Well, I'm done with my experiments in canning bananas! I made the fruit chutney from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I only did that one because it used candied peel and dried apricots, both of which I had languishing on my shelves. It was a lot of work because it had a LOT of ingredients, and frankly I wasn't impressed. With so many ingredients--bananas, apples, apricots, prunes, dates, peel, onions, corriander, allspice, garlic, brown sugar, cider vinegar, mustard, etc.--nothing stands out and all I can taste is the brown sugar and vinegar, IMHO. I dunno, maybe it will age better. Here's the end results The banana jam was another story. It proved to be a pain but well worth it. The reason it was a pain was because I could not find Fruit Fresh anywhere, and I shopped around for hours at all the local grocery stores and the hardware store where they carry canning items and the marts. I could not even find powdered ascorbic acid/vit. c. So I measured what seemed like 1 tsp. vitamin c tablets from home and dissolved them in 3 TBLSP lemon juice and then ground them up. I hope that's enough to make the recipe safe. The recipe came from the Sure Jell Web site so I figure it is safe. The jam tastes AWESOME, will make great presents and is worth making just to eat with a spoon! I didn't add the walnuts, and added 2 TBLSP rum. I linked to the recipe (same as the one Melly linked, just different Web site) and heres' a photo of the finished product: Not even enough left to freeze for muffins or bread, but I tend to accumulate those just from getting bananas to eat every week. They are one of the few fruits I can afford in the winter. Here is a link that might be useful: Sure Jell Banana Nut Bread Butter

Hi there! I just came across this cooking forum as I'm usually spending free time browsing the gardening forums. Anyway I seen you are looking for somthing to do your old bananas and thought you might like to try this one. Kids and DH like it just as much or even better than my Pumpkin Roll. Banana Roll: 3 eggs 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla 3/4 cup flour 2/3 cup mashed bananas 1 tsp. banana flavoring mix all ingredients together until well blended Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese softened 1 cup powdered sugar 3/4 tsp. vanilla 2 tbls. butter beat together until fluffy Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray and cover with a sheet of parchment paper leaving enough of an edge to grasp. Pour batter into pan and spread out evenly to all sides. At this point you may sprinkle with finely chopped nuts, totally optional. Bake @ 375 for 15 min. Remove from oven and turn upside down on a clean kitchen toewl dusted with powdered sugar. Carefully remove paper and roll up lengthwise. Let set until cool to the touch. When cake is cool, unroll and remove towel. Spread filling to the edges and reroll. Wrap in more parchment paper and then aluminum foil and chill overnight. Cut cake into desired size slices to serve.

Naturally, baking time would have to be longer, but I don't see why it wouldn't work either. If you try it, do let us know how it turns out.

Best Ever Eggless Banana Oatmeal Muffins These have to be the best banana muffins I've tasted! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and tweaked it to make it egg-free and low-fat. These muffins taste best fresh from the oven, and also are the perfect, healthy way to start your day! 30 minutes (10 min prep, 20 min cooking) 6 muffins 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/8 cup skim milk or soy milk 1/8 cup applesauce 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup mashed bananas 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). 2 In a bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. 3 In another large bowl, mix together milk, applesauce, and vanilla. 4 Add the mashed bananas, and combine thoroughly. 5 Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. 6 Lightly grease and dust 6 muffin cups (or line with paper bake cups), and divide the batter among them. 7 Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 muffins Calories 166 Calories from Fat 11 Amount Per Serving %RDA Total Fat 1.2g 2% Saturated Fat 0.2g 1% Polyunsat. Fat 0.4g Monounsat. Fat 0.3g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 278mg 12% Potassium 187mg 5% Total Carbohydrate 34.9g 12% Dietary Fiber 2.2g 9% Protein 4.6g 9%