3-Minute Banana Bread or Carrot Cake (Single-serving)

First post-Iraq post!

Today is one of those days where I was planning to go to the gym earlier so I didn’t make lunch—but then I ate a bunch of gummy bears and shopped for furniture online and now it’s 1310 and I need to go buy a mattress. Well, now I want food before I go shopping. I am also procrastinating because I hate shopping for anything.

I went into my kitchen and spotted a brown, overripe banana. If I hadn’t eaten all my oatmeal, I would make oatmeal with a banana and walnuts. Instead, I decided to make a banana and walnut mash of goodness. But no, wait! How about banana bread?! Banana bread it is.

I know everyone’s been posting microwave single-serving desserts for a while now. I think it’s funny everyone “just” discovered that you can make baked things in the microwave. Perhaps they were never up late procrastinating  studying for finals.

This is a quick, sloppy banana bread recipe for the lazy or those in a hurry.

What you need:

• 1 very ripe banana
• a handful of walnuts (shelled of course. Unless you like to eat the shells.)
• about 2 1/2 tblsp whole wheat flour
• maybe 1/4 tsp baking soda or less.
• about 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• two dashes of nutmeg
• two dashes of allspice
• about 1/2 cup of water
• a bowl
• a fork
• a microwave

Peel the banana. Put it in the bowl and mash it up. Crumble the walnuts and put them in. Add the dry ingredients. Pour in enough water to make it a little wetter than cookie dough and more viscous than normal banana bread batter.

Cook it in the microwave for 2 minutes. It will be sticky at that point, but I like my banana bread sticky, so I went no further.

Now it’s time to buy a mattress.

It may not look particularly appetizing--but it's a single serving. Nobody's judging your skillz here.

P.S. I made carrot cake the next day.

5-Minute Carrot Cake Ingredients:

• 2 carrots
• 3 tblsp Whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tblsp molasses
• 1 tblsp honey
• about 1/2 cup water
• a handful of walnuts, crumbled

Shred the carrots. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix in the water, molasses and honey. Mix in the carrots and walnuts. Cook for 3 minutes. Consume.

 

Honey-Ginger Eggplant 4 Ways

I made the 3rd version over the weekend for my lunch today. On top of wilted spinach with sauteed onions and toasted walnuts, it was pretty great but a little over-sweet, so I’ve adapted it below (original recipe, Option A, was from: Modern Spice by Monica Bhide). The 3rd option came out to a nice, juicy softness with a bit of firmness and just a hint of crispiness on the outside.

The Marinade:

Mix the following ingredients in a small jar and keep stored in the fridge until you need it:

• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and grated to a pulp (on the small grater that looks like someone tried to punch their way out of it using a ballpoint pen)
• 1/4 cup warmed liquid honey (microwave on 1/2 power for 15 seconds, no cap!)
• 3 tsp red chili flakes, or 1 1/2 tsp good cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses (find at Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern stores / cafes)
• 1 Tbsp olive or peanut oil
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon/lime zest
• juice of 1/2 lemon (2 or 3 tsp)

The Other Ingredients:

• 1 medium size eggplant* sliced in 3/4″ to 1″ discs
• 1 package fresh spinach (normal salad-bag size)
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped to 1/2″ size bits
• 2 smaller cloves garlic, or 1 big one, smashed & minced
• 2 Tbsp small-chopped walnuts
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Warmed Jalapeno bread or spicy-garlic naan (or just 2 c cooked plain rice)

Ginger Jack-O-Lantern Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are really, really great. No, really — they’re the kind that make people’s eyes pop out a little. Then the person revises their obligatory “thanks for the cookie” compliment and sends you several emails telling you that these REALLY are the best cookies they’ve ever had. And yeah, I omit the Jack-O-Lantern face. These taste more like ThanksChristmasGiving-style cookies anyhow.

Source: Alison Ladman, AP, reprinted in the SLO Tribune.

—

Molasses and spice make for great autumnal flavors. In this cookie sandwich we’ve taken a chewy gingerbread pumpkin cut-out cookie and added fun jack-o-lantern faces and a lightly sweetened cream cheese filling. For another fall theme, the cookies also could be made with leaf-shaped cutters.

If your dough gets too warm, put it in the freezer for 5 minutes for easier cutting. A thin metal spatula works well for transferring the unbaked cookies to the prepared baking sheet.

JACK-O-LANTERN COOKIES

Start to finish: 3 hours (1 hour active)
Makes 20 cookie sandwiches

For the cookies:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup milk

For the filling:

• Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the cookies, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, salt and baking soda.