Peanut and Banana

I'm not sure how it is that I never thought of this before. I used to have peanut butter and banana sandwiches all the time, strangely. Near where I used to work was this sort of deli place in a food court. The cheapest thing on the menu was a peanut butter & banana sandwich. It was fresh bread, the peanut butter was thickly spread, and the bananas where layered in the middle. It came with a small soup, all for I think it was like $4.  Well it WAS the 90s.

Happy Breakfast - jam toast, peanut butter banana,
and a bit of watermelon.

Anyway, not long ago SSO's 6yo friend came for a sleepover.  The next morning, while trying to feed them some fruit, he insisted on having his banana cut in half and spreading peanut butter on it.  Brilliant! What a great way to eat bananas. I'm sure there are others out there like me, but I'm not the biggest banana fan. They are just hard to eat for some reason.  What a way to make it more palatable. While I was at it, I made the whole breakfast "happy".

Next Time: crunchy peanut butter?

Me: n/a
SO: n/a
SSO: 9/10

Orange Raisin Banana Bread

I make banana bread a lot. I'm not sure what it is about bananas, we are always buying them and they just sit there on the counter until they are starting to go black. I mean, we eat one or two, but there is very often 3 or 4 left. Which happens to be just the right amount to make banana bread.

Orange Raisin Banana Bread, hot from the oven,
already melting the slab of butter I spread on.

I suppose one reason I like to make it, apart from using up food that is about to go bad, is that it is just so darn tasty and versatile. Reasonably healthy, easy to eat for breakfast, maybe throw a piece in the lunch bag.  The thing is, my usual recipe is, while pretty good, actually not very exciting. This one however, is just great. SO doesn't like the traditional nuts you usually see in banana bread, so I thought I'd try the raisins...turns out to be a good substitute. It is the orange zest though that really turns out to be the secret trick. The cup of sugar sounds like a lot, but you can of course substitute the usual honey or apple sauce. My regular recipe has tons of oil, this one is only a few tablespoons, so there's a bonus. Next time I may try chocolate chips instead of raisins. Ho boy.

Next Time: maybe chocolate chips instead of raisins, just for fun

Me: 10/10
SO: 9/10
SSO: 7/10

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

This is something I make at least once a month. We are pretty good at eating up the bananas we buy every week, but once in a while there are 3 or 4 that get softer and softer and blacker and blacker. Past a certain point you just sort of ignore them on the counter, knowing that you have passed the point of no return.  Banana Bread time.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread with a big slice
hacked off the end. Just can't resist.

Why not whole wheat for a change. If we're going to go all healthy and that, then might as well cut the sugar and oil from my usual recipe (1 cup oil and 1 cup sugar) significantly and replace it with honey, yogurt, and applesauce. Now to be fair, the original is pretty darn tasty. And I usually don't put the full cup of either sinful ingredient in anyway. I also throw in an egg, although that can probably be skipped - the yogurt should be enough to bind by itself.

I just love slicing off a two inch piece, slathering with butter, and chowing down. Yum-a-yum-a. If there is any left after a day or two, then it is good in the toaster as well.