Frugal Food: Look after the pennies ......

..... and the £s will look after themselves, so they say.

Well, I suspect this blog will have lots to say about those little things, those small changes, as tiny actions can build to big results.  By being aware of the details, hopefully I can be less frivolous.

Here's the first of those small things.

We always have bananas in the fruit bowl and often, particularly in the warmer weather, they get over-ripe before we've had a chance to eat them.  I usually then make a banana loaf to use them up but recently I've been popping them in the freezer and vaguely thinking I'll use them in milkshake or something.  The supply was starting to get a bit out of hand so I had a go at using the frozen version in a banana loaf.

They look very unappetising once defrosted, don't they! 

As well as bananas tucked away in the freezer, I also have a small supply of frozen cubes of milk.  I had some milk left in a bottle just before we were going away so thought I'd freeze it rather than tipping it down the drain.  

One cube equals two tablespoons, which was just what I needed for this recipe.  

Well, the loaf tasted just fine (if a little overcooked - ooops!) so I shall definitely be using frozen bananas again.  That means I can bake the loaf at my convenience rather than when guilted into it by the sight of the fruit bowl!

There are more bananas in my freezer.  Any recipe suggestions for using them up gratefully received!

Here's the Mary Berry recipe I used:

100g butter, softened

175g caster sugar

2 eggs

225g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

Lightly grease 900g / 2lb loaf tin and line with non-stick parchment paper.

Oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / gas mark 4.

Measure all ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat for two minutes until well blended. 

Spoon mixture into preapred tin and level the surface.

Bake for about one hour, until well risen and golden brown.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen with a small palette knife and turn the cake out.  

Remove lining paper and leave on a wire rack to cool completely,

Eat!