Going Bananas

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One of my favorite sayings in the kitchen is: "That never goes bad!" I have a long list of things that I'm convinced have an extended shelf life from what popular (or Aaron's) opinion says. However, I have found a few things that I didn't expect to go bad...and did they ever.

Crisco: I hardly ever use it, but I used a bit to melt with chocolate chips last Christmas. It was for the Chocolate-Dipped Cranberry Cookies, and fortunately I stopped dipping before I was finished. Because that was some rancid Crisco, and the chocolate-covered parts were inedible. I ended up cutting them off and eating the non-dipped portions.

Bread mixes: In particular, a pumpkin bread mix from Tastefully Simple. I knew it was old, since the consultant's address was in Rochester (this would make it at LEAST five years old), but I thought I'd try it anyway just to see what'd happen. What happened is that I made of loaf of dust-flavored bread. It didn't really rise, and although technically it may have been edible, you'd have to be pretty hungry to actually consume it.

Wheat germ: Okay, I threw it out before actually testing to see if it'd gone bad. But I looked at the expiration date (something I've been working on...:) and it said, "Best by Sept 2003". As in, SEVEN YEARS AGO. Or 6 and some months if you want to get technical, but regardless, I tossed it.

And WHY, you may ask, was I even looking at the wheat germ? I am not exactly a health-conscious cook (Aaron has been bemoaning my fondness of cooking with butter). But my daughter's favorite dinner is pancakes, and I've been trying some "new" recipes lately, so when I found Banana-Oatmeal Pancakes, I figured I should give it a shot. You know, to earn some brownie points with Miss Priss.

Aaron was skeptical, with good reason - my past experiments with pancakes have not been overly successful. But these were a hit. Not one was left - Leah ate 2 plain (which she also does with normal pancakes - no syrup, no butter, nothing- I don't get it.) and another with peanut butter and syrup. Ben ate his one, Aaron and I had several, and Adam ate at least half of one.

I let Leah mash the banana, and she turned it into liquid. This may have been overdoing it, since you couldn't taste the bananas too much - just a hint, which may have been the goal, I'm not sure.

Anyway, they were great, and here's the recipe for you to try out:

Banana-Oatmeal Pancakes
prep: 10 min cook: 8-10 min yield: 4 servings from Parenting magazine, Oct. 2006

1 1/2 c flour
1/3 c wheat germ
1/3 c quick-cooking oats
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1 ripe banana, peeled & mashed
3 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs canola oil, plus more for the skillet

In a large bowl, stir flour, wheat germ, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add milk, mashed banana, syrup, & 1 Tbs oil and whisk thoroughly. Pour milk mixture over flour mixture and stir until combined. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease with canola oil. Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Flip with spatula when tops bubble and edges look slightly dry. Cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 min per side.