Going Bananas...!

*laughs*

Today I missed my oatmeal with bananas, or more appropriately bananas with oatmeal, and kind of seeing bananas everywhere! I seem to never get tired of the banana bounties. This fruit has never ceased to amuse me!

I am in a great mood, so guys, let's talk banana today.

# Banana as food grub:

1. Banana slips:

Mix brown sugar and butter or margarine, half in half. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the consistency of mayonnaise is achieved. Remove from heat and add vanilla essence. Arrange sliced bananas in serving dish, pour sauce over bananas and allow it to cool. Spoon the topping (strawberries, nuts, cherries, chocolate chips......) over banana mixture and chill before serving.

2. Banana lollies:

Peel bananas, stick a Popsicle stick and wrap each in plastic wraps, and then place into the freezer. Take it out after some time, dip in hot chocolate sauce, sprinkle grated nuts, dust icing sugar and refreeze. On a hot day it's a delight to relish!

3. Banana browns:

Cut the bananas into half longitudinally, dip it in corn flour and egg batter, shallow fry it in butter and serve hot with sprinkling icing sugar and nut chips.

(Invent catchy names for the snacks. This would allure the children surely).

4. Useful tips: (my grandmother's)

When using bananas in salads, toss them in lemon juice or pineapple juice to prevent those from browning.

When green bananas are boiled with the skin, prevent the latex on the skin from staining your pots by adding the juice from one-half of a lime into the water.

# Banana as beautifying agent:

The other day when I ran out of the fruit face pack I was baffled as to how to manage the show in the evening. My sister came to my relief. Soon, I found out that mashed bananas are excellent for hydrating our skin. It's undemanding, cheap and versatile. All we have to do is to mash bananas and mix it with honey and apply it on face and neck. In 10-12 minutes we would be done with and a thorough rinsing would ensure the soft and suppleness of the skin. This acts as instant cleanser, nourisher and moisturizer.

Mashed bananas act as excellent hair conditioner as well. Apply and leave it on hair for 20-25 minutes. Rinse with mild shampoo, have a great hair day and get set to steal the show.

# Banana as gardener's delight:

1. Want to attract beautiful butterflies and insects in your garden?

Make small holes in the bananas and just hang it loose on a high platform in your garden. You will see how the beautiful colored winged creatures flock and enhance the beauty of your garden.

Make sure to clean your garden after evening time. Or else the naughty nocturnal scavengers would just have a fun time with their unruly rampant.

2. During winters, sun dry the banana peels till stiff and hard, grind them and preserve the powder in air tight containers. This powder is an excellent fertilizer. You can add it to your soil from time to time, especially if your are having rose plant or cacti.

# Banana as household enhancer:

It's a real snag to clean the leaves which invariably would not go by hoovering alone. The plants look awful and a definite blemish on the home maker. Banana peels work wonders as polishing agent. You can clean the expansive leaves with the fresh peels and bring back the lustre to your indoor plants instantly. I have even tried it to polish small leather goods and I can definitely assure that it would work great for furniture as well.

That was all for today. Let's wind up with a gag.

A man goes to the doctor and he has a banana sticking out of each ear and corn in his nose. He says, "Doc, I don't feel well." The doctor replies "Well, you're not eating right"!

**giggles**