Lori Borealis's Public Library

Coconut Tres Leches Cake with Caramelized Bananas

2 cups sifted cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup light butter, softened

1/2 cup puréed bananas

(approximately 1/2 banana)

3/4 cup skim milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure coconut extract

1/2 cup egg whites, stiffly beaten

1/2 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup evaporated skim milk

2/3 cup light coconut milk

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons dark rum

4 bananas, sliced

1 2/3 cups fat-free whipped topping

2 tablespoons toasted shredded coconut

Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cream the sugar, butter and banana purée in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add 1/3 flour mixture and 1/3 skim milk alternately; mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and coconut extracts. Fold in the egg whites. Spray a 6 x 8-inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Flour the pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 375°F for 50 minutes or until the cake tests done. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine the condensed milk, 3/4 cup skim milk and coconut milk in a bowl; mix well. Arrange the cake on a serving platter with deep sides. Poke holes all over the cake with a wooden pick or skewer. Spoon the milk mixture over the cake. Cover the cake and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Combine the brown sugar and rum in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture reduces to a syrupy consistency. Add the bananas and stir gently to coat the fruit. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Top each serving of cake with whipped topping and a scattering of toasted coconut. Serve the bananas on the side.

Chef Terry Conlan

Lake Austin Spa Resort

Anyway, my way is cheaper! Some folks recommended duct tape but I found none that was double-sided. It doesn't work to "wrap" tape around because you'll get tension that will form a spring of sorts, and the strip then won't fit into the system.

So, buy your Swiffer Carpetflick sweeper on sale or with an online coupon. It will be around $12 or so, and you'll get about 4 free cartridges with it. Save one of these as your template.

Save your recyclable coated cardboard boxes that held dry foods (waffles, ice cream bars, cereal boxes, etc all work great!). Open the box flat and lay your template over and cut out (no need to secure it, etc). There is no need whatsoever to punch the hole the swiffer brand has. The cartridge will naturally stay in place as long as you make it long enough and relatively the same size as the template. It's okay for it to be a little thinner, it will still work.

Now go out and buy PLASTIC carpet double-sided tape. You get about 42 feet for under $4. I made about 15 cartridges for one roll.

Take a cardboard template. Move a bit from the side of the strip and run it to the right of an imaginary center line. Don't worry if it wrinkles, just smooth it down. Wrap it around and finish taping the other side. Leave just a little excess and cut off with scissors. Now run another strip (it will take two side by side strips to cover cardboard, unless you can find a wider tape) beside it and around and finish. Don't remove backing unless you are going to use it right away. Store in a gallon size zip style bag.

Each strip should take only 30 seconds to one minute (when you are first starting) to make. I did it while finishing lunch and watching cartoons with my son. It's not at all diffcuilt and your only cost it in is the double-adhesive tape (less than $4 to make 15 or so) and the cardboard (free!).

Oh! How do they work? I just did my living room and stairway and it cleaned BETTER than my carpetflick. I had tiny pepples, dirt and stones and tons of hair stuck to both sides (and we just vacuumed) just from today.

Let me know if you try it. Oh, don't use mounting tape, which has a foam backing. It's too thick. And buy the plastic, not cloth or fiberglass, carpet double-sided tapes. Only the plastic is thin enough. I found mine at Ace Hardware but I bet most hardware stores will carry it.

Can washing old clothes in hot water cause them to bleed? I've done two loads of clothes that are old, and have not run before, in hot water and both times I have newly pink or blue clothes. I can't figure out why this is happening, but it's really annoying.

SANITIZING
You're better off adding something to the cold / warm water -- as noted above, unless you're using something like a Mille washer with a sanitize setting to super-heat the water, washing in hot isn't going to kill anything.

Are these old / vintage clothes that you're washing? The smells that may travel with old clothes can be from the textile (e.g., silk), its aging process (e.g., wool), or its storage (e.g., cedar, mothballs, lavendar, etc).

If you're concerned about allergens in the clothing (e.g., dust mites) there are additives that can take care of those specific things without (severely) damaging your textiles.

COLOR BLEEDING
As for the color bleed: yes, it's the temperature. If you are washing clothing that is recommended for dryclean only and/or for lower temperature cleaning, dye bleeding is likely.

Wash the items individually (or in batches of like colors, e.g., all dark browns together, without any lighter color accents) without soap and with at least one cup of white vinegar in the load. Check the water color on the rinse cycle: if it's not *clear* then run the load again after it spins out. Once the water runs clear, the loose dyes should be mostly/all out and you'll be safe for mixing colors.

Note: the vinegar will also neutralize most of the odors you may be detecting in older textiles (see above).

Good luck! See National Allergy Supply to address specific allergen abatement / control; I've had good luck with their products in the past.