Recipe for NC Banana pudding

To once again, I show some homage to my new state- though of course I still love my home state of Virginia- even Boones Mill. Here is a recipe in the Aug. issue of "Our State" for what is actually called 'Nanas from Heaven (aka Southern Banana Pudding)

 

Two 3-ounce boxes vanilla pudding (not instant)

One 12-ounce box of vanilla wafers

Four to Six very ripe bananas, sliced.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pudding according to package directions. The key is the layering. In an oblong glass baking dish, put a layer of vanilla wafers on the bottom, then bananas, then pudding: repeat with wafers, bananas and pudding.

 

Then you should allow the pudding to sit for five minutes before serving.

There is more in the magazine version of the recipe, including directions for meringue and a standard recipe for banana pudding.

The above recipe was originally published in "Hungry for Homes: Stories of Food from Across the Carolinas" by Amy Rogers. John Blair, Publ. Winston-Salem, 2003,  $19.95

The web site for "Our State" is http://www.ourstate.com

There is also a public-tv show based on the magazine, produced by WUNC-TV. It airs here in NC at 9:30 pm on Thursdays- http://www.wunc-tv.org

 I do not know if it is shown outside the state as the magazine show for "Alaska" magazine which airs nationally is, but "Our State" has not been shown in Va. to my knowledge though the magazine is available at Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million in Roanoke.

On last week's "Our State," they profiled the Biltmore Estate in Asheville as well as the town of Hot Springs (NC), due north of Asheville on the Tenn. border. It is known for its river rapids (apparently). 

I wonder how it compares with the Hot Springs I know, in Bath County, Va.- it is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley near the W. Va. border. The Jodie Foster-Richard Gere Civil War saga "Sommersby" was filmed there. I was last in Bath County, Va., while en route to Highland County with the Roanoke Valley Birdwatchers group. I must profess great admiration for the group as I could never keep up with those birds!