Banana Cream Pie

I admit it, I get a big kick out of making a recipe from food I've grown. Which in my case usually means herbs.

I have a collection of herbs that I grow and harvest and use pretty much year round. I grow them in containers in my very spacious backyard, all seven feet wide of it.

However there is one herb I don't grow in pots, this herb grows in the ground and when I get to harvest its' fruit I get really excited.

I'm taking bananas.

They are an herb, technically. Although most people think they're a fruit. And we're both right.

Bananas

I got so excited when I saw this bunch on the plant. I went and visited

them almost daily, took lots and lots and lots of pictures.

Then came harvest time.

Bananas with the flower still attached

And the waiting began.

It didn't take long though, a couple of days and we were eating BANANAS, which we'd actually grown.

Fingerling Bananas

Now came the conundrum.

We ate a bunch fresh, but then got invited out for dinner at a friends and were asked to bring a dessert.

I knew what I was going to make, a Banana Cream Pie.

And it was good.

1 pre-baked pie shell

Pre-bake the pie shell, I made my own, (I used my own recipe)

Mix the cornstarch with a little of the cold milk, about 1/4 cup or so, set aside. Whisk the eggs together, just a little, set aside.

Heat the milk in the microwave, until it's almost boiling. Pour into a pot on the stove to finish making the custard, whisk in the cornstarch mixture, then continue to heat until it comes to a boil, whisking all the time. It will thicken up a little. Pull it off the burner while you do the next step, this helps to keep you from scorching the milk mixture. Next temper the eggs by pouring a little of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly, add a touch more, then pour this tempered egg mixture into the hot milk, and place the pot back on the burner, and whisking it while continuing to let it cook and thicken. (if you don't do it right, you end up with scrambled eggs, not what you want). Just a couple of minutes will do it. At this point you can put it through a sieve just in case there a little bits of egg white in it. This just makes it smooth. Put into a bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap on top, pressing it onto the surface of the custard. This prevents a 'skin' forming on top as it cools. And put it in the fridge to finish cooling.

Next up, assemble the pie.

Spoon a layer of custard in the bottom of the cooked pie shell, then cut up a couple of the bananas into slices,

Custard layer with Bananas

and place on top of the custard.

Last layer of bananas on top of custard

Add more custard on top, another layer of bananas and the rest of the custard on top of that.

Then you can have fun. Decorate it with some fresh whipped cream,

Decorated Banana Cream Pie

or do as I did that day, I put a piece of plastic wrap on top and took it with me. I served with Cool Whip by request, and let everyone top it themselves.

And it was sooo good.

Nothing like growing,

picking,

ripening your own bananas.

Nothing...