"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. Pin It Now!

vegetable & edamame stirfry with thai peanut sauce

Vegetable & edamame stirfry with Thai peanut sauce

Did y'all hear me shout from the rooftops last week?  I have a big, huge announcement.

I'm. In. LOVE.

Love, I tell you!  I didn't see it coming either, but they always say it comes when you least expect it.  I kind of forgot what it felt like.  But it's back, and it's the real thing.  You know how I know?  This is what people do when they fall in love:

• Dance around the room like that fool Nellie Forbush singing "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a wonderful guyyyyyyyy!!!"
• Channel Tom Cruise on Oprah and jump up and down on the couch 
• Babble incoherently and giggle when speaking of their love
• Try to lead normal, functional lives but inevitably become utterly incapable of thinking of anything else other than their love
• Write about their love to be published for the whole world to see, even if they have a million and ten things to do so there was already a post pre-prepared

And y'all, I did all of those things last week.  Why wouldn't I?  Sleek body, sizzlin' hot, works quickly, and gives me exactly what I want.  And you had better believe that if this relationship ever ends, I am going to go BSC like Taylor Swift and write a song about it.  Another thing people do when they're in love.

Last week I fell in love with my wok.

One night, (can't remember which - must be love brain!), I came home from work and was really irritated about something that had happened that day.  In fact, I was so annoyed that I hadn't even thought about what I wanted for dinner that evening.  When I got to my apartment, I had a package from UPS!   I thought it was a pair of pants I had ordered until I saw the size of the box.  Then I remembered what it was!  I had ordered this wok a couple days before with my temporary Amazon Prime membership, which gives me free two-day shipping on most items sold by Amazon.com.  So, I opened the box and decided on a big vegetable stir-fry.  (Side note:  I am just now realizing how much Asian cuisine I've eaten lately.  I love Asian food - Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, it doesn't matter!  Sorry if you don't like Asian food because I know there's a lot of it on this blog!)

For the stirfry, I took a shortcut and used a bag of frozen veggies - a Safeway mixture with sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.  I threw in some frozen edamame for protein and fresh skinny asparagus and let it sizzle in the wok with a tiny bit of canola oil and soy sauce.  I wanted to serve it over white rice, but I was out of it.  What a shame!

While the veggies were a wok-in' and a rollin', I prepared a very quick, very easy Thai peanut sauce to drizzle over the finished product.  More protein!


Thai Peanut Sauce, a 40-day Vegetarian original
Serves one

1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon plus 1 to 2 tablespoons water
minced garlic, minced ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

1.  Heat one tablespoon of peanut butter, one teaspoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of water, and 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar over medium-low heat.  (If you use traditional peanut butter, you do not need to add sugar).
2.  Using a fork, mash the peanut butter into the liquid and allow it to start melting.  Add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes, stirring to combine all ingredients.  Do not burn the sauce.  Add up to 2 tablespoons of water, little by little, if you find the sauce is too thick or is sticking to the bottom of the pan.   
3.  Drizzle over stirfry and enjoy!


I've made this same dish probably a dozen times before because it's easy, cheap, and Whitney and I love it.  But I don't know HOW I did it without a wok!  I used to fry the veggies using a huge nonstick pan, but the wok makes all the difference.  The vegetables get a deep brown char on the outside, retaining their crunchiness and flavor.  This is a stark contrast to the limpness that can afflict vegetables that have been cooking on a pan too long.  And bonus!  Just like any good man, this thing is fast - dinner went from my freezer to my plate in under ten minutes.  Since I am an economist, after all, I'm a real sucker for rationality and efficiency.  Most importantly, the meal was so delicious that I wasn't even angry anymore.  Boyfriend picks me up when I am down.

So yeah, I am in love with my wok.  I kept it under wraps for a week because I didn't want to jump the gun, but we're still goin' strong, so I am ready to announce it to the world. Also, I just read this entry and I realized that there is an unnecessary number of exclamation points and I am literally babbling in parts of it.  But ya know what?  I'm going to keep both the enthusiasm and stream of consciousness in for added effect.  I told y'all I'm in love.

Have y'all ever fallen in love with an inanimate object?  (KHelm, I'm looking at you and your iPhone.)  Do y'all have any kitchen appliances you can't live without, or any items on your culinary lust list? Pin It Now!