Dark Chocolate-Covered Banana Bites

Dark chocolate-covered bananas are a factor for years and I’m somewhat humiliated to admit that I’m just olderboard. They’re one among the best snacks I’ve ever created and also the good thing is that that they’re excellentfor those sticky, hot summer days once the last item you would like associate degreed do} is activate yourkitchen appliance or pay an extended quantity of your time in your room attempting to throw along a no-bakesweet.

Although I’ve seen them finished simply a basic chocolate coating (and generally a sprinkle of ocean salt), I neededto amp things up with a range of toppings. I’ve created these many times since 1st giving them a go and that i have to be compelled to add a note regarding my favorite version as a result of it isn’t pictured here: cookedbuckwheat + cut goji berries. the mixture of crisp buckwheat and chewy goji berries pairs absolutely with the coconut infused chocolate and creamy banana filling. And if you've got the 2 hanging around your larder, you mustoffer the buckwheat-goji selection a go.

If you’re not involved together with your chocolate-covered banana bites being absolutely spherical, you'llskip the wire rack step and, once dipping, simply place them back on the sheet they were originally on. I additionalthis step as a result of I don’t look after the planning of skinny chocolate edges, however create them as you want. I sliced my bananas very skinny to possess a somewhat balanced quantitative relation of chocolate to banana, however be at liberty to slice them as thick as you’d like. have to be compelled to|i have to} warn that these need to be unbroken frozen to stay from obtaining soggy, which means they’re not the simplest snack for those with sensitive teeth.

Dark Chocolate-Covered Banana Bites

Makes three to four servings

4 ounces smart quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unrefined vegetable oil
3 to four ripe bananas
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
Toppings:

Pecan items
Flaked coconut
Cacao nibs
Sea salt
Line an oversized baking sheet with parchment paper; put aside. during a double saucepan over medium heat (or during a microwave), soften the chocolate and vegetable oil. whereas the chocolate is melting, slice the bananas into 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices (I used a mandoline, however you'll freehanded it, too) and transfer them to theready baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon, if using, then freeze the banana slices for ten minutes, or till you’reable to dip them.

Once the chocolate and vegetable oil have fusible, transfer the mixture to alittle bowl. Line a flat surface with parchment paper and high with a wire rack. employing a fork, dip every banana slice through the chocolate and place it on the wire rack to permit the surplus chocolate to drip off, then sprinkle with desired toppings. Once you’ve lordotic all the bananas, transfer the slices back to the lined baking sheet they were originally on and freeze fortwenty minutes, or till the chocolate has hardened. get pleasure from directly or store during a electric refrigerator safe instrumentality and freeze for up to 2 weeks.

The Easiest Way to Organize Your Mess of Photos

Photographs provide you with an opportunity to capture precious moments for all eternity. the toughest halfisn’t really taking the photos, though, it’s managing the ever-increasing assortment of digital photos, growing like weeds or bamboo running wild. I tame the pic chaos exploitation this technique.

Download the photos. this is often the primary and most vital step. just like the dishes or laundry, if you don’tfrequently copy or move your photos to your laptop, they assemble and you’ll ne'er organize them. habituallytransfer photos after you penetrate from a visit or the other event, moving the photos onto your laptop the primary free minute you get.

I use Picasa to import the photos from the SD card. The import tool puts pics into folders named by either the date the photo was taken or this date. I arrange the photos folders once they’re foreign.

If you employ Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive, set photos to avoid wasting mechanically to 1 of your folders on these services; use the mobile apps to copy photos mechanically from your phone.

Wi-Fi camera cards area unit another choice to copy your photos mechanically from your camera, howeverthey’re pricier.

Set your high level folders for photos. underneath your footage folder or where you store your photos, outline a folder by year and month (put the year initial therefore the folder kinds properly, and use 2 digits for the month).for instance, this month’s folder is called 2014-06.

Under the year-month folder, produce subfolders for specific events with the date of the event initial within thefolder name. for instance, “07 day of remembrance Dinner” or “07 to fifteen Trip to DC” (for multi-day events).

Finally, below the event folder, produce 2 folders, one referred to as “Original,” for the photos you haven’t touched, and another referred to as “Edited,” for those you’ve touched up and shared. it's like this:

Folder hierarchy: YYYY-MM, DD Event Name, Originals and altered



If your photos aren’t associated with a selected event, store them directly underneath the month folder orproduce a folder that captures miscellaneous or different photos.

This structure helps you discover and spot your vital photos simply exploitation the date and event.

Delete uncalled-for photos. I know, I know. It’s laborious browsing all those photos and striking the delete key on a number of them. however it'll create viewing the opposite photos, choosing ones to print or turn out to be photobooks, and otherwise enjoying them abundant easier anon.

So this is often my system, that is way improved over my previous one in every of simply merchandisingthem underneath the photos folder and occupation it daily. What’s yours?

Photo credit: Fiona McLaren (Flickr)