🍌 What to do when you have too many bananas: make Grilled Banana Boats recipe 🚣‍♂️

😘 Ingredients:

• 
  · 2 ripe bananas
• · 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips
• · 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
• · 2 tablespoons chopped nuts (e.g., pecans or almonds)
• · Aluminum foil

🏄‍♂️ Instructions:

• 
  · Slice each banana lengthwise down the middle, but don’t cut all the way through - leave the peel intact to form a "boat."
• · Gently open the banana and stuff with chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and nuts.
• · Wrap each banana in aluminum foil.
• · Grill over medium heat (or bake in the oven at 375°F) for 10–12 minutes, until the banana is soft and the chocolate is melted.
• · Carefully unwrap and serve warm, optionally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

👌 This fun dessert is easy to make and highlights banana's natural sweetness!

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😷 What's the smelliest fruit on Earth? The King of Fruits: Durian!

• 😶�️ Durian (Durio zibethinus) is a tropical fruit tree known for its prickly, spiny fruit, which is famous for its distinctive, highly pervasive aroma - often described as unpleasant by many.
• 😶�️ Despite the powerful scent, which can deter some from trying it, durian is celebrated in Southeast Asia as the "king of fruits." To many, the strong odor is actually a welcome signal of the fruit's rich, creamy golden flesh, which has a sweet, custard-like flavor that's likened to almond and vanilla.
• 😶�️ Its creamy texture and unique taste make it a beloved delicacy, often commanding a high price in the market.
• 😶�️ As naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace noted after trying durian on Borneo in the 19th century, "The more you eat of it, the less you feel inclined to stop".
• 😶�️ Other varieties, like the red and yellow-fleshed Durio graveolans, are available in Southeast Asia and even in regions like South Florida, offering a peanut butter-like taste and greater tolerance to local conditions.

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When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor. This is what you do with so many loquat fruit.

🍑 Loquat tree is an excellent choice for any garden, as it is quite cold hardy, drought-, poor soil- and salt tolerant. The delicious fruit look and taste similar to apricots, but there is only one problem: there are too many of them! Make Loquat the perfect fruit for an easy home winery...

🍹 Loquat Liquor recipe

Wash loquat fruit and slit in 4-5 places. You may leave seeds in for Apricot-nutty flavor similar to Amaretto. Combine fruit with vodka and sugar in a wide mouth jar and cover. Stir fruit once a day until sugar is dissolved. Then stir once a week for 4 weeks. Drain liquid and strain through fine cheesecloth. Enjoy!

You can dispose the used fruit but we usually give it a second life: add water, bring to boil, let sit, chill, and it will make another (almost non-alcoholic) drink!

• 
  ✔️ 3 quarts of loquat fruit
• ✔️ 1 quart vodka
• ✔️ 3 cups sugar
• ✔️ vanilla to taste (optional)

📚 From previous posts:

• • Golden Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity
• • Learn more about Loquats

🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

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Why Rosita de Cacao is called the Funeral Tree? For how long does its fragrance last?

• 😇 The Legendary Funeral Tree - Quararibea funebris (also called Rosita de Cacao, Flor de Cacao) got its name from the flower's extraordinary ability to retain its spicy, sweet fragrance for centuries.
• 😇 These flowers were used in ancient funeral ceremonies, placed in crypts to preserve their aroma for generations. Even today, dried Rosita de Cacao flowers can hold their scent for decades, a testament to their remarkable endurance.

History and Legends

Aztec names: Poyomatli, Xochicacaohuatl, Flor Cacahuaxochitl, Cacaoxochitl.
• 😇 The species was at one time widespread and growing wild throughout the Oaxaca region of Mexico known for plants used in Shamanism.
• 😇 Cherished by the Aztecs, the Rosita de Cacao was deeply intertwined with their rituals and daily life.
• 😇 The flowers, known as Cacaoxochitl or "cacao flower," were blended with chocolate drinks like Tejate, a sacred, energy-rich beverage reserved for royalty and religious ceremonies. This frothy drink combined Cacaoxochitl with other ingredients like cacao, vanilla, and chili peppers to create what the Aztecs called the "drink of the gods."
• 😇 Legend has it that Emperor Montezuma consumed up to 50 cups of xocolatl daily, infused with Rosita de Cacao, to fuel his energy and passion.

Medicinal and Spiritual Uses
• 😇 The flowers of this tree were not just for flavor - they were also prized for their calming and medicinal properties. Natives used them to treat anxiety, fevers, and coughs, often mixing them with cacao for enhanced effects.
• 😇 Modern studies suggest the flowers contain lactone alkaloids like funebradiol, which are known for their relaxing properties and are now being investigated for potential medicinal applications.
• 😇 Beyond its rich history, Rosita de Cacao is an evergreen beauty with creamy white, aromatic flowers and large, leathery leaves. It's a perfect addition to any garden for those who want a piece of history, an enduring fragrance, and a touch of ancient legend.

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

Fruit of Money and Love
Fun Facts: Cacao beans

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🍌 What are the best varieties of edible Banana and which one should I plant?

Continued for the previous post🔼

🔥 The most popular edible banana varieties:

• 🍌 Truly Tiny - is a compact banana variety growing 2-3 feet in pots and up to 5 feet in the ground, perfect for small spaces or container gardening, producing 4-5 inch fruit with a distinctive pineapple flavor.
• 🍌 Cuban Red Dacca - a vibrant tropical banana variety with reddish-purple, plump, and short bananas that are sweeter and richer in flavor than common yellow bananas, thriving in warm climates and reaching 8-15 feet tall.
• 🍌 Double Mahoi - is a Cavendish banana variety that typically produces a double stalk of bananas in its second year, boosting the harvest.
• 🍌 Dwarf Cavendish - a hardy, vigorous banana variety growing under 5-8 feet, producing large, flavorful fruit with minimal care, making it a popular backyard banana in Florida and one of the most common Cavendish types for hobbyists and container gardens.
• 🍌 Gran Nain - is the true Chiquita banana, growing under 5-8 feet tall and producing large bunches of fruit, making it a staple of commercial banana production.
• 🍌 Ice Cream (Blue Java) - a cold-tolerant hybrid of Musa balbisiana and Musa acuminata, vigorous banana growing 10-15 feet tall and producing 40-60 lb bunches of stout, bluish-skinned fruit with sweet, vanilla-flavored, cream-like flesh that can be eaten raw or cooked.
• 🍌 Banana Lakatan - a popular Philippine banana cultivar prized for its sweet taste, rich aroma, and firm texture, making it a top choice for dessert bananas.

🆒 Banana #Fun_Facts

• 🟡Bananas are rich in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure and supports heart health.
• 🟡They provide a quick source of energy and are great for post-workout recovery.
• 🟡The fiber in bananas aids digestion and promotes gut health.
• 🟡Eat them fresh, add to smoothies, bake into breads and desserts, or use in various savory dishes.
• 🟡Rubbing the inside of a banana peel on mosquito bites can reduce itching and swelling.

Learn about ornamental Bananas in next post 🔽

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