When are you going to try something different for supper? As keepers of the range, we have all heard this comment. I guess we could blame it on the food channel – you know where they make changing the menu look as easy as buttering toast. Or maybe we should blame our neighbor who is always changing her hair and eyeglasses with no difficulty. Better yet, let us put the blame on that store clerk who talked you into purchasing that bias-cut, crinkled grey velvet skirt. The combination of the cross cut of the material and your full saddlebags had you looking like you were bringing torpedoes to the class reunion.

To want change is only human. After all, the daily routine can become mundane. The kitchen and the daily menus have proven this over and over. I will be the first to admit that I like tradition. After all, our bedroom draperies are lined, and they have coordinating sheers which reside politely on a traverse rod. Now this is not to say that I certainly couldn’t get caught up in a fad. In fact, I may look into having some fun with mini-blinds and draping beaded scarves. Rubbing elbows with craze can be fun as long as you don’t lose yourself in it. Take for example the woman who submitted five recipes to her local church cookbook -and all of them started with hamburger helper! Do you realize she listed all of her dishes as main meals? Why didn’t she put a spin on things and create hamburger helper fudge! After all, we cooks give extra points for originality!

Last week we enjoyed visiting about meatballs and their many employments on our daily menus. If you are willing to try something different with meatballs, keep on reading! Maybe you have been getting a bit behind in the creative department. Hang on because when the following recipe is executed it will allow you to soar ahead leaving masses of mundane menu mumblers behind. This recipe is proof that innovation turns slackers into a soaring success. With a bit of luck, your family will truly think that you have gone bananas!

Jan and I have enjoyed some wonderful senior class trips with the students from Wolford High School. While traveling with them in Florida, we found our menus to be as varied as the seashells on the shore. Naturally we encouraged them to sample this Floridian cuisine. Yours truly has always been a taster of the way-out food combinations. In pure honesty, most food blends have caused me to utter the word, “fantastic.” This was certainly the case when I tried Island meatballs which are made with bananas! Boredom can easily be turned around by serving your family this fun and tasty recipe.

The cook who shared this recipe with me expressed that bananas come in three different flavors – green tipped, full warm yellow, or speckled with brown spots. He suggested selecting the greenest bananas for some baking, broiling, or boiling. When cooked this way, bananas taste more like potatoes. If you have not tried a green broiled banana with sugar give it a try! Around here, full yellow bananas are the most available and versatile. If you love banana flavor, the fruit that is speckled offers the most flavor. Brown spots show that fruit is at its sweetest peak of flavor and thus is perfect for mashing in baked goods, baby food, or blending into a smoothie.

Repnow is a

Rugby resident.