Drive a pineapple ? !

Brazilian scientists have found a way to turn fibres from pineapples, bananas, coconut shells and other plants into plastics that can be used in automobiles.

These fruits and plants contain cellulose, which can be processed into tiny nano fibers that reinforce plastics used in automotive manufacturing. The material is renewable, extremely strong and lightweight.

For more information check out:

http://phys.org/news/2011-03-green-cars-pineapples-bananas.html

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/03/30/greener-plastics-possible-bananas-pineapples

But, if you can’t wait until these new materials are on the market you can try Johan’s inventive pineapple car modelling approach pictured here.

And if you're really keen on the details of constructing this pineapplemobile here is the youtube link, Anne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4GMAEycK5U

Walnut Meringue Pie

Pie: 440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 2 tblspns cornflour, ¼ cup water, 2 egg yolks, 1 tblspn butter, baked pastry shell

Walnut Meringue: 2 egg whites, ½ cup sugar, pinch salt, ¼ cup chopped walnuts, walnut halves

Pie: Place Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple in saucepan. When boiling thicken with cornflour blended in water. Remove from stove and beat in egg yolks and butter. Spoon into pastry shell. Top with Walnut Meringue and brown in oven.

Walnut Meringue: Beat egg whites stiffly, adding sugar and salt. When very stiff, fold in chopped walnuts. Swirl on top of pie and decorate with walnut halves.

Ruby Borrowdale offers this advice in the "Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book”

“Try using custard powder occasionally when cornflour is called for in a recipe. Especially in cake, biscuit and short paste recipes, it imparts a rich colour and delicious flavour.”

God's own fruit

 

The online translation for the phrase on this beautiful piece of fabric my sister-in-law, Jill, and brother-in-law, John, brought back from Kenya is “No glory except God alone”.

I wonder how that connects with pineapples?

There would definitely have been pineapples in the Garden of Eden – hmmm, maybe there was a typo in the original translation of Genesis and that apple was really a pineapple ????  Anne

Fried Rice, with ?

Light fry in butter 1 X 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces (drained), 1 cup chopped onion or eschallots, 1 cup chopped capsicum, 1 cup chopped celery. Add one cup diced cooked chicken or prawns and 6 cups freshly cooked rice. Flavour with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Serve in bowls garnished with strips of cooked rice.

Prawns and more prawns and pineapple

The Hayman Scramble did taste slightly better than it looked.  The salad was OK but stuck in a 1950s time warp.  Both recipes interesting from a historical perspective but not good enough to repeat, they won’t become part of my repertoire, Ann.

Hayman Scramble

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 450g shelled prawns, 4 to 6 eggs, salt, pepper, 2 tblspns butter, soy sauce. Drain pineapple. Chop 2 slices and add to prawns. Melt butter in frypan. Add pineapple and prawns, heat slowly. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Pour over prawns and pineapple. Cook and stir until eggs are set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Fry remaining pineapple slices and serve with the scramble. Add a garnish of salad vegetables.

Pineapple ‘N’ Prawn Salad

Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces with cooked shelled prawns, potato or rice salad, lettuce, tomatoes and radishes. Goes great with crusty rolls and prepared mayonnaise.

Preparing the radish roses

Exquisite Piña from the Phillipines

Pineapple fiber or Piña is a strong white or creamy cobweb-like fiber drawn from tall leaves of an indigenous pineapple plant. The fiber is hand stripped from the leaves in lengths of about 18 inches to 3 feet, sun-bleached, hand knotted and spun.

 

It is commonly used in the Philippines where it is sometimes combined with silk or polyester to create a textile fabric.

 

Thanks very much to Karen Angel N  and Quing Obillos for the use of their lovely detailed photographs of Piña embroidery.

Mommysaurus75 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mommysaurus75/5551708114/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Quing Obillos      

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quingobillos/4128406268/

 

And thank you to Karen Ilagan for this beautiful wedding dress photograph.  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karenilagan/2223115934/

Two fascinating youtubes were made almost 100 years apart - 1918 and 2012 - on the production of Piña. You will make some interesting observations about factory production in the 1918 film "Luzon Lingerie" . . .

 

 

The youtube made in 2012 clearly shows the process but is too long to include on the blog: If you would like to watch it here's the address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRvWiiGoOzI
Anne

Perfect Partners.

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, one thin layer chocolate cake, individual pavlovas (meringue circles), whipped cream, cherries, mint leaves

Drain and chill pineapple slices. Spread chocolate cake with a thin layer of chocolate icing. When set cut into 9cm circles. Make meringues by beating 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Gradually beat in 6 tblsns castor sugar. When very firm flavour with vanilla essence. Spoon into about 9cm circles on foil-lined baking trays. Bake in slow oven (160°C) until firm. At serving-time place a circle of iced chocolate cake on dessert plate, top with a meringue and then one or two slices chilled pineapple. Garnish with whipped cream, cherry and mint leaves.