Pie Month: Papaya Pie

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'll be rerunning my old pie posts. This one is just for my friends in the tropics, in case you want to make a harvesty pie but don't have pumpkin or sweet potatoes. Originally run Nov. 13, 2008.

This is not my recipe! You can find it here

I did change it a little bit. About 2/3 cup brown sugar, no white sugar. No salt, since with the humidity here salt tends to clump up. I also added 1/8 t ginger, and used a regular crust instead of a graham cracker crust (which, if you had it, would be very good).
What a wonderful recipe for November in the tropics. It tastes harvest-y, like pumpkin or sweet potato pie, not at all like ripe papaya (which I don't really care for). And I got the fruit free from my housekeeper.

Greek Style Pork

This one is unaltered right out of Better Homes & Gardens, but it’s too good not to share. The acidity of the tomatoes contrasts nicely with the savory of the oregano and the sweet of the cinnamon and raisins. And it’s simple to make.

Ingredients
1 lb boneless pork sirloin (or 2 – 4 pork chops)
1 T cooking oil
½ of a medium onion, cut into wedges
1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes
½ cup raisins
½ t dried oregano, crushed
½ t ground cinnamon

Method
Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into ½ inch cubes. In a large skillet with a lid, brown meat and onions. You may need to brown the meat half at a time, depending on how much meat you have and the size of your skillet. Drain off fat.
Stir in undrained tomatoes, raisins, oregano and cinnamon. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or till meat is tender. If desired, serve atop hot cooked rice. Serves 4.

More Banana Bread

This recipe, found on the Taste of Home web site, yields a moister banana bread than the one I posted previously. It's closer to the kind I remember my Dutch-American Grandma making. The secret is the buttermilk.

My changes:
used 1 cup wheat flour and 3/4 cup white, instead of all white
reduced sugar to 1 cup
added 1 t cinnamon
increased bananas to three
used plain yoghurt instead of buttermilk
instead of walnuts, stirred in 1 cup each raisins & chocolate chips
It still came out great.

Autumn Produce

apples & celery!
(I'm still perfecting the dip ... look for a recipe some day!)