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When I was a boy of five or six years old my father would bring a huge bunch of bananas home with him on Monday evenings after his work for sharing out between my siblings and I. There was always a frantic scramble to get the banana with the blue Fyffes sticker on it. This was the prize fruit of the bunch, sweeter and more succulent than all the others, or so we as children believed. And so the cry would go out, “Me, me, me, it’s my turn. He got it last time. It’s my week for the one with the label, “Me, me, me.”
Of course my father was oblivious to my pleas as there were just too many hands reaching to claim the prized banana and too many voices screaming “Me, me, me”. Invariably I would be disappointed as my small arms never had quite the reach of my older siblings.
The Fyffes stickers could be used to adorn school books, pencil cases, bedroom mirrors, even the sides of running shoes or guddies as they were known back then. The more stickers you had the higher up the social ladder you climbed. Though these dizzy heights of esteem and glory could be torn from your grasp In a second if a disgruntled teacher decided that you had defaced a school copy book ,even if the stickers were attached to backing paper that you yourself had bought and meticulously wrapped the book with, ensuring there was no bubbles , creases or turned up corners.
Growing up on a housing estate in the 1960’s give me a much more prosaic childhood recollection of carrots. Most gable end houses in many of the new housing estates that were built in the 1950’s had an extended garden to the side. This area of greenery lent its self to growing herbs and vegetable. Many of the new arrival to these big housing estates came from a rural setting and had been accustom to growing their own vegetables so these large gardens became micro horticultural landscapes teeming with potatoes , onions and carrots.
This tendency towards growing their own veg may also have been a throwback to the Second World War slogan “Dig for Victory” which encouraged people to grow their own food and reduce the reliance on food imports.
The first carrot of the season would break through the soil in a riot of iridescent orange and announce to the world come and get me. This was too great a temptation for delinquent child to ignore, even if that child didn’t like the taste of carrots. It became less about the carrot and more about the thrill of sneaking into the garden like an American commando on all fours and capturing the target then retuning back to base without being caught in the act. The carrot had to be disposed of somehow as I couldn’t bring it home so the first house in our street with no lights on would receive an unexpected gift through their letter box.
Half Half Banana & Corrot Cake
Before we dive into our recipes I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the health benefits both the exotic banana and humble carrot have to offer.
Health benefits of bananas
Bananas are a rich source of nutrients, such as fibre, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6. These nutrients offer various benefits, from supporting digestive and heart health to providing energy.
• produce red blood cells,
• metabolise carbohydrates and fats, turning them into energy,
• metabolise amino acids,
• remove unwanted chemicals from your liver and kidneys, and.
• maintain a healthy nervous system.
Carrots
Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, and contain high amount of fibre. Beta carotene is important for eyesight, skin health, and normal growth. Carrots are a good source of fiber, vitamin C and potassium, as well as vitamin B6, folate, and several minerals including calcium and magnesium.
6 Health Benefits of Carrots
• Carrots Promote Healthy Vision.
• Carrots Balance Your Blood Sugar.
• They're Great for Weight Management.
• Carrots Help With Blood Pressure Regulation.
• Carrots Support Your Immunity.
• They May Boost Brain Health.
Banana Cake Ingredients
3 very ripe medium bananas (around 225g/8oz peeled weight)
3 large free-range eggs
100g/3½oz soft light brown sugar
150ml/5fl oz sunflower oil
275g/9¾oz white self-raising flour
75 g walnuts roughly chopped (I use pumpkin seeds)
50g cranberries
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp baking powder
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking parchment or use a loaf tin liner.
Method
Peel the bananas and mash with a fork. Tip into a large mixing bowl and add the eggs, sugar and oil. Use a fork or whisk to combine.
Add the flour, spice, baking powder, seeds and berries and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold in slices. Spread with butter if you like.
Carrot Cake Ingredients
350 g self raising flour sieved
325 g dark soft brown sugar sieved
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
250 g carrots grated (use the coarse side of the grater)
75 g walnuts roughly chopped (I use pumpkin seeds)
50g cranberries
4 medium eggs
180ml Sunflower or veg oil
4 tablespoons milk
Method
Grate the carrots into a large bowl and add the eggs, sugar, oil, seeds and berries. Use a fork or whisk to combine.
Add the flour, milk and cinnamon powder and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 0ne hour 15 minutes, or until the cake is well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or cold in slices. Spread with butter if you like.
For Half Banana Half Carrot
You will need two half sized loaf tins greased and lined with greaseproof paper. If you only have a large loaf tin then grease and line it with greaseproof paper and make a second lining that takes up half of the tin and create a divider.
Mix approximately the same value of the ingredients from above excluding the milk, banana carrot, cinnamon and mixed spice into a large bowl. Adjust the sugar in the ingredients to approximately 200g, flour about 200g and sunflower oil about 160ml.
Mash HALF the weight of banana and Half the weight of the carrots into two separate blows than evenly share the cake mix into the banana and carrot . Add one teaspoonful of cinnamon powder to the carrot mix and half a teaspoon of mix spice to the banana mix and combine with a vengeance.
Pour the banana and carrot mix into separate tins or in the case of the single tin with a divider pour the mix evenly a little at a time so that one does not breach the divider.
Pop in pre-heated oven 180c. Removing the banana tin after 40 minutes and remove the carrot tin after a further 35 or one hour 15 minutes in total or insert a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clean its cooked.
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