Allergy-Free "PB&J" Sandwich

Hey there and Happy Thursday to you! I hope the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful like it is here, wherever you are! I've got exciting things to share (or so I claim every time, eh?). But first and most random of all, I got to pet a kitty shaved like a lion while I was in Colorado the other day (the picture is crappy, it was far too dark out!)! He was just as adorable as the pictures of lion-kitties I've seen.

Anyways! Since the end of spring semester, I've done more cooking and recipe-experimenting than I had in the last 4 months! Apparently learning curbs my creative cooking abilities, shoot the moon! My trials have been mostly successful, so I thought I should share the goodness with you. After some searching on plantain potential, I've tried three recipes with plantains as the main ingredient, and all have been awesome! They take the place of the batter in these pancakes, are combined with pumpkin for super deliciousness in these healthy pumpkin pie blondies and can also be used to make "bread"! Hello, versatility.

Based off the list of no-can-do foods, you'd think bread was not an option for me. You would be correct!! However, in my search for all things plantain, I came across this blog with girls who love plantains, and they had a recipe for plantain bread. If you can have eggs, it looks wonderful! I highly suggest making it. If you cannot have eggs or any other type of ingredient that makes any sort of bread, you can make what I did. Its not pretty (notice I put sunbutter on top of the bread before taking a picture) but it tastes good and works great for holding delicious things. On to the recipe! I've included the bread recipe as well as my newest sunflower butter creation, a cinnamon honey vanilla spinoff of "normal" sunflower butter (I was inspired by this recipe). If you can have nuts, I can imagine this recipe would be amazing with peanuts, almonds or cashews as well!

Egg-free Plantain Bread

Makes 4 large pieces

1 yellow plantain, sliced

2 Tbsp. chia seeds

1 Tbsp. applesauce (unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put all ingredients into food processor and process until the plantain is smoothed out without chunks. Spray a 1.5 quart dish (mine is an oval Corningware dish) lightly with olive oil and pour batter into dish. Spread evenly (the batter will be very thin, less than 1/2 inch thick). Bake ~25 mins, then broil for 2-3 mins to get the top crispy. Remove from oven, let cool then cut into 4 pieces and remove from pan. For an allergy-free PB&J, top with sunflower butter (see recipe below) and a jam or jelly (homemade is the best!).

Cinnamon Honey Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Makes 16 oz.

16 oz. roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds (cheap at Trader Joe's!), or any nut of your choice

1 Tbsp. honey

2.5 tsp pure vanilla extract

1.5 tsp cinnamon

Pour half of the sunflower seeds and vanilla into the food processor. Add half of the cinnamon. Turn onto the first level and blend 4-5 minutes, until the seeds have begun to turn into a doughy/buttery texture. As long as you didn't add too many seeds to the processor you shouldn't need to stop and scrape the sides. Add half the honey through the chute in the lid of your processor (if you don't have one, just stop the processor and add the honey) and process another minute. Turn the processor up to the fastest level for about 20 seconds, then turn off. Using a spatula, scrape the sunbutter into the container you're using (I prefer a mason jar!). Repeat the process with the second half of your ingredients. Refrigerate the sunbutter to keep it fresh; mine has lasted 2 weeks before its gone (teehee), and it may last longer.

So what do you think of cooking with plantains? The options become endless if you can eat eggs, but if eggs aren't an option you must be a creative cat when it comes to substitutions. Here are the plantain pancakes; the recipe for these pancakes is linked above. I simply switched out the gelatin for agar agar and cooked the pancakes for 6-7 minutes each side so they would be all the way cooked through! I plan to try out chia seeds rather than agar agar next time; stay tuned for results.

SO delicious!!

I hope you are as excited about this allergy-free PB&J as I was! Let's not kid ourselves, I totally crave them like any seven-year-old does. ;) Happy cooking&blending!

--KQ