Banana Flower

Frank Knaap, on September 7, said:

Great captured Mary, here (Thailand) they cook them and eat it......never tried. Did you?

Greetings - Frank.

Wil en Ed, on September 7, said:

Hello Mary! Give the flower to Frank, i'll eat the banana! Greetings, Ed.

MaryKnapp, on September 7, said:

They are delicious both ways, Frank. We eat the large starchy ones cooked. They can be eaten green (boiled, or my favorite, fried in 15 cm chunks, then smashed with the fist into a flattened disk, and then fried until the whole thing is crisp. The large ones can also be cooked when fully ripe, and the skin is black or even slightly spotted with mold, baked or fried.

These are the small varieties for eating raw. Unfortunately, they require huge amounts of water and we have lost many bunches because of drought.

Ed now you know how to eat and cook them. You might find them in a market for Caribbean people, if there is such a thing in your town.

I strongly recommend you try the cooked ones, Frank.

Cheers!

Mary

Billy B@rk, on September 7, said:

Lovely colourful composition Mary. The dying leaves add nice contrast. :)

Mira Paskota, on September 7, said:

I think I will join Ed here! ;) And of course I have to agree with Billy, especially about the dying leaves. :)) Nice and colourful Mary!

Best wishes to all

Mira

MaryKnapp, on September 7, said:

I had framed some shots without the brown leaves, Billy but I liked this shot best. Banana trees do have a shaggy, gray, and unkempt look unless you see them in carefully crafted paintings.

Cheers,

Mary

MaryKnapp, on September 7, said:

Very clever, Mira to agree with those two fine gentlemen.

I will add cooked plantains to your menu when you visit.

Cheers!

Mary

Frank Knaap, on September 7, said:

Ok Mary next time I'll try it, yesterday the bamboo was on the menu......delicious!!!

Cheers - Frank.

MaryKnapp, on September 9, said:

Let me know how you like it, Frank! I'm curious about how they cook it in Thailand.

cheers!

Mary

Tony Reid, on September 22, said:

Are we back online?

looks like it

MaryKnapp, on September 22, said:

Yes! At Last!

Amelia Royan, on October 9, said:

Dear Mary, I see you have uploaded some fungi at last ;-)

This is very structural in the thumbnail, but I see it's a banana flower. Now - I have just read your favourite method of cooking them ... smashed with a fist ... mouldy skin ... um ... can I wait until the fruit is set?

Cheers from the old git in Norway x

MaryKnapp, on October 10, said:

It is so much fun to smash them Amelia you cannot imagine.

Sadly, we have lost every single stalk of bananas to drought, They are very thirsty, and we just don't water enough during water restrictions.

I do have some mushroom shots in my camera, will try to download/upload this weekend. This is fall planting season for us, so we are very busy as well as fighting back the vines that grow, seemingly, several feet in a week.

Warm greetings, my dear old git in Norway. I think of you when it's 92 and sweat is stinging my eyes.

cheers!

Mary

Amelia Royan, on October 10, said:

You keep telling me about these mushroom shots Mary .... so I really look forward to seeing them. As for the temperatures ... I cannot imagine how you cope - especially with the garden! I think I'd never get out and take a photo ;-)

Cheers to Miami, Amelia

Hazel Coetzee, on December 3, said:

Oh these are so beautiful to paint, aren't they, Mary! This is a lovely colourful photo. Well done!!

Sadly, we can't grow them anymore, because the baboon troupe comes down foraging from the mountain slopes along the edge of our suburb, and that's the end of the fruit on any trees in the gardens. Before wildfires destroyed a lot of their habitat on the mountain chain a few years back, they never wandered into the neighbouring suburbs, but now they still raid the gardens (and houses if doors/windows are left open) even though their habitat has totally recovered.

Warm greetings, Hazel, Cape Town - South Africa

MaryKnapp, on December 8, said:

I'm fascinated by your tale of the baboon thieves, Hazel! Once they tasted your dooryard fruit, they are hooked. In the US we say, "You can't keep them on the farm after they've seen Paris."

I would be startled beyond belief to find a baboom in my kitchen. I've found a possum, anoles (large green lizards) and a toad or two, but a big animal? Not yet!

Warm greetings,

Mary