Smoked Bananas for Scale.

A while back I was asked if I could smoke a Banana, "for science."

I figured, why the heck not, I’m either smoking BBQ at home or at work nearly every day.

I had kind of forgotten about it for a while, till we got onto the subjects of bananas at work, and the idea reignited. I ran over to the local grocery store and picked up a bundle of bananas.

Once back to work I had to come up with a game plan on how I wanted to proceed.
I finally decided I would rub one with brown sugar and a bit of salt, while leaving another one plain for comparison. After prepping them, they were ready to be smoked. I loaded the smoker with a new batch of oak wood and locked them in for ten minutes. The time passes and I check on them; they look alright, but decide another five minutes won’t hurt them. The final time passes and I pull them out.

Everyone at work is giving me a hard time and making jokes. But this kind of stuff is what gets us through the stressful days, like this morning had bee.

I look over them and check their appearance, and then I smell the funky aroma drifting off them. Can definitely smell the bananas and oak smoke, with a bit of the brown sugar lingering.

NOW FOR THE TASTE:

• The first one I try is the brown sugar glazed one:

My first impression was that I put a tad too much kosher salt on it. After the saltiness dissipated, you could finally taste the banana, smoke and after taste of sweet brown sugar. Unfortunately the smoke was a tad over powering.

• Second I tried the plain one:

This one was better, but mostly because there was no salt to bother your taste buds. It was definitely smoky; no doubt about it, then it would finish off with a warm banana flavor.  As the banana slid down your throat it left a lingering smokiness trialing up your nostrils.  


-The General Manager was the only other person to try it. My reaction peaked his interest. He came to the same conclusion as me: ODD, was the general word thrown around.


CONCULISION: Was neither good nor really bad, odd, but could be greatly improved upon and has potential.  

My next plan is to: Rub with just the brown sugar. Smoke it with a lighter & sweeter wood and for a shorter period of time. Then we will slice them up and create a bananas foster. The smokiness and brown sugar glaze should pair well with the caramel, rum and vanilla ice cream.

Keep an eye out for this next culinary adventure.

And if you have an idea, please share, I am always looking to try new and different things.

Zoo Brew!

Brew at the Zoo, Year 1

(They took down their webpage for it)


                I love the Waco Cameron Park Zoo; I take my friends and their kids there, I’ve taken dates there, I visit there just to clear my mind and walk around. This year I finally became a Member and take full advantage of it. When I heard that they were planning on hosting a Beer Tasting Event there, I jumped at the chance and bought my ticket as soon as I could and tried to get as many of my friends and family to join in as well. It sounded great- Could try 20 out of 50 available beers, snacks, live animal encounters and live music, and all for a great cause… it doesn’t get much better than that.

After a bout of month of waiting, the big day finally came! It was a big day in general; Baylor vs TCU home game, Baylor Parents Weekend, and it was a tad cloudy outside with a slight chance of rain. After work and feeding a couple hundred Baylor student and family, I went home got cleaned up and grabbed dinner with some friends before heading to the Zoo. 

It started at 7:00pm and we arrived a little past 7:30pm, already getting a little dark and the parking lot was pretty full. Did I mention they sold out nearly a week ahead? Ya, they did. So they had a pretty big group of folks here, all of drinking age. We head up, turn in our tickets and in return they hand us an awesome miniature beer mug and a “beer passport.”  The mini mug was for us to drink our tasting beer out of, and the “passport” was to be used as a record for the number of beers we tried- every time we tried a beer, they would stamp the passport with a special stamp. Was a pretty cool idea, and everyone loved the mini mugs.

So far so good… but now it starts to become a tad shaky. As we are walking toward the sound of music, we start to see this large, long, winding line. We have no idea what is going on, where it’s going, or what it’s for. So we hopped in line anyway and go along with it. It is slowly moving, and we ask some of the people that are volunteering there, no one really knew what was going on. After waiting in line, we finally figure out that we are in the first line for beer tasting. Really? This is really long line! The whole deal was this; Apparently due to the weather, the lines and table set-ups were moved around. There were 3 tables serving samples of beer… 3 tables for 50 beer samples. That’s what, roughly 16 beers a table and you are getting one sample at a time. Doesn’t exactly sound like a smooth train, huh? 

Because of this chink, the lines weren’t moving and people were getting tired of just standing in line. People weren’t able to fully enjoy the full experience, the live music, the animal encounters, etc. Speaking of animal encounter, we met a couple of reptiles and an opossum (something that sneaks in my yard almost every night, the sneaky b@stards). We also met a corral snake that my cousins fiancé was slightly obsessed with.

                So we decided to stick with a simple game plan; get in line, sample a beer, go chill listening to the band for a while, then start it back over again. But even after a while, that was tiring so we just bought some beers and drank those. Through the whole night, we left just trying 6 beers. I know others tried all 20, but they had to have waited in those lines for quite a while, and I know we could’ve snuck in a few more that last hour since the lines had shrunken so much. It really seemed that people were leaving early and no one seemed to be having a great time; which was really disheartening. 

                They had a nice beer selection, they had nice snack foods, received a nice Brew at the Zoo shirt upon leaving, and they had great local music. But with all the other problems they were having, it really was disappointing. I would really love to see them put this on again next year. If they do put it back on though, they really need to make some changes;
1) Spread the beers out over more tables; ex, 50 beers spread over 10 tables.
2) Have the Volunteers a little more informed
3) I would’ve liked to see more live animals out and about.

4) Keep the awesome mini mugs, passport idea and shirts.

                           Over all, my friends and I had a good night, but it could’ve been much better. This was their first year, so leeway is to be given and understood. I can’t wait for them to host this again next year, I will be one of the first to purchase my ticket and I honestly encourage you to buy a ticket if you like some beer.

And I guess I should mention the actual beers I tried, well I never really found on I liked. I am really picky when it comes to beer. I suppose the one I like best, out of the 6, was Magic Hat #9. It had a definite bite to it, a tad sweetness, with a slight bitter aftertaste.

Time fo Froyo!

Oso’s Froyo

215 Mary St., Suite 101
Waco, Texas 76701
254-752-OSOS(6767)
Mon - Sun:          11:30 am-10:00 pm

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                I’ve never been much for desserts like cakes, cookies, pies, etc. That has never stopped me though from chowing down on some Ice-Cream, Sherbert, Gelato, or Froyo (Frozen Yogurt)! Waco has a couple of different joints that provide Froyo, and so far the only one I have bothered to try is Oso, due to their location and are locally owned and are active in the Waco Community. 

                Twice now I have stopped by and snagged a quick snack after lunch at the Olive Branch (great combination FYI), and I am getting ready to stop by for my third or fourth time so I can try their Pumpkin Flavored Froyo. Oso’s has a variety of flavors stocked and rotate them monthly, along with a wide variety (over 50) of toppings including; Fresh fruit, candy, granola, nuts, cereal, sprinkles & sauces. And I must say, both times I’ve stopped by their fruit looks and tastes very fresh.

                You head in and grad either a paper bowl or a waffle bowl, decide on your flavor(s) and fill your cup to your heart’s content, top that sucker with all the goodies you can squeeze on, then weigh, pay and enjoy! 

 

                The first time I stopped by I went with a simple flavor and build; Cake Batter Froyo topped with black-berries, raspberries, sour gummy worms (that’s right), and caramel sauce. The Froyo tasted remarkably similar to actual cake batter, was pretty impressed. The fruit was nice and fresh, the gummy worms were good, and the sauce added a nice finishing touch.   I also got a wicked case of Brain freeze the first go around, got too excited. The second time around I went with Georgia Peach, M&Ms, and some fresh fruit. Once again, the flavor was pretty dead on, the fruit was fresh, and M&Ms are M&Ms.  Besides the flavor, the Froyo was nice and creamy and smooth, perfectly chilled and fresh.

                Tomorrow or Saturday after dinner I am hoping to try their Pumpkin Flavor, as mentioned early, and will post my thoughts on that ASAP.

                Oso’s also offers fresh fruit smoothies ranging in flavors, and I plan on trying one of them soon too. I drink smoothies and shakes quit often, since I can always fit full meals into my day. This is a great place for studnets on the go, a nice calm place to take your children after visiting the zoo or for a simple treat, and a great way to finish off a meal from Olive Garden, Bangkok Royal or whatever.

                Something that many women and some men might find beneficial; Oso lists the Weight Watcher Points for many of their products, which makes it easier for one to keep tabs on their meal plan.

                Over all I am impressed with the place, and not only the food. The place is very clean and tidy, fairly self-explanatory, they have indoor and outdoor seating and friendly staff. If you haven’t tried them out yet, now is definitely a good time with their fall season flavors. I will also try my best to keep y’all to date on their new flavors & specials as well.