Saturday, August 18, 2007

Banana republic

Since both my family and my husband's live out of town, and we come from different states, when we visit family we like to surprise each other with little trips to the countryside to share a different part of our corner. This time my husband took me to see a banana plantation on the hills. All you see on first picture are banana trees, even going to the top of the hill and, if you enlarge, you will see the houses so small compared to the plantation. We look forward to these trips, the kids stay home with their grandparents and we are able to enjoy each other's company and stories.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots! I love to see things like this that are so different from what I see every day. Thanks for the picture tour.

Hope all is well with you!

Susie said...

Great pictures Cris! Think of all the banana bread you could make with those!!
:)

kenju said...

I agree with Mike!

Anonymous said...

That is just too fun. When I went to Hawaii many, many years ago I got to see these on a plantation we went to...Your pictures are much more beautiful.

Thanks so much for sharing.
Hugs,
Connie

Paula said...

Very cool! We only see banana's at the grocery store in this part of the world. Thanks for taking us along!

Tammy said...

Love it! The only time I saw banana trees and other scenery like this was in Hawaii...we took the Dole tour- to see bananas and coffee beans actually growing on trees...amazing to this Oregon gal! ;)

Anonymous said...

...wonderful pictures Cris.
We only see banana trees during our vacation on tropical islands like Tammy wrote in her post.
In our supermarkets I can purchase bananas from South America and Mexico. They are mostly green, ripen in the kitchen quite quickly..not my favorite fruit.

Cláudia said...

Cris, I've just loved the pictures, the Brazilian scenes are really beautiful. But, as guil_rez said, we also have the same problem:our bananas which we buy at supermarkets, are sometimes to green, and sometimes to ripe. Because our country is so big and the production are big, but the better ones are exported to other countries. Fortunately, here they are still delicious in spite of that...

sonia a. mascaro said...

Ótimas fotos, Cris! Bananeiras são muito lindas e fotogênicas!

Espero que vocês tenham aproveitado bem a viagem!
Beijos!

Anonymous said...

What a tempting post.....when we get bananas here in Norway they have been picked when they were still green and hard and have travelled around half the world. The taste is really not as good as when you get them fresh from the trees.

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

So why did the Mayor want the bridge gone? Politics, of course. The bridge was getting old and expensive to maintain, yes, but... a replacement bridge was built nearby in 1996 and was named after the late Evelyn Moakley, wife of US Representative J. Joseph Moakley. Moakley wanted the old bridge torn down so as not to obscure or detract from the new span... (!?) ...But the congressman's death in 2001, the increasing number of development proposals for the area, and neighborhood lobbying to save the structure have altered the debate.[*]

And now about this beautiful Banana Republic photos: Wow! Amazing place, so lush... Those bananas aren't coming this way for sure, they are way too yellow and that's too bad because I'd love to be able to taste them. I am sure their taste and texture are far superior to what's available around here.

Stay well.

Connie Peterson said...

Think of all the banana splits you could eat!!!

Beautiful pictures!

I have not "watermarked" my photos because I have not taken the time to do so ... but will (and did do one that my dad requested so he couldn't claim it as his own) sometime after the State Fair.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

and i just finished baking banana bread for our cousin!!! :)

it's so cool to see the other side of the hemisphere through your blog, Cris...loved the pics and every time i see this shade of yellow I will call it "banana yellow"....have a good week!!! :)

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

hey, i think i just realized that you have a food blog too.....just scrolled over to it..and my you can whip up magic with your hands, Cris!!!! beautiful food blog. I am surely gonna try out some of the fare form there and let you know how it turns out!!!....the foodie in me sends hugs across ;)

and here's the banana bread recipe..it's very simple, handed over by a dear blogging friend from Canada ..this recipe has traveled blogs from Canada to US to India to Brazil now...awesome this thing called blogging is, dont u think so ?? :)

hope u like it ..and if u improvise on it, just let me know of the changes to make it better!!! :)

Banana bread

2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup shortening (I use butter)
1 1/3 cup sugar
4-5 ripe bananas, mashed (or thawed)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I often leave this out-you can't taste it anyway)

1 cup raisins and walnut bits (I put half each)

Mix dry ingredients together. In another bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar, then mix in the mashed bananas, eggs and vanilla.
Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture (the batter may be a little wet).
Stir in the raisins or other add-ins. Pour the mixture into the greased baking plate. Bake about 45-60 mins (350 F), or until a skewer comes out clean. The outside usually turns out dark with crispy edges by the time the inside is cooked, so don't take it out too early.

diyadear said...

oh cris.. again u remind me of my homelnd kerala in india thru these pictures.. the plantains and the very pipctures oh.. i must visit brazil some day :)

Cris said...

Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes!!! And Diya, we probably have a lot in common!

Unknown said...

Banana.....wow! that’s my fvt....that’s athlete's food..:)
i love it and as everyone said, its hard to get delicious bananas here as you get there! I have never been to banana plantation yet, but now i can feel it. N yes, I enlarged that pic and that house is so tiny compared to the surrounding.

Geraldo said...

Cris,

Yes, we have bananas! Brazil is the second largest producer, India is the first.
We're so used to them that we don't pay much attention to a banana plantation until someone who sees further, like you, reminds us about the beauty of it. On the other hand, we marvel at the rare site of an apple tree, for example. The comments by your visitors from other countries show how everything is relative...

Anna said...

I love all those bananas....great shot!

Luna und Luzie said...

Wonderful pictures. Great Idea to show us.
I can hardly imagine that someone lives where bananas grow...
I came unfortunately only to Italy and that is far for us. But I enjoyed it.
So I´m happy to know people which shows me the world. Thank you !!!

Kerri said...

As Geraldo says, you see further..to the beauty in everything...and appreciate what it's like to see from a different part of the world. Perhaps because you've lived in another country, like me.
I too loved seeing this wonderful banana plantation....mundane to people in Brazil...fascinating to the rest of us.
Thanks for the lovely photos. Those bananas look delicious. As Brit says, ours travel so far to get here.
I copied the recipe too :) I also have a wonderfully moist recipe which makes 2 loaves.
We're having a heat wave here today, and after a week of cool temps it's a bit hard to take!