Comfort Food

Everyone has their own personal go to foods that they like to eat when they are sick. For me its normally fresh squeezed orange juice, slow cooked homemade chicken gluten free noodle soup (or Pho with extra rooster sauce from a local Vietnamese restaurant), and of course hot tea and honey (sometimes when feeling particularly ill with a spot of whisky). This past weekend I was sick, and sadly far too sick to sit in a restaurant and eat Pho with a bunch of healthy people and way to exhausted to even think about preparing a pot of homemade soup. I wanted something quick and comforting, something that would fill my belly, please my palate and lull me into a long afternoon nap. First thing that came to mind was toast, that would be quick and most definitely easy, but sadly I had no bread. Then my thoughts turned to one of my favorite go to comfort foods, oatmeal but at the moment even that seemed like it would take far too long to prepare. Then my eyes fixated upon an almost past its prime banana sitting on the counter, aside from being cooked up into a delicious bowl of oaty goodness one of my most favorite ways to enjoy a banana is a delicious something I like to call…

Peanut Butter Banana Quesadilla
Serves one

Ingredients

1 Brown rice tortilla (preferably from Trader Joes, theirs are the best!)
1 or 2 tablespoons peanut butter
a swirl of honey
1 small banana, sliced

Preparation

Warm the brown rice tortilla in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once warmed on both sides smother one side of the tortilla with the peanut butter. Add to this a swirl of honey and top one half with the banana slices. Wait a few moments then fold the tortilla over and let it cook on both sides until browned to your preferred taste.

Serve with a glass of chocolate milk (soy, rice, almond, hemp or moocow).

I also had some watermelon with my quesadilla because getting adequate hydration is important when you are feeling under the weather and watermelon is a most delicious way to increase your water intake.

As always the quesadilla was delish and the perfect balance of nourishment and quick comfort food that did indeed lull me into a most restful 2 ½ hour nap.

Sandwich week, PB (again) Thursday

Wednesday’s sandwich was so scrumptious and it reminded me of how much I love peanut butter sandwiches. It also reminded me of my former favorite peanut butter sandwich shop and local fine purveyor of gourmet peanut butters, Nutters. Their menu included classics such as peanut butter and jelly and decadent additions like peanut butter swirled with chocolaty nutella. They also made a sandwich that quickly became my personal favorite, the Vanilla Sky. Peanut butter, cream cheese and fresh green apple slices all nestled between two slices of fluffy bread and served with carrot sticks, pretzels and a glass of milk on the side (so cute, I know!). Since Nutters also made all the nut butters for their sandwiches in house you always had a plethora of scrumptious spreads to choose from such as chocolate blueberry, white chocolate pretzel and cinnamon almond. Shortly after I discovered this delicious little restaurant they closed their doors. Happily though they continued to sell their scrumptious nut butters online and eventually opened up a swanky little gourmetish vegetarian restaurant called Spread in North Park (they even have bubble chairs that hang from the ceiling!). Their new menu changes with the seasons and their daily fresh findings from local markets and has included delights such as brown rice porridge with berries and honey, peanut butter veggie curry with quinoa, and gelato topped with almond butter and pop rocks. They are super knowledgeable about food allergies and special diets too. One Sunday morning I went there for their delicious brunch and as I was looking over the menu board I mentioned to the owner I could not have anything with wheat in it and he replied, “Gluten allergy? Let me show you what you can have” and he proceeded to go over every item on the menu that was safe for me to eat as is and also ones that were not and how they could alter them to make them gluten free just for me (I love that!!). While they still sell little jars of peanut butter in the new shop they no longer offer any of the delicious sandwiches that Nutters carried. Which I’ll admit I was a little saddened by at first but not for too long because their new place is so cute and yummy and it really was easy enough to buy a jar of peanut butter and go home and make a sandwich myself. So that’s what I did at least up until I stopped eating gluten and sandwiches in general, and after a while I forgot all about the deliciousness of the vanilla sky. Until now, with one bite of Wednesday’s creamy peanut butter banana sandwich I was swept away with memories of peanut butter sandwiches past and knew in an instant what my next sandwichy creation would be.

Nutters style Vanilla Sky

gluten free bread
peanut butter
cream cheese (or tofutti fake cream cheese)
½ of a thinly sliced green apple
a swirl of agave nectar or honey

Smear one slice of bread with peanut butter then smear the other slice with cream cheese. Top one side with green apple slices and drizzle with sweetener of choice. Put it all together and enjoy!

I toasted my bread because I like when the peanut butter is all oooy gooey and melty but this sandwich is equally delicious untoasted as well.

Now that I have recreated my favorite “Nutters” sandwich I will have to next tackle whipping up a batch of my very own gluten free version of white chocolate pretzel peanut butter.

Sandwich week, PB Wednesday

Wednesday morning I could already tell it was going to be another warm one so I decided to make a cold breakfast by crumbling an oat bar into some vanilla yogurt and topping it with blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Served with a cup of Trader Joe’s blueberry green tea it was the perfect summer morning breakfast and one that let me have my oats without having to eat a hot bowl of oatmeal.

By the way TJ’s blueberry green tea is super yummy! The sweetness of the real blueberry juice cuts all the bitterness of the green tea. Even if you typically do not care for green tea if you like blueberries I promise you will l-o-v-e this tea.

For lunch I had another scrumptious sandwich creation of course. After having had turkey for my previous two days of sandwiches I was ready for a break from the meat so I came up with this delicious treat.

Toasted gluten free bread + a generous smear of peanut butter + slices of banana + a drizzle of honey = yummers!!

I used some of the huckleberry honey my mom and Hamilton brought back from Yellowstone for me. If you don’t have any honey on hand chocolate chips are equally scrumptious in a peanut butter banana sandwich as well.

I enjoyed my sandwich with a glass of chocolate soy milk, some mango, and a table top visit from my kitty cat Sammy Davis Junior.

Sammy really likes to play with liquids and he wanted so badly to put his paw in my milk but I deterred him from that endeavor by putting some toys in his water dish for him to play with instead.

Wednesday’s sandwich was a delicious success and fun thanks to the antics of Sammy.