Makin' Banana Pancakes (and also Banana Bread)

Don't you just love it when you find an error on an already public poster?  The only thing worse is seeing a blatant and simple Spanish mistake in an email to the country director... will this ever end?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've recently formed a women's baking and business group and this past week we had our second delicious class, this time making banana pancakes and bread with a few of the bananas that are grown in incredible quantities around here.  

Always eager to learn a new way to cook an old favorite, the women had been asking for this class for awhile now, and even though attendance was a little lower than last time, I'm so glad we finally got to do it.  

 Eager taste testers

We used a campo-friendly version that substituted oil for butter and powdered milk for the fresh stuff and then we even threw in a few cacao nibs and shredded coconut at the end (both local and essentially free ingredients for them).  Not only did it taste delicious, but we also had enough batter to make 1 loaf, 6 muffins AND banana pancakes.  They liked the variety and I liked the excuse to keep snacking on warm moist banana dulces.  

A big part of the class is figuring out exactly how much the ingredients cost and then how much profit could be made if we were to sell x number of batches.  Sometimes we round the numbers a little bit and they're not always encouraged by seeing a potential profit of less than $5, but as I tell them, thats $5 more than they had before AND they get to eat the leftovers.  Sure seems like a win to me.  

Campo Banana Bread

3 Very ripe bananas

3/4 Cup Milk (can be powdered)

1/2 Cup Oil

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

2 Eggs

1 Cup sugar

2 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Mash the bananas and blend all wet ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients and then combine with wet ingredients.  Pour into a greased pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife can be inserted and removed without any batter on it.  Enjoy!

We Made Our Cake and Ate it Too

It didn't take long for my community members to learn of my ridiculous baking addiction, and soon afterwards they were eagerly inviting me into their homes for baking lessons. At first, I just considered the afternoons a great way to break the ice and get to know my new neighbors, but I soon realized that their curiosity to learn made for a great potential project. 

Eager to get to work on this promising (and delicious) project, I made signs to hang around town and invited previous bakers to more formal lessons. And that's how, slowly but surely, our informal home classes have slowly morphed into a community baking group that spends each session baking, taste testing, and analyzing the costs and potential cost cutters. 

Instead of starting with something they had never even had before, like peanut butter cookies or apple pie, I wanted to focus on things they already spend money on and could therefore save by making it themselves. For my community, there was no question that would be birthday cakes. On birthdays and special occasions, they not only pay for the cake itself ($10-30), but also for transportation to get to a city that sells these cakes. 

Wanting to encourage them to explore their options, we made two cakes- one from scratch and one from a box, and then frosted them with either canned frosting or a homemade concoction. After the baking was done, we had a blast experimenting with food coloring and practicing writing things like "Feliz Cumpleaños" on a plastic plate. 

We baked the cakes using the pot within a pan method and learned that a small hole in the lid will lead to escaping air and a cake that looks a little like a volcano.  Thankfully, it still tasted pretty good. 

They learned that they can save quite a bit of money by making their own cakes, and have even put to practice what we learned by baking while I was out of town! 

Needless to say, we're excited for the next class. 

How to Bake Over a Fire (or Stovetop)

Anybody who knows me knows that I have a seemingly insatiable sweet tooth and a love for baking. When faced with both no oven and no locally available sweets, I knew I had to look outside the box to satisfy my cravings. Thanks to our Peace Corps Panama cookbook, I learned how to bake over a stove or open fire. After several months and countless recipes, I have to say I'm surprisingly pleased at how well this little setup works. 

This method is great for both campers and dorm or apartment living that comes without an oven. All you need is a large, lidded pot, a clean and empty tuna can (or similar item), and a baking pan than can fit inside your pot. 

Place the can inside your pot, the baking pan on top of the can, and your lid on top, and "bake" over a low flame until your baked goods are done. Since you really can't control temperature too much, you'll need to be the judge here and do your best with the flame you have. The cooking time may sound a little complicated, but by keeping a frequent eye on things, I've never had an issue. 

Ta-da!  And now you have a lovely cake- no oven required.

Good luck and enjoy your delicious, fresh baked treats!