"sweet" treats

What do y'all think about last night's finale of The Bachelor?  Personally, I haven't been watching this season too closely because I think Ben is the worst, but I did watch the scene where he broke up with Lindzi.  Watching her profess her love for him, and him lacking the decency to stop her, was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.  Unfortunately, any sympathy I felt for the girl was instantly erased when she walked away and said, "If it doesn't work out, call me."  Um, what?  How desperate.  Consider yourself lucky, honey - you got dumped on a mountaintop in Switzerland.  This sure beats your last boyfriend, who sent the infamous "Welcome to Dumpsville.  Population: You" text message.  (Yes, that is my best attempt at finding the silver lining.  Now you know why I am a realist.)

If my friend Jamie knew Lindzi, he would hand her a jar of peanut butter and tell her to get over it.  Jamie is infamous in our circle of friends for a comment he once made about depressed girls "crying in front of the TV eating peanut butter straight out of the jar."  It was his opinion that every female did this after being shunned, dumped, or otherwise dismissed.  We ladies all vehemently denied it, evenly split on whether cupcakes or outright fasting was the more likely alternative.  Well Jamie, I concede defeat....kind of.  Peanut butter isn't just for sad girls.  Peanut butter is for everyone!  (Unless you're an anaphylatic.  In which case, it's not.)

Let's get one thing straight.  I am not sad, nor am I quite at the stage where I am spooning it from the jar, but peanut butter is rocking my world in ways that Bachelor Ben never could.  (Seriously.  He is a snooze fest and he looks like the love child of Rafael Nadal and Josh Groban, if that were biologically possible.)  I find that the only thing that has been able to satisfy my sweet tooth over the last three weeks is the pairing of all-natural peanut butter (no sugar added) and a very overripe banana (natural sugar).  This is weird because, though I loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches growing up, I've developed a slight aversion to nut butters over the years.  They make me feel sick to my stomach if I have more than just a little bit.

My new "sweet treat" is a peanut butter-banana "ice cream," made in just two minutes. Simply cut a very ripe banana (brown, preferably) into thirds or fourths and freeze. Once completely frozen, toss pieces in a food processor with a spoonful of all-natural peanut butter and blend away until a smooth puree forms.  Sprinkle in some unsweetened coconut or, if you're not avoiding sugar, some chocolate chips.  Obviously it is no Chunky Monkey, but it hits the spot for now.   (Note: the black specs in the picture below are bruises on the banana.  This one was kinda beat up.)

You want to use the ripest bananas you can find if you are trying to eschew added sugar.  In fact, you don't want to know what I've done to satisfy a craving for PBB ice cream with no overripe bananas in my fruit bowl.  It may have involved flirting with the produce men at Safeway.  Bat your eyelashes whilst asking if there are any overripe bananas in the back, and miraculously the answer goes from "naw, girl" to "lemme run down and check for you."  Five minutes later, a bouquet of brown bananas materializes, and without even asking, they get marked down to something like 19 cents a pound.  (Which, as an economist, baffles me.  My specific demand for the differentiated bananas indicates I'm likely to pay a higher price for them, so they could probably get away with gauging the price instead of reducing it.  Amateurs.)

For an on-the-go treat, or for those lacking a food processor, try slicing bananas into rounds, topping with a knive's tip of peanut butter and perhaps some shredded unsweetened coconut, and freezing overnight.  Word to the wise - do not make more at one time than you would like to eat in one sitting.  Because you will not be able to stop eating them.  If you have something resembling restraint (Lord knows I certainly do not), store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.

If you don't like the classic PBB combo, try these date balls, which are essentially popable Larabar bites.  Process the dates into a thick paste with a just a hint of nut butter and either pulverized almonds, pistachios, or unsweetened coconut.  Roll them into a ball and refrigerate half an hour.  Voila, another winner. For these, you want the biggest, plumpest dates you can find - preferably ones that are still sticky when you touch them.  If you can get the large medjool dates, its worth the splurge to buy those.  If you can only find smaller, drier dates, just cover them in boiling water and let sit before draining well and processing.  They should be plumper and more workable after sitting for 15 minutes or so.

So, for the love of all that is good, someone please send this page to Lindzi.  Tell her to make herself some peanut butter banana ice cream and then go out on the town.  Something tells me she'll be just fine.