Banana Crumble

Happy Birthday Grow Your Own!!! Grow Your Own is a foodie event, started by Andrea Meyers of Andrea's Recipes to celebrate the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This event is quite close to my heart primarily because I am a trying hard gardener, with no garden, (just pots of soil,) with not-so-green thumbs, but lots of love for anything green growing from the soil. Growing your own food is not only practical, and cost-saving, it ensures that your food is organic and fresh. With the added bonus of exercise and the proud contentment you feel when you serve (and eat) something you have grown yourself!



Such ugly bananas, you say!? Lest you mistake these for rotten ones (they are not!!) These are the real organic plantain bananas!! Many a knowledgeable housewives here in the Philippines would choose these bananas over the "regular" yellow ones. Bananas can only look pretty when they are sprayed with insecticides, so that no insects or birds will touch them. They are also sprayed with preservatives to maintain their deliciously beautiful bright yellow colors. These ugly (reminds me of the ugly duckling) bananas are super sweet and pretty on the inside, not like the bright yellow bananas which are oftentimes bland... which is another example of the common cliche, "Real beauty is not what you see on the outside, but it is what's inside that counts!"

I do not have a banana farm. But my next-door neighbor has. (I think she also has other fruits and plant produce.) Oooh! I'm so blessed! Last year, we just moved in to this new townhouse complex near the children's school. Naturally, most of our neighbors have students studying in the same school. My next-door neighbor, E, has a boy the same age and grade level as my boy! They usually play together and cause troubles together :) When I make the children's snacks, I usually make some too, for E's kids. (She is usually at work when her kids come home from school.) Whenever they have banana harvests, they usually share their bounty with us. Thank you, E!

I also reciprocate by baking her some goodies from the bananas she gave me. This time, I made Banana Crumble.



For the bananas:

1 bunch plantain bananas (around 16- 18 large pieces), sliced
1 C sugar
1 C water

1. Boil water and sugar together in a pot.

2. When the mixture boils, add in the sliced bananas. Boil and simmer until bananas are tender, around 15 minutes.

3. Arrange in a baking pan. (I used a disposable foil pan as I intend to give this as a gift.)




For the crumble:

1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C quick-cooking oats
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl, mix together flour, oats, sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. With a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the softened butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Top over the prepared bananas.

3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until top is lightly browned.

4. Serve warm, topped with ice cream if preferred.






But in my case, I put the nicely golden dessert in a pretty box and sent it immediately to my next-door neighbor...



... and virtually sending this to the First Anniversary edition of Grow Your Own. Please check out Andrea's site after the end of the month for the round-up. To see the previous round-up, please check out the fun read Finny Knits.