1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream together sugar and shortening in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
3. Mix in the eggs, then add the flour, baking soda and bananas. stir just until it becomes a smooth batter.
4. Grease a loaf pan and pour batter into it. Bake until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean, a little more than an hour.

Makes 1 loaf

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup corn kernels
12 slices bacon
1/4 cup white wine
2 medium bananas, peeled and sliced in half
19 ounces cannellini beans
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash half of the cannellini beans with a fork, then combine all of the beans with the corn and place in the bottom of a casserole dish.
3. Butterfly the chicken breasts and place a banana slice into each. Close the opening and seal with a toothpick if necessary.
4. Season chicken with salt and pepper and lay on top of the corn and beans.
5. Place the bacon slices on top of the chicken and dot the butter around the corn.
6. Pour the wine over top and bake until chicken is cooked through to the center, about half an hour.

Makes 4 servings

3 cups cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ginger puree
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 scallions, chopped
salt and pepper
water

1. Bring water to a boil and steam cauliflower over it until slightly tender. Run under cold water to stop the cooking and to cool.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and add ginger, cumin, coriander, nutmeg and red pepper flakes, stirring until lightly browned.
3. Allow spice mixture to cool and combine with sour cream, vinegar and honey.
4. Season dressing with salt to taste and combine with cauliflower in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
5. Garnish with scallions to serve.

Makes 4 servings

After messing around a bit with Plantains in both savory and sweet dishes, I figured I'd try bananas as well. I prepared an African Banana Chicken for my main entree. Combined with bacon, corn and beans, it was very much like the sum of those ingredients. Every bite contained a mouthful of mushy banana and bacon and although this wasn't entirely repulsing, I can't imagine it winning any culinary awards. I finished it without feeling like I had just punished myself, but it's not something I'll ever consider making again.

The African Cauliflower Salad was a decent accompaniment, being both light and flavorful. I think as a substitute, a sort of curried banana side might've worked better. As it stands I'm not interested in making any curried bananas any time soon though. I like the flavor of honey used to sweeten the curry flavor of the salad, which sort of gives it a flavor reminiscent of Mango Chutney.

For dessert I made a very simple Banana Bread. I wasn't particularly happen about the results because I only had a single ripened banana and tried to cut the recipe into thirds without much success. I ended up with a tiny loaf that had to much baking soda, which further backs up my suspicions of why the Mititei Sausages were so bad.