I know. Everyone's raving about banana soft serve. With temperatures being in the 100s here, my bananas are turning brown and yucky in less than a day. What's the most obvious solution, then?
Freeze the bananas! Naturally, with frozen bananas, I figured it was finally time to give into banana soft serve.
I don't know about you guys, but I chopped this sucker up into small little pieces and then proceeded to blend it up in my Cuisine Art processor. Except, it didn't get all creamy and smooth. It was lumpy and warm and runny. In the time I tried to process the banana, it basically melted and took FOR-EVER to blend up. I figured I'd try to salvage it with some strawberries, but it didn't help a whole lot.
Look how runny and bubbly it is :( Because the consistency was so lackluster, I eventually left it in the freezer to firm up during dinner. Fail #2: I completely forgot about it until bedtime. By then I started whipping up some overnight oats and realized this blend was waaaay too hard for consumption. Fingers crossed, I put it back into the fridge along with my overnight oats, hoping it'd soften up by the morning.
Eventually it did, but the blend reverted back to its soupy texture by the time I was ready to eat. I half-heartedly mixed up my oats and readied a parfait glass for strawberry banana soft serve overnight oats. Topped with blueberries.
Apparently I'm 0-for-2.... I put a bit too much milk in the overnight oats ;) In all, it tasted fine. Just like fruity overnight oats. Nothing special, or life-changing. I was kind of hoping for something like that. Alas, I may have to try again. Any suggestions as to how I can make this a more enjoyable dining experience??
I went out with some co-workers for lunch, since I didn't have to feed Woodstock for lunch. He got his business taken care of at the vet today and as it starting hitting 98º -- yes like the boy band -- after 4 p.m., I had a craving for some kind of icy coffee beverage. Except, when I picked him up and took Woody home, I saw this unhappy little face.
He's so drugged out and groggy, he's done nothing but sleep all day. I'm supposed to keep a close eye on the pup to make sure he doesn't jump on anything or run around all crazy and fast. I knew I couldn't leave him home alone while I walked to Starbucks, so I got creative and made some iced coffee at home.
I put a splash of milk in a glass in the freezer to let it get all icy and chunky, then French pressed up some coffee. The coffee was waaay too strong for my liking in this application, so I added in a spoonful of home-made caramel, compliments of my sister Aimée!
The caramel iced coffee hit the spot! And it worked two-fold in that I got to stay home with the baby while he recovers :)
Dinner awaits me on the table, so I must go tend to it!! :)
I had this problem, too. Try slicing it up into pieces before you freeze it--then it doesn't take so long to blend, and won't turn to soup!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robyn - peel and slice prior to freezing. Also, add your milk product slowly until you get the right consistency (I really think it changes depending on your banana!). It's hard to explain, but as soon as you get it right it's super obvious - the banana totally changes from lumpy to creamy almost like magic! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI hope you sweet puppy feels better soon...and I'm terrible with freezing fruit of any kind, so I will refrain from giving any advice!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! I'm a "new" mom and keep freaking out whenever something happens to him. Esp since this is a boy surgery ;) haha. That said I think it's going well. He just sleeps a lot. I feel bad :-/
ReplyDeleteSent from my iPhone
Your such a good puppy mom staying with Woodstock instead of walking to starbucks! And I have yet to try banana soft serve, but as soon as I'm home and have a mixer I want to try it! Let me know if you figure out a good solution! - Vicky @ vdubb.wordpress.com
ReplyDeleteSorry you had a soft serve fail. When I made mine, I only had it in the freezer for 1-2 hours, so it was easier to work with but still cold. Aww look at little man! I hope he feels better soon!!
ReplyDeleteAww poor Woodstock!
ReplyDeleteCaramel iced coffee sounds perfect right now.
I think you should give the soft serve another try! This time cut the banana before you freeze it and put it in a baggie or tupperware. It won't brown I promise! Then try blending it. You will probably have to move it around with your spatula every now and then. But if you cut it up first, then you won't have to spend time chopping it when it's frozen, because it starts to melt right away! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteSorry your BSS experience was crappy! It definitely takes a few tries to get the hang of it. I think the suggestions you got above are great. :) Mine still turns out a bit clumpy, and I think it depends on the processor and how good it is...
ReplyDeleteAdvice from the master :) haha thanks for helping me out with this issue!! Might just be my processor, it was kind of cheap.
ReplyDeleteHey hon!
ReplyDeleteTwo things:
1) Do not freeze the banana with skin on! You gotta just freeze the peeled banana chunks.
2) I don't personally ever put milk in my BSS. I simply put at least two chopped bananas in the processor, and let her rip. It'll make a terrible noise and you'll think nothing is happening, and then, low and behold, it'll start to turn into ice cream. Trust me on this. It'll be thick and smooth!
HAve fun!
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