Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
It was 22 years ago when I arrived in Canada and chose Calgary, Alberta to be my home. Leaving my family and friends behind, it was a new adventure for me to be in a new country without knowing anyone. That was the time I looked for a Filipino community paper and never found any, [...]
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BANANAS

Bananas, our “main ingredient” in this issue was born out of fun, inspired by my two high school classmates Marla Carpio and Via Morris. I have the privilege of exchanging information and getting closer with them because of modern social networking communications. And as promised, I will include the winning recipe in our taste bud’s segment and award the “bragging rights” to the recipe preferred by anonymous tasters.

The banana is a very well loved staple, second only to rice, which many Filipinos either add on to a dish or have as a snack. Whether it is prepared boiled, fried, mashed or used as an extender, banana is very versatile and filling. Toss this yellow fruit, sliced or chopped on just about anything and a delightful dish will be born. No wonder this food is the number one choice in many farmers’ daily diets.

The true origin of bananas is found in the region of Malaysia. “Ergo” the Arabic word meaning banana for finger. It is believed that there are currently about 400 different varieties of bananas. The Arabs were successful in trading ivory along with abundant crops of bananas. Arabian slave traders are credited with giving the banana its popular name.

The banana plant is a giant herb and not a tree. Bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the U.S. supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man’s finger. The Spaniards, who saw a similarity to the plane tree that grows in Spain, gave the plant its Spanish name, plantano which we now know as plantain.

History records show that in his campaign in India in 327 BCE, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana, an usual fruit he saw growing on tall trees. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. It was almost three hundred and fifty years later that Americans tasted the first bananas to arrive in their country. Wrapped in tin foil, bananas were sold for 10 cents each at a celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876 to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Bananas and good nutrition go hand in hand. They are great sources of an array of nutrients, with B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, manganese and magnesium. One banana also provides eleven percent of the daily recommended requirement of fiber. The health benefits of eating bananas also include protection from stomach ulcers and promotion of good digestive health. To combat the harsh effects of stomach acids, phytochemicals stimulate cells in the stomach lining to create a thicker mucus barrier. Bananas are also a good source of prebiotics – undigestible sugars which provide the nourishment for probiotics. Probiotics are an essential part of our health, defending the body from harmful microbes and improving nutrient absorption. The nutritional value of a banana also supports good kidney’s health. The antioxidant and phenolic compounds found in bananas is believed to greatly reduces the risk of kidney cancer.

According to the Canada Food Guide, a medium sized banana or half a cup of banana is all it takes to make up one equivalent Food Guide Serving for fresh, frozen fruits or canned vegetables.

***Sources: Canada Health food Guide, About.com., Wikipedia, Atsuite101.com/banana

TASTEBUDS:

Sweet Drink: Chocolate/Banana.Strawberries Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate soya milk

1/2 cup ice

1 banana

1 – 4 ounce strawberry flavoured yougurt

1/2 cup strawberries

2 whole strawberries (garnish)

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Procedure:

1. Pour milk, yougurt, banana and strawberries in the blender and puree.
2. Add ice until finely crushed.
3. Pour in stem glass and garnish.

Yield: Serves 2

Sweet Snack: Banana Bread

(Via Morris’ recipe was compared to Marlo Carpio’s recipe in a very close competition, with the slight edge going to Marla Carpio’s recipe based on being moist and flavourfull because of cinammon/butter. Thanks ladies for having fun and sharing your recipes for this month’s feature.)

Ingredients:

2 cups All purpose or self rising flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 tbsp milk, preferably 2% milk

1 cup sugar

3 ripe bananas

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Procedure

Melt butter and pour into mixing bowl.
Stir in sugar, eggs and bananas (in that order).
Add flour & ground cinnamon to banana mixture gradually.
Pour batter into well-greased loaf pans (2) or a 9×13-inch cake pan. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes.
Bread is done when toothpick inserted in thickest part comes out clean.

Yield 8-10 servings

Savoury Entree: Chicken Pochero

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken

1 tbsps. patis (fish sauce)

1/2 cup gingerale/sprite

3 Tbsps vegetable oil

2 small potatoes, quartered

2 medium size bananas ( saba/plantain) cut 2” diagonally

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup catsup

2 sticks of pepperoni or chorizo

1 tsp whole peppercorns

1/2 cup water

1 can pork and beans

1/2 small cabbage

4 heads of bokchoy, washed and separated

Procedure:
Cut chicken into 2” cubes and marinate in patis and gingerale for 30 minutes.
Bake @ 375F or until golden brown. Set aside
Heat oil in a medium size skillet and fry potatoes and bananas . Set aside
In the same skillet, saute onion and garlic. Add chicken, pepperoni and catsup. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add pork and beans, water and simmer for another minute.
Remove lid, then add vegetables and simmer for 1 minute.

Yield

Sweet Dessert : Turon Supreme

Ingredients:

3 medium ripe bananas, preferably saba or 2 small plantains

12 small spring roll wrappers, separated and covered with clean damp cloth

1 cup jackfruit, cut lengthwise

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup vegetable oil

Sauce:

1/2 pineapple chunks

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup sugar

Procedure:
Bring sugar and pineapple juice to a boil in a small sauce pan until thickened. Add pineapple chunks and simmer for 2 minutes. Set aside
Pre-heat oil in deep pan.
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl
Cut bananas into quarter. Remove each quarter from peel and roll over sugar/ cinnamon mix.
On a flat board, lay wrapper, add jackfruit and banana. Roll in to stick securing both ends are properly tucked.
Fry wrapped bananas in pre-heated oil until golden brown.
Drain excess oil from fried turon by transferring it to containers with paper towel.
Arrange turon in a platter and pour sauce over.
Serve immediately

Yield: 12 servings

Sweet Dessert: Monkey Business

Ingredients:

3 bananas, latundan variety

3 pieces strawberries, sliced

3 tsps chocolate spread *nutella or crunchy peanut butter

3 tsps low fat whip toppings

chocolate syrup

Procedure:
Cut banana lengthwise and put chocolate spread on each side and place at the center of the plate
On each side of the banana, arrange 1 piece of sliced strawberries.
Scoop 1 teaspoon of whip topping and put in middle of banana/strawberries
Drizzle chocolate syrup from one tip to the end.
Serve immediately

Yield: 3 servings

BANANAS

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