Two banana pancake recipes

Recently, one of my sisters sent me a recipe for a banana pancake. It looked simple enough to make and so I decided to try it. However, as I read through the comments about the recipe, in which one person called it a “banana omelet” instead of a “banana pancake,” I came across an alternative recipe to try for a banana pancake. Since we had extra bananas, I decided to give both recipes a whirl!

The first recipe is the one my sister sent to me. Here is what’s needed for Recipe 1:

1 banana
2 eggs
Cinnamon (as much as desired)

Mash up the banana in a bowl, add the eggs and stir to mix well. Add cinnamon and stir again.

I poured it out on the griddle and cooked them like pancakes.

Here is what’s needed for Recipe 2:

1 banana
1 egg
1 Tbsp. Flour
Cinnamon (as much as desired)

Instructions for this one are the same as for the above recipe. I just mixed them all together one at a time.

I also cooked this one like pancakes on the griddle.

Here they are, ready for tasting:

The result? Recipe 1 was the winner. Both my son and I tasted each recipe. We tried them first plain then with syrup then with Nutella. Even with Nutella, the second recipe was gross. Yuck! The first one was definitely the best. We both gave it a 5. Even my husband liked the first one best. Yay!

Here’s the winner:

I also enjoyed the first recipe plain. It was sweet enough to enjoy without any toppings or anything. The best part is, it kept me full. It was several hours later in the day before I was hungry again, and I only ate 2! I guess it’s another bonus that the first recipe makes more pancakes (8 compared the Recipe 2’s 6).

I am glad we have this new recipe and I’ll be making them again. Yay! (And thanks to my sister Millie for the recipe!)

The recipe project

I said earlier this year that I would NOT become a foodie and that decision still stands. Despite my interest in trying new recipes and gathering together other recipes that I’d like to try sometime, I’m not a foodie. Used to be crazy about cooking, but not so much anymore.

Still, I like to try things. And if a recipe sounds good, then I’ll try it!

That said, I have many recipes for things I’d like to try. But I have quite a few other recipes, too. Some of them are recipes we tried and loved, some of them are family recipes and still others are recipes from friends and family who wanted to share them with me. There’s also a few of my own creations.

That collection of recipes got to be pretty big. That was one problem. Another problem was that they were scattered everywhere – in my drawer, in a box, on the computer or on the Internet as a bookmark. Whenever I wanted a certain recipe, I would have to go hunting for it or get back on the computer to look for it. A third problem was that some of them were not all clear or very legible. In fact, I had to hunt down the original of one recipe because the copy I had was not very clear.

So, yeah. My system wasn’t perfect. It was time to come up with a new system!

The problem was, I could not figure out what kind. How would I organize ALL of these recipes? How can I possibly find the time to do it?

Well, it seems that Life took care of solving the problem. I despaired over this for a long time and then, it was like the answer to my problem was born within. Out of nowhere, I started the process of organizing this ginormous recipe collection. I started gathering the things I needed and started editing/retyping/organizing all of the recipes. That’s what I actually started to do today. I spent some time last week getting a few things I thought I’d need – an 8-subject folder as a temporary storage, a LARGE binder for the final collection and subject dividers – then, today, I took some time working with the recipes themselves. I’d gone through about 80 pages of the recipe collection and I haven’t even made it halfway through all of them yet. But that was as much as I could do today. I still need to go through others in my hard drive and print out a bunch of others which I have bookmarked.

After working on this recipe project today, I realized that the 8-subject folder will not work for me. I am using it temporarily, yes, but there are 12 categories of recipes altogether. So I will definitely need to use the binder. I just have to get my hands on a 3-hole puncher. (I seem to have misplaced mine.)

These are the recipe categories for the final collection:

Breads

Salads

Appetizers & Snacks

Desserts

Main Courses

Breakfast Recipes

Side Dishes

Sauces & Dips

Drinks

Sandwiches & Wraps

Soup & Stew

Seafood

It’s definitely going to be a large collection. I already have one binder filled with recipes but that one is not as organized as this one will be. So I’m looking forward to putting this all together and completing this project. It’s going to take me some time because I can only find time to work on it during the weekends (as I only work on non-writing projects during the weekends) but if I stick with it, we will have yet another binder of recipes to turn to anytime we need them. The bonus is, this time, they will all be found in one place.

The foodie month of May

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Before you chow down on that taco or play those maracas, guess what? Cinco De Mayo is not the only day you get to celebrate good food. Come to find out that May seems to be the month that foodies love most, since it somehow or another became a popular month for all things food! As a matter of fact, May 5th is also known as National Hoagie Day!

The entire month of May is also known as National Hamburger Month. National Hamburger Day is supposed to be on May 28th, though other sources place it in June and December. Well, this being National Hamburger Month, it's only appropriate to celebrate National Hamburger Day on May 28th. Which is what I plan to do. Woot!

And since we're all gonna be eating hamburgers, why not put them on the grill while we're at it? May is also National Barbecue Month. As a fan of barbecued food, I give that two thumbs up! Hooray!

But don't let your taste buds stop there, because there are actually HEALTHY foods you can celebrate eating during the month of May. May is also National Salad Month and National Egg Month! Cobb Salad, anyone?

And after you've had your burger and salad, why not round your meal out with a yummy dessert? May is also National Chocolate Custard Month!

National Raisin Week is from May 1-7th. Hm, that probably explains why I've downed so much Raisin Bran this week.

National Candied Orange Peel Day was on May 4th.

Enjoy your favorite beverage on May 6th, because it's National Beverage Day! Want a suggested beverage? Enjoy a Coca-Cola, because May 8th is Have a Coke Day!

If you're a savvy chef, then grab your cooking tools, because May 7th is National Roast Leg of Lamb Day!

If you're not so savvy, take heart! May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day! So why not grab a pack of chocolate chip cookie dough or whip up a chocolate chip cookie cake to enjoy!

On May 24th, you have a very good excuse to host a party, because that particular date is National Escargot Day!

And to round the "foodie month" out, take the time to enjoy something sweet on May 31st, because it's National Macaroon Day!

Yay, food!