Monday, January 18, 2010

When Bananas Go Rogue


A highlight for the Midwinter conference for me was stopping by the Sisters In Crime NE booth. There I got to talk to Rosemary Harris and other favorite mystery authors. Rosemary gave me a bag with Deadhead on it - the title of her new book. Can't wait to see that book. Plus - she gave me three fabulous vintage cookbooks! This one is from 1942 on Bananas. I don't know if the drawings,the recipes, or the text are my favorite sections, but check out that drawing! I passed this around at my meetings and a friend took a photo of that spanking drawing and sent it on Twitter.

The drawing goes with Banana Cream Whip and - wait for it - Banana PRUNE Whip! Gross. I'll put that first recipe here in a minute, but look at the photos of people. These are apparently people who could benefit from bananas. I love the one in the bottom right entitled "Old Folks." Nice.
I will spend at least a week on this one, folks, as this is only the beginning of the nice features of this one. I can't thank Rosemary enough.
Banana Cream Whip (You don't have to spank your milk containers, though.)
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
Mix together bananas, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Fold in whipped cream. Chill. Serve within 1 hour. Four to six servings.

I have a lot to write about that fantastic conference and the awards announced this morning from ALA: www.ala.org/yma - but first a big congratulations to my editor friend David Gale and author Rick Yancey for MONSTRUMOLOGIST - taking a Printz Honor!! That book is fabulous for teens - and adults!
(But don't eat while you read it...)

6 comments:

Rosemary Harris said...

Fun illustrations... bananas turn to crime! Beat eggs and milk!

It's a wonder we all survived given the things our mothers fed us. Or maybe we're all a little too careful these days.I seem to remember Cheese Whiz in the fridge when I was little and I survived. Do they still make that?

Amy said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheez_Whiz
Yes, Rosemary - Cheez Whiz is still popular. I've seen a lot scarier in these books...

Sarah said...

This may have been my favorite thing I read while at conference. Those naughty bananas!! As far as photos, please please post the bananas wrapped in ham. Ugh. Thanks for sharing!

Janice said...

Oh boy,that's a worrying trend when those bananas go bananas lol! Bet the cream whip is really good.

Linda said...

Love your blog and this is just one of the many reasons--you always make me laugh!

These cookbooks make me realize how "vintage" I have become--vintage being a preferable word to OLD--and you are rapidly making me want to start a collection of my own (some of the recipes I remember as a child--and yes,I remember Cheez Whiz LOL)

Dawn of the Read said...

The only thing that could make this blog more enjoyable for me, is if you cooked the recipes and posted photos of the results more often! Action :)