Beyond Banana Bread

Is it ever possible to buy exactly as many bananas as you need, or should we assume that every week, we're going to either toss brown bananas or make banana bread?

While there's nothing wrong with banana bread now and then (my late Uncle Ben, a skilled baker, made the most superior banana bread I've ever tasted - moist and rich-tasting. He did pass along his recipe to me, but I've lost it, so if any of you have a proven recipe to share, please post it in the Comment section).

When now is not the time for banana bread, follow this simple Parsimonious Gourmet habit: put the entire overripe banana in a Ziploc bag and freeze it. You can keep adding to the bag as you accumulate more bananas.

What, you ask, do I do with a bunch of frozen overripe bananas? Let's say you're making sour milk pancakes. Take a frozen banana, remove the peel and squeeze the pulpy fruit into your batter. The pancakes will be extra nutritious and banana-y. In fact, you can add a frozen banana to any baking; just replace some of the liquid with banana pulp. Craving a smoothie? One frozen banana is the best smoothie base. Just add plain yogurt or milk and some other fruit, if you like. I add a tablespoon of flax seed for its omega 3 & 6 rich benefits and fiber.

If you want to go all out, The Silver Palate has a rich and fattening banana cake flavored with bourbon on page 99 of The Silver Palate Goodtimes Cookbook,Workman Publishing, 1984. Warning: high calorie count and not especially parsimonious, but every now and then.....