For as long as I can remember there have always been Bananas in my freezer. My Mom, Grandma, Aunts, Sisters, Cousins, Great Grandma, Great Great Grandma always had damned bananas in their freezer. I don’t think I ever saw any of them actually use them. It was just the thing you were taught to do. When your bananas go brown you stick them in the freezer. Most obviously with the good intention of making banana bread. My Grandmother had a killer recipe for banana bread and would actually make it. I never saw her actually pull the bananas out of the freezer but man did that banana bread taste good. Yet still after making it you’d open the freezer and out would fall a dozen frozen bananas on the floor.
By way of habit and learned behavior I have subsequently always kept skin on charcoal brown bananas in my freezer. I probably use them more than my Mom did and dare I say more than my Grandmother. But WHY oh why do we keep so many bananas in our freezer? It started to eat at me. Silly I know, but I started to think about it and it’s like everything else in our life. We collect things. We’re pack rats. Our Grandmother’s and Great Grandmothers were from the rationing and depression and war era. Was there ever a shortage of bananas? I don’t know. There certainly never was in my family, at least not brown frozen ones. So it bugged me and I decided to do something about it. I’m gonna use those damned bananas if it kills me. I started making banana bread and giving it out to my neighbors and friends. I’m always looking for banana recipes. My sister gave me a tip that never occurred to me. She said to peel the bananas and cut them up first and put them into a ziplock. I thought that was genius. I did it once and missed the brown bananas in my freezer and never did it again. Am I too young to be old-fashioned? I just am. I’m a creature of habit.
It started to occur to me that there was some sort of deeper meaning to all of this. Maybe I think too much, but it’s like cleaning out your life. If you put bananas in your freezer, use the damned things. Clutter is and has always been apart of my life. I’m not exactly a hoarder, but I’ll keep things because I’m afraid I’ll need them. Things, things, things. It all has got to stop! So I’m cleaning out my freezer and my drawers and my closets and I’m breaking the cycle. I’ll still keep bananas in my freezer. I may not cut them up, but I will use the damned things if it kills me.

So here I am with you. I want to introduce you to Bananas In My Freezer. It’s my way of cleaning out my life. I’ll share with you old family recipes and newly discovered successful ones as well.
There’s a lot of heritage in my family because basically I’m a mutt. So with that you’ll get a lot of where my family comes from. Places like Scotland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Ireland, Germany, England, Norway, and America all the way back to the 16th century. Also recipes from growing up in Los Angeles. I’m obsessed with Mexican food, both Americanized and authentic. I had an Italian landlady who used to cook for me once a week, so you’ll get some of that. Now I live next door to an Italian family that I love to drag recipes out of. They’re a brother & sister who live in a top and bottom duplex and they fight like cats and dogs everyday. I mean full-blown knock down drag out cuss fests. When they really get mad they start cursing in Italian. I start to day dream that I’m actually living in Italy or Brooklyn.
I’m a huge comfort and soul food fan so you’ll get a lot of that as well.
I’m fascinated with confectionary & baking. I especially love to make outrageous cakes & decorated sugar cookies.

I’m also pretty crafty. I love to paint & make creative useful things. I’d like to share that with you as well.
So I hope you’ll join me & enjoy it as much as I do.
Food’s a wonderful thing. It brings people together and it melts so many cultures and topics together that I think it changes the world in some way.
Thanks for stopping by Bananas In My Freezer.