Finding a bit of joy in an overripe banana and stuff in the fridge and pantry

When my children were growing up, we didn't consider ourselves "poor" just had "limited means" that meant one salary, five children, a small house, and opting to choose good medical care and private school education for our children. That meant scrimping in lots of other areas.

I carefully planned the food items to have available to maintain a healthy and adequate diet. Included in that diet was a bit of fun eating - cookies, cakes, pies. Most all of which I made at home. Sometimes it was not according to a recipe because the stuff needed just wasn't available or not enough of it. So that is where a bit of improvisation came into play.

The children are gone and in their place are successful, beautiful adults who have families of their own and there are even grand children and great-grands. And this means I have no need, and little desire to cook these goodies. But today......... well.... here is the story.

The things I found in pantry and fridge

I eat a lot of fruit. I like my fruits and veggies. And since we are at war with the coronavirus - CoVid-19, I am staying out of the line of fire by maintaining my shelter in place, stay at home, stay away from folks. That means someone else is bringing me my fruits, etc. Today, the store had NO BANANAS.

It's going to be kind of shallow, and right now it doesn't look real appealing.

I thought well, I can go a few days without bananas. I have other fruits and veggies. And then I remembered that small, very dark brown banana sitting on the shelf in my fridge. And I thought, "Vera, you can't let that banana go to waste! There is a shortage of bananas and that is nutrition!"

So I rummaged through my pantry and discovered I had the following......

• A Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
• A bag of Ocean Spray Cherry flavor Cranberries, dried
• Eggs
• Butter
• Half & Half.

..... and I thought...."Banana Cake! But with just one little banana?" So here is what I did.

Cooked. Turned out. Yes, it is a shallow "cake." But so moist looking.

About (remember this is improvising)  1/2 stick of butter melted, 2 eggs, banana (mashed fine). Melt butter, add mashed banana, add eggs and stir until blended. I didn't want to mess with the mixer so I just used a spatula. Then use about 1/2 the cake mix stirred into the wet stuff; and when about half mixed and some dry mix still visible, add a nice handful of cranberries. Stir thoroughly. Well, it looked too dry at this point, so I added a couple splashes of half and half. Stir until mixed well (not beaten). Then pour into an oiled and sugared loaf pan. Bake 350 F. for 30-35 minutes. 

Yummy! I think it is a success!

I think it is rather tasty, moist, and I feel quite successful. I hope you will find something fun to do as you stay away from the CoVid-19 and find a bit of joy.