowers, make them into butterflies or simply place a nut in the centre.

Cupcakes can be used on stands to create a unique display. In today’s world it is not uncommon to see a cupcake display in lieu of a wedding cake. Cupcakes can take a significant role on a dessert table placed on a tiered cake plate at Christmastime. If you line cupcakes up, circling round on a covered board, you can create a ‘caterpillar’ effect for a child’s birthday party. There are many ways cupcakes can be used for special occasions.

You can even have filled cupcakes. Doesn’t a chocolate cupcake filled with sweet vanilla crème sound fantastic? How about a cupcake with a chocolate ‘kiss’ treat or a caramel in the centre?

Cupcakes are easy to eat. They are small enough to eat with your hands, without needing the use of a fork or a spoon. Often they come in their own little ridged paper cup, which helps make them beautiful as well as tasty. The paper cups are often white, but can come in any color—and even sometimes in gold or silver papers for those extra special occasions.

Why not try your hand at making these sweet little cakes tonight? Join the trend and become a cupcake fanatic!

Want to try one of my own cookbooks? 25 Yummy Cupcake Recipes available on Kindle at: 25 Yummy Cupcake Recipes

'Tis the Season for BBQ!

It is no secret that everyone enjoys the warm balmy days of the summer season, and along with that comes the enjoyment of cooking and eating barbeque food. Whether you love vegetarian, chicken, beef, lamb, seafood or pork, all taste great with the added flavour of grilling the food over a slow flame. Whichever your preference, it all tastes even better when you can eat it outdoors!

How did barbeque get its start anyways? Of course, everyone can agree that basic prehistoric self-preservation, derived from hunter-gatherer times, were the first primitive barbeques because they satisfied a basic need for food. But the origin of the word barbeque (no matter how you spell it) is often disputed. The most plausible story suggests that the word "barbecue" is a derivative of the West Indian term "barbacoa," which refers to a method of slow-cooking meat over hot coals. The Oxford English Dictionary tracks the word back to Haiti, while others claim that the word "barbeque" actually comes from the French phrase "barbe a queue", meaning "from head to tail." Another theory suggests that the word "barbecue" comes from a nineteenth century advertisement for a combination whiskey bar, beer hall, pool establishment and purveyor of roast pig, known as the BAR-BEER-CUE-PIG. The foremost theory, though, is that the method of roasting meat over hot coals was picked up from indigenous peoples in the colonial period, and that "barbacoa" became "barbecue" in the period of the early settlers.

It is known that at first the pig was an important food staple in the South. They were low-maintenance and a convenient food source for Southerners. Pigs could be put out to root in the forest and caught and eaten when needed. Although the semi-wild pigs were tough and stringy, barbequing the meat would tenderize it. The traditional Southern barbeque grew out of the celebration of slaughtering time where the neighborhood would be invited to share in the event.

In the nineteenth century, barbecue was firmly established as a highlight at private parties, church picnics and political rallies, where a barbeque was a popular and relatively inexpensive way to lobby for votes. These gatherings also offered an easy way for the classes to mix as barbeque was not a class- specific food. Church barbecues, where a roasted pig supplemented the traditional dishes prepared by the ladies of the congregation, were the evolution of the traditional church picnic in many Southern communities. As the twentieth century progressed, barbecue pits (roadside stands where travelers could buy a cheap barbeque meal) grew and prospered.

The history of barbeque reflects the varied history of the South and can be seen as an emblem of Southern history. For the past seventy-five years, barbecue joints have flourished. Barbeque offers a succulent taste, delicious sauces and that great smoky flavour that become a Southern icon, a symbol that is cherished by Southerners.

Today many believe that barbeque is not just roasting meat quickly over hot coals. That would be considered merely grilling the food. Barbeque should be done in a specific way, slowly cooking the meat over low heat, with the key word being “slowly”. Although barbeque sauce is considered important for flavour in some instances, it is not a necessary requirement to enhance the flavour of the meat.

There are different methods of cooking on the barbeque, namely wood, charcoal or propane. The choice and combination of the type of wood that is burned results in different flavours passed onto the meat being cooked. Favourite common woods include mesquite, hickory, maple, pecan, apple and oak. Coniferous woods should be avoided when barbequing as they contain tar which convey undesirable resins and chemical flavours. It is also important to note that different woods burn at different rates so one should regulate the heat through careful venting.

The method of charcoal barbequing usually consists of setting afire a commercial bag of charcoal briquettes, or alternatively lump charcoal. Many people prefer charcoal over the gas method (or propane method) of barbequing for a more authentic smokey flavour, although this point is disputed in some barbeque communities.

It is believed that gas grills are easier to light, the heat is easier to control and the outcome is more predictable than using the wood or charcoal method of barbequing. The wood smoke flavor can be added to the food cooked on gas grills by soaking wood chips placed in a "smoker box" (a perforated metal box), or a simple perforated foil pouch, under the grilling grate and over the heat. As mentioned, using gas over wood/charcoal as the better way to barbeque is a point of much dispute in the barbeque connoisseur’s world.

Whatever method you use, whichever way you spell the word, barbeque has always been one of the joys in life. Meat seems more succulent, vegetables have more flavour and potatoes are fluffier. It often seems that everything tastes better just by barbequing it. So light up your barbeque today, sit back in your backyard haven, sip on a cool refreshing drink while the barbeque does the cooking, and enjoy!