The Friday Friends: Friday Friend Recipe #128 -- Banana Slush Punch

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Friday Friend Recipe #128 -- Banana Slush Punch

Friday Friend Recipe #128--My Mom's Banana Slush Punch

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook: I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county). At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 18 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions, exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts, had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND, we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

I was looking at the cookbook the other night and I said, "I should make every recipe in here for my blog."
The Handyman--who knows me better than I know myself (this happened to be a question on the Friday Friend forum once---does your spouse/partner know you better than you know yourself?)--said, "you'll never, EVER do that."
WELL---maybe I'll show him! Maybe I will.

Which brings me to this... recipe #128

My Mom's

Banana Slush Punch

Banana Slush Punch

4 ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

large can of pineapple juice

Rum...the recipe doesn't say Rum, that is my option. But really? You should.

Blend the first 3 ingredients and all the rest. Freeze in a large bowl. Add to cups and float a splash of rum (or maybe 7-up?) on top.

Enjoy.

Are you wondering why there are Halloween decorations? And the movie, Beetlejuice? I made this punch last October (2016) for a Food n Flix post, and I'm just now getting to post it for the Friday Friend Cookbook Countdown.

A frozen, slushy, banana flavored punch.

Perfect for kids.

Unless you top it with a splash of rum--which is what I did.

I always like a little splash of rum in my punch.

It was very banana-y.

I handed one to the Handyman and he kept trying to take the little brown specs out of it, until I said those were banana seeds.

You've heard me complain lately about running out of stories, right? It's true--it's getting harder and harder to think of a story about my Friday Friend peeps, so soon, we should be back to a 'fun fact' or two and one photo or two.... but for today, you get this.

Since the photos contain some Halloween decorations, I pulled out my trusty notebook of family questions and found one where I had asked my parents about Halloween.

Same question--again, similar answers:

(they grew up in the 1940's and 50's on the same block in a small --1000 population--rural town in Oregon)

From my mom---

On Halloween we had a lot of fun as kids. Us girls would steal your dad's parent's garbage can and roll it somewhere so he would have to hunt for it. We also tipped over his wood pile. They cooked and heated with wood, so they always has wood piles and dad was always the one who had to stack the wood!! We always soaped things up good and got lots of candy. I can't remember ever telling ghost stories.

We had a haunted house right across the street (kitty-corner) from my house and just down the street from your dad's. The people had moved out long ago and left the furniture in it and everything. Someone had covered everything with white sheets and there was no electricity, so it was really scary! We broke into it once and I borrowed some material for my mom to sew with.

It was really nice stuff and we could not afford it. Your dad was always with me when I was in that house and we were always scared that the police would catch us and arrest us. To this day, I look at that house and think of it as haunted. We thought we could even hear sounds coming from it!

From my dad--

We did the old 'trick or treat' when I was very young, then we graduated to playing pranks around town. Probably the best one was filling a gunny sack with fresh cow manure, putting it on the front porch of our Algebra teacher's house and setting it on fire. We rang the doorbell and when he cam to the door, he naturally stomped it out! One other time, Mike Hays and I were letting the air out of the only cop car in town and the office came out to his car and started chasing us. We ran around the back of a building and cut across a lot. I ran into a clothes line and it hit me about adams apple level. Flipped me up in the air and on my back. I couldn't talk for hours, wonder it didn't cut my throat.

I don't remember telling ghost stories.

When I was growing up, there was an old vacant house just down the street. The owners were gone-she had moved to California when he was killed during the 2nd World War, and everything was left inside just as it was when they lived there. We would go in and explore, of course no lights so we either had flashlights or candles (wonder we didn't burn the place down). It was about as close to a haunted house as you could get, especially late at night.

While these photos below are probably from two different parties and most likely not Halloween parties, they are combined forever in my mind.

I grew up adoring these 'girls'. My parents graduated with a class of 32 and they all remained close friends for the rest of their lives. They had a gazillion reunions and get togethers and stories were always told and laughed about and we kids had big ears, or at least I did. I just lapped that stuff up. I was infatuated with their 1950's Happy Days, lives.

While my parents are gone now, most of their friends are still living and some I even exchange Christmas cards with. I should ask their version of Halloween and Haunted Houses!

Now the photos!

In my mind, it's Halloween and either the girls had just gotten back from tipping over my dad's woodpile or were just getting ready to sneak out and do so, while my dad and his friends were letting air out policeman's tires and lighting manure on fire on their teachers porches!

My mom and Betty and Gwen (her best friends)