Hi Felipe. Very interesting technique for harvesting - I'll have to give it a try. I know the way I did it was unlikely to be the normal way, but well, I'm an engineer not blessed with much muscle=) As for rating - of the two varieties I have harvested so far, Blue Java wins hands down. The fruit is miles better than a grocery store banana. The flavor is more complex, and fruitier without so much "banananess". It is more dense than a grocery store banana, a firmer textured fruit, which I do not find detracts. The skin is thick and easy to peel. The plant is very robust, can make it through my marginal winters and most of the time does not need propping (this time was the exception). I have two other varieties - a dwarf brazilian, which has fruited, but not ripened yet. So no comments yet on its taste. The 3rd variety is a Veinte Cohol. It has the advantage of fruiting very rapidly - it can freeze to the ground, send up a shoot, and have ripened fruit by October. An impressive feat. It is also very short, and was the only variety I could find short enough to fit inside my screen room. The fruit however was not my favorite. I would rate it as not at all desireable as an out of hand eating fruit. The skin is very thin, and hard to separate from the flesh of the fruit. The fruit itself was very soft - which I find unpleasant - seems mushy. The flavor was too tart. Even ripe to the point of mushyness, it was too tart for me. And I really enjoy subacid flavor and tend to like my bananas on the slightly underripe side. However, it is amazing in banana bread! Makes flavorful banana bread that is much lighter in color than normal. Here are a couple pics of the Veinte Cohol: How would you rate the varieties you grow?

I make cream puffs A LOT, :) If they fall, you are not baking them long enough - or you live in an extremely humid area. Here is my method: Boil 1 cup water with 1 stick real butter. Add 1 cup all purpose unbleached flour and stir in until it forms a ball - I use a silicone heat safe spatula. I mash the ball around a bit to make sure all the flour is incorporated. Remove from heat for 10 minutes (set a timer!) I then toss the mixture into my KitchenAid with the paddle attached. I beat one egg in at a time, scrapping down the bowl if needed. Beat each egg in well - 4 eggs in all. I heat my oven to 400º and line my baking sheet with parchment paper. I use a large size cookie scoop (just a bit smaller than an Ice cream scoop) to portion out the dough. I usually get around 15 at that size. I also like to make them in a smaller size using a regular sized cookie scoop. I can get almost 40 at that size. I usually bake them at least 30 minutes. Maybe a bit longer for the large size. Every oven varies - you cannot bake them for an exact time - go off of color and feel. You want them a deep golden brown.

Jenn, since you indicated that you wanted to give a little drizzle of sauce just before serving, I assume that you were going to be the one doing the drizzling. Besides the obvious, you would probably need twice as much sauce if the guests were doing the squeezing. I've seen the containers of frozen puff pastries in a couple of our grocery stores. If you were in Canada I would tell you to check out the Superstore grocery store. ~Ann

So exciting. : ) Love it when someone tries a new trick. Even the right pan makes a difference. I use my medium enameled cast iron. Heated low and slow, then raise the heat a bit adding the first ingredients. It has a white interior so that helps. My stainless heavy bottomed sauce pan works well also. I've made the French gnocchi a number of times and a savory puff. Stuffing with a lobster cream for a holiday meal. (seven fishes) I just watched Martha's video last night for a refresher lesson. Google Martha Stewart cream puffs.