cooking with grandma - Today is Banana Cream Pie Day

Today, March 2nd is Banana Cream Pie Day, so, you probably think I'm planning to share a recipe for Banana Cream Pie. Well, I am . . . almost! I am going to share a recipe with you for Banana Ice Cream Pie!!!

But first, some fun information about one of the main ingredients . . . bananas which I found on-line . . . 

• Bananas float in water, as do apples and watermelons.
• Hawaii is the only place in the U.S. where bananas are grown commercially, although at one time they were also grown in southern California and Florida. 
• Some cultures (most notably Japan) use the fiber in the banana plant to make fabric and sometimes even paper.
• The fastest marathon ever run by a competitor dressed as a fruit was 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 20 seconds—recorded at the Barcelona Marathon on March 6, 2011. The runner was Patrick Wightman from the United Kingdom, who dressed as a banana.

Amazing, but true things you may do with banana peels and bananas . . . 

• Thanks to its oil, rubbing the inside of a banana peel on a mosquito bite (or other bug bite) or on poison ivy will help keep it from itching and getting inflamed.
• If you rub the inside of a banana peel on a scrape or burn, it will help the pain go away, keep the swelling down, and keep the wound from becoming infected.
• To whiten teeth naturally, rub the inside of a banana peel on your teeth for about two minutes every night. If you gargle with salt water, this will heighten the effect. Expect results in about two weeks. It works because of the effect of the potassium, magnesium, and manganese in the banana peel.
• Rubbing a banana peel on your forehead can help cure a headache.

Banana statistics . . . 

• More than 100 billion bananas are eaten every year in the world, making them the fourth most popular agricultural product.
• Americans eat an average of 27 pounds of bananas per person every year.
• More than 96 percent of American households buy bananas at least once a month.
• India produces more bananas than any other country on the planet, accounting for about 28 percent of the worldwide crop. (China is number two, with ten percent.)
• A man in India once ate 81 bananas in a half hour.
• More songs have been written about bananas than about any other fruit.

Banana info . . .

• Bananas don’t actually grow on trees—they grow on plants officially classified as an herb (not surprisingly, the world’s largest herb). They’re in the same family as lilies, orchids, and palms.
• Banana plants grow up to 25 feet high, and their leaves can grow to be 9 feet long and 2 feet wide. Their roots can be hundreds of years old.
• Bananas are technically berries.
• Banana plants grow not from seeds but from bulbs.
• A few varieties of wild bananas include bubblegum pink bananas with fuzzy skins, green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet, and bananas which taste like strawberries when they’re cooked.

Historical info about bananas . . . 

• Bananas first appeared in written history in the 6th century B.C.
• Bananas have been depicted in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
• Bananas were probably the first cultivated fruit, and the first banana farms were located in southeast Asia.
• David Evans Strickler invented the banana split in 1904 when he was a 23-year-old employee at the Tassel Pharmacy soda fountain in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The amazing, powerful banana . . .

• Bananas are low in calories and have no fat, sodium, or cholesterol. They contain vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and vitamin B6.
• Research shows that eating bananas may lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as decrease the risk of getting some cancers.
• Bananas are the only fruit which contains the amino acid tryptophan plus vitamin B6. They help your body produce serotonin—a natural substance which alleviates depression.
• Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive (thanks to their potassium content)—but the level of radiation is not high enough to cause harm.

Who knew???!!!

Well, now for the recipe. It is really simple . . .

Ingredients - 1/2 carton of vanilla ice cream, one pint heavy whipping cream, bananas, your choice of pie crust (I would either buy a shortbread cookie crust at the store or make the crust from a traditional lemon bar recipe)

Directions - Partially thaw the ice cream. Whip the heavy cream, fold together and put in your pie crust. Put in the freezer for at least three hours.

Before serving slice bananas, place on top of your pie. If you like . . . and why wouldn't you . . . whip another pint of heavy whipping cream and top your pie with cream!!!

Enjoy!

So, which banana fun fact surprised you the most? I did not know they are actually considered a berry and I did not know they float!