Saba Con Hielo

Another summer treat, now that I have seen some yellowish plantain bananas (thanks to elena!), I have finally made minatamis na saging myself, recipe courtesy of elena. Then since it was a hot day, I thought of turning it into saba con hielo, with the addition of crushed ice, evap milk, and some sugar to taste.

Ahhhh, it brings me back to the Philippines....

KNB: Tropical Plants - Pandan, Banana, Bamboo

I have been wanting to be able to find a place to get pandan, because McCormick pandan flavoring and the canned extract could not really compare to freshly boiled young pandan leaves. I searched the internet until I came upon a forum that led me to ebay. I got pandan from Thailand! I also got some banana plants, not knowing which ones will give me familiar flavors that come closer to those in the Philippines, but I do want to have nice big leaves. I got a hardy bamboo from a different US-based vendor hoping it will be hardy enough to survive our winter here (quite expensive!), and hopefully in about 2-3 years I will be able to harvest shoots and cook them (part of controlling growth in case it gets too invasive). And though it is not real food, I got jasmine as food for my soul. I have been brave to get these tropical plants (except for bamboo, which I am kinda doing a trial-and-error thing with) because my husband has started working on our sunroom (he just finished the decking for our newly installed pool). Last night, after receiving 3 pandan plants in great condition from as far as Thailand, I got excited to order some more tropicals (Ylang-ylang, malunggay, guava, kalamansi plant because mine is not flowering/fruiting, and have placed a bid on sampaguita). I am crossing my fingers that these will all thrive even during winter, and I will try my best to learn how to prune so the trees won't grow taller than 11 feet.

Hopefully, I will have my tropical paradise in the winter.

Minatamis na Saging

Thanks a bunch to elena montaniel for being my guest blogger today! She sent me the link to her slide show for detailed instructions (and mouth-watering photos) of Minatamis na Saging. (How I wish I had access to saba! Anyone knows the English or scientific name of this particular species?)

Ingredients:

2 big Saba bananas sliced crosswise
Few drops of lemon juice
2-3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Topping: (optional)

Slices of Leche Flan
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Condensed milk

(the original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of honey. I didnt have any at that time so I mixed water and brown sugar which worked as well. If honey is used, the bananas will be dark brown in color)

Directions:

1. Fry bananas in butter.Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In a different saucepan, mix the water, brown sugar,lemon juice & vanilla. Simmer. Add the fried bananas. Let simmer for few more minutes.
3. When cooked, remove from pan. Best served when chilled.

Serving suggestion:

1. Place a serving in a dessert plate.
2. Top with slices of leche flan, condensed milk (you can put condensed milk as much as you want) and then cinnamon powder.