Great Grandma Banana Pudding Recipe

My great-grandma was born Clora Aurora Porter in 24 December 1872. She married John Wesley Hogan 04 April 1888. They were the parents of eleven daughters... all but one made it to adulthood. Grandma Hogan died 30 June 1946.

G-Grandma Hogan in her younger days

 Here is G-Grandma Hogan and G-Granddaddy Hogan on their 50th wedding anniversary.

I did not think about taking a photo until the pudding was almost all eaten.  So it isn't as pretty like it was when first made.

I do not know what the origin is of this recipe. Bananas came to the USA in the late 1800s.  Southern ladies often made trifles with them by layering the bananas with lady fingers or sponge cake and pudding.  In the early 1900s Nabisco started putting a banana pudding recipe on their box. 

This recipe is sweeter and richer tasting than Nilla Wafer's recipe and it is made with water.  Yep, you read correctly water.  Milk can be substituted, but I personally think it taste better made with water.   I may have changed something in the recipe, if so it probably was the addition of vanilla.  I'm not sure where my original copy is hiding.

Here is the recipe: Great Grandma Hogan's 'Naner Pudding.

Gender Party and Camping Out in the RV

We took a short vacation to Reed Bingham State Park and visited with our son and his family.

One day I got to go to the doctor with our son and daughter-in-law and watch as an ultrasound was done.  I had never seen one take place in person before... it was awesome watching the heart beat and the legs and arms flail about.

That evening was a Gender Party.  We are very dumb about what we see in the ultrasound, but pretty sure my feelings and Frank's were right-on... the feelings had been there since we knew a baby was on its way and we were correct :)

The hostess made two cakes. One had a blue-colored layer and the other had a pink-colored layer. The one sliced was the gender of the baby. The hostess made the layers ahead of time and froze them. On the day the gender of the baby was revealed she decorated the cakes. The tec after the ultrasound wrote the gender of the baby down and put it in an envelope... so the couple did not know the gender until the party. The hostess was waiting in the parking lot anxiously awaiting the envelope.


It is a girl!!!  Her name will be Carly Zaroga.  I am honored that she shares part of my name.  She is due the first part of March.  We are so excited!

 

Do you see the dill pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham by the bag with the owl?  They were good.  I need to ask Laura how she made them.

Here is the happy couple, Dave and Laura.  The boy in the chair is the hostess's son, Cody.

The next Friday Mary and her friend Haley (hostess's daughter) came and spent the night with us in the travel trailer.    We did a haunted hayride and the haunted house.  The hayride was scary, but not as scary as the haunted house.   Frank and I were not too crazy about being that close to the strobe lights in the haunted house.  I think the girls weren't either.  They shivered just about the whole time in the haunted house.  Fortunately, no nightmares that night.

Saturday morning was jamb-packed with bike riding, pumpkin carving, putt putt and the playground.  Laura and Dave came out and we had a great lunch.  They took the girls back with them... whew!... one can only take so much of an almost 8 year old and an 8 1/2 year old.  After church Sunday they returned and brought us a nice lunch from Publix.  The girls rode their bikes and played at the playground.

Monday we did nothing... just needed to rest.  Well we did small walks around the campground and read and most importantly napped. 

Tuesday we took a walk to the river and tried our hand at fishing... nothing but minnows stealing worms.  I took a few pictures and maybe soon I will have time to look at them and post a few. 

Wednesday we cam home and I started on the mounds of laundry... still working on that.

We went to the doctor on Thursday.  My back is giving me a bit of trouble.  Hopefully it is just fussing a bit.  The doctor said we are treating it as inflammation right now... which meant a Toradol injection.  Hopefully within a few days my back will feel better.

We really did have a great time... we did not miss the internet much ;)

 

AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR

A slight bit of color has arrived around us in SW Georgia.  The grapevines are turning.  Some of the leaves from the dogwood trees have turned brown and fallen.. the same with the pecan trees.  The birds are few in numbers right now.  Even though the House Finches are here year-round I think some migrate.  In a few weeks the chipping sparrows will arrive and before you know it spring will be here and a family will occupy this box or another one.. this one looks a bit need of repair or replacing. (when clicked on the photos will open in a new window in Flickr to a slightly larger photo)

 

Oh my.... this is all the decorating I'm doing for Autumn.  She is all ready to give you a Welcome Hug.

Traveling is in the air for me when the weather becomes cooler.  We do not camp in a tent any more.  We hook up the travel trailer to the truck and go. I'm so ready to travel... even if it is nearby.