Happy Wednesday!  Ever just feel that there is one food that is so versatile for any meal?  I think for me it has to be the banana.  Whether it is breakfast, lunch , dinner or dessert - the banana can make you happy.  High in potassium and fiber (9 grams for one), bananas are a no-brainer when it comes to eating your five a day quotient of fruits and veggies.

I was contacted by the folks at Endless Simmer and was asked if I would mind if they featured zesty in a post titled “100 things to do with a banana”.  Of course I said yes and always more than honored when fellow bloggers choose to feature my recipes and posts.  The one that was chosen is my use of banana on the super star toast.  Here is a snap shot of the toast if you never saw it before.

Below are a few more banana recipes that I have feature in the past on zesty.

Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Monkey

Super Star Toast II

Banana Walnut Bread

Triple Decker Peanut Butter Sandwich

There you have a quick summary on the fabulous food called “BANANA“.  Tell me what your favorite ingredient is for anytime throughout the day and feel free to plug your blog if you have one and link to the recipe in the comments.

Have an amazing mid week Wednesday!  It is going to be sunny here… finally.

Take care

zesty

Happy Monday! What a weekend we had…  to say it was a busy weekend would be an understatement but it was so much fun.  Saturday started with a visit to the house, three truck loads of junk to the dump, checking out the temporary driveway (woo hoo!), followed by a “PEI Spud Run for children”.  We entered both turkeys (our kids) as part of the Marathon Weekend.  It was a good time despite the weather which was very cold and rainy.

On to the Food

Earlier in the week we finally made it to the apple orchard.  It was a a great time where the kids loved it and the weather was very nice.  We came home with a big bag of cooking apples (Cortland) and eating apples (MacIntosh).

Here are a couple of shots in the orchard followed by a killer apple pie – compliments of Mama Zesty’s super pie crust recipe.

Topped with some homemade whip cream or even just plain Vanilla ice cream – a great dessert.  Actually I had a slice of this for breakfast…. Do you think that is a bad thing?

Ingredients

• 6 Apples ( Peeled and Sliced)
• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 3/4 Cup Butter
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Tbsp. White Sugar
• 1 Tsp. Nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425 Degrees and Pre grease your pie plate (this one was a 10 inch)
2. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, butter and salt then cut in together.  Once cut in, add the water slowly mixing with a fork.  Do not over mix and do not make it too wet.
3. Cut the dough into two equal parts and then roll out fairly thin.
4. Place the bottom layer of the dough in the pie plate.
5. Add sliced apples sugar and nutmeg ( sprinkled on top.  Add the top crust and cut three steam holes in the middle.  Once the top is in place, use a fork to crimp the edges of the pie to ensure it doesn’t come apart.
6. Brush some milk on the top crust and bake for about 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
7. Remove from heat and let cool.



8. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The big tip here is not to over work the dough.  If you want a flaky crust, keep your paws off as much as possible.  Just add enough water to combine the flour butter mixture and that is it – otherwise it will be stocky and hard to roll out.

On to the Race

As I mentioned on Friday, Mrs. Zesty was running in a half marathon this weekend.  A few people were sending her well wishes and asked for an update so I thought I would fulfill the request.  Overall the weather was nice but it was fairly cool with a stiff breeze.  Janet did extremely well.  Her time was 2:13.46.  I am super proud of her! Me, the kids along with the in-laws provided support every step of the way (via car).  Great Job J!  Mrs. Zesty is below on the right!

Here is a shot of Zesty Jr. and Mrs. Zesty at the Spud Run on Saturday.

Well that was a post somewhat all over the map but I hope you enjoyed it and have a great Monday.  I will be back in the morning for another riveting write up.

Take care

zesty