A Option To Use Things That Usually Are Considered Waste (or: Banana Peel Cake)

On a recent trip to Brazil, a friend of mine (Claudio) told me that he could make a banana cake out of what most of us throw away, the peel.  Of course I told him that he was nuts. But sure enough, the day I was leaving, he presented me with a banana peel cake. As we ate the cake he told me a story. When he was in the Dominican Republic he was with a group of women that were low on resources and milk was hard to come by. He proceeded to tell the woman there was a way to make a cake that did not require milk but did require bananas. So one of the women went and got five bananas. He handed each of the the women the bananas and told them to peel and eat bananas. Then he said, “Now we’re ready to make banana cake out of the peels.” They began to laugh. To their amazement and mine, he did just as promised. Claudio showed us something that many of us have forgotten: What we usually consider waste offers us the possibility to create something very beautiful (extremely tasty).

Darin Petersen

Banana Peel Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of banana peels (do not use green ones, use those you like to
• eat, when they are ready to be eaten)
• 4 egg yokes
• 4 egg whites beaten into firm peaks
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 cups wheat flower
• 5 tablespoon margarine or butter (remember to check what is cheaper
• for a poor person)
• 2 tablespoon baking powder
• Cinnamon powder mixed with some sugar to sprinkle on

How to:

• In a blender, chop the banana peels with 1/2 a cup of water (not milk).
• Put aside.
• In a mixing bowl put the butter (margarine), yokes, and sugar and mix until is homogeneous. Add the chopped banana peels and water, the flour, and baking powder.
• At the end, mix the egg whites in carefully and gently to preserve the air.
• Put in a greased form pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top before putting in the oven.
• Cook for 30 to 35 minutes.

Nutrition facts: Vitamins A and C, Folate, Potassium, Phosphorus and Magnésium