We are blessed to be in the countries where they grow wonderful fruit. Pineapples taste like they were meant to, mangoes are sweet and luscious, and bananas have never tasted better. And even then, sometimes the bananas get just a little too ripe for us to fully enjoy. I have been known to toss them overboard, but I have started to put them to good use, as well.

There is always the tried and true banana bread or muffins alternative. The banana bread recipe I have on the boat calls for a full cup of sugar, and invariably tastes too sweet for our preferences. I have cut the sugar down to about half a cup, and the result is more like a normal bread with a lovely banana flavour... and it is great with peanut butter! the only problem with the banana bread is that it takes an hour to bake, which to me is a lot of precious propane for the stove.

This morning I eyeballed the bananas, and decided to do my Dutch pancakes with a twist - I put two mashed bananas into the batter. We had company for breakfast (yes, I used a new recipe with company, but Dave is pretty much family now) and the unanimous consensus was that I had a winner. Add pineapple jam as the topping and you have a tropical breakfast that no one can turn down.

Of course, people in the West Indies have had more time and opportunity to experiment with bananas. When buying bananas, you need to know what you want them for: eating? Well, the "specials or fingers", or the regular or the green eating bananas are an option. To cook with you want plantain or fig bananas (you do NOT want to try these uncooked. Blech!) And if you would like to sample bananas in a way you probably haven't seen before, try the banana ketchup. This may sound rather disgusting, but it tastes like a ketchup/BBQ sauce mix with a hint of spice. It is excellent on tube steaks and may make a good base for my conch nugget dip, plus other possibilities.

It is fun trying the different condiments and sauces available down here, and some are absolutely wonderful. Pepper sauce (hot sauce) isn't the only thing they do well down here (and there are so many kinds of pepper sauces!)

This evening we will be visiting with a couple and having dinner with them. We met Tony in the bank yesterday, and he is going to show me how to cook "St. Lucian". or creole. He is going to take me into the garden and we will pick the spices and herbs fresh, then we will cook together, he as the teacher, I as the sous chef! I just pray I don't have to dice anything with a machete!

I am not a "foodie", but it is nice to learn how to use the local foods effectively. It is more economical that buying North American canned goods, and much better for us.