BANANA FANA FO ...
As I continue to jot down random 'Grandma' memories for my book, I am always reminded that Grandma Anna was a simple but hard working gal down to the bone. She had many irons in the fire; A project in motion on the dress form in the sewing room, a repair waiting in the pantry/canning room, a garden project underway...etc. She also worked full time, kept an otherwise spotless house and never skimped on meal preparations.
Now, of course you know I am a sucker for vintage aprons, but my other passion is old cookbooks and cook booklets. As I thumb through these, I often wonder to what level of difficulty would Grandma rate these recipes? I find it interesting to see cake recipes in old Farm Journals and such noting 'take one box of store bought cake mix'...really? Not scratch?
Marketing I'm sure over time played a roll, speaking to the busy homemaker and pointing out 'time savers'. Still, I have to giggle when I see Kitchen Tested Favorites that promise your guests will beg you for the recipe ; when the recipe is actually Take one box of strawberry jello, one container of vanilla ice-cream and one package of chocolate cookies crumbled ...and Voila!
I wonder if back then, Grandma would have thought 'Oh my, I must try that'! or like me 'Pfft , really?!'
Simple recipes or not, I love these things.
Despite these swank photos, the entire booklet of Eighty Three Tested Banana Recipes
are just as previously described (pretty much); my favorite has to be the following:
Cornflakes with Bananas
Fill a cereal bowl 1/2 full of cornflakes
Cut 1/2 of a ripe banana on top of this
Serve with heavy cream
Add sugar if desired
Note: Grape Nuts, Shredded Wheat, Bran Flakes may also be served this way
Hope y'all got that. If not, I could probably find the time to do an instruction video for You Tube.
We have Sunshine! I hope you do too!
Photos taken from... 'From the Tropics to your Table' 1926