Guest Post: Bananas for Bananas

I could not be happier to bring you this totally bananas Elvis-inspired guest post from my incredible friend, Adalena. I like her as much as I like peanut butter: a lot. We met when I lived in New York and was trying, and ultimately failing, to become an ESL teacher. At a teacher training, I remember she said something about the song Murder Mystery, and that was that. We became friends.

I'm glad that music features still in our friendship and am delighted by the Elvis-inspired-ness of this post. Perhaps more musician's favorite guest posts will follow, such as David Berman's all-day-Coke.


Bananas for Bananas

Elvis was on to something when he paired bananas and peanut butter, but since this is vegetarian cooking, today, we'll leave out the bacon grease.

It's been my experience that bananas and peanut butter are a dynamite combo that riffs on the current craze for the melding of salty and sweet, except that the effect is subtler than some other salty-sweet combos. Peanut butter has a mellow saltiness, while bananas don't overpower you with sweetness.

The Goober Smoothie

1 cup of frozen strawberries
1/2 cup of apple cider
1 banana (preferably frozen- but if you freeze it, cut it up first. I froze a banana in its skin and had to hack the skin off- a disturbing image if you stop to think about it.)
1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Throw it all into a good blender that can handle the frozen items. Blend using the ice crush setting. Now you have a smoothie that tastes like Goober, that peanut butter and jelly swirled together in the jar. This version is much healthier for you.

Elvis' Diet Banana Peanut Butter Sandwich


This barely needs a recipe but here goes:

1 banana sliced down the middle
1 tablespoon of butter
2 slices of toast
1 table spoon of jam (optional)

The hardest part is really not very hard at all. Take a non-stick frying pan and heat up the pan. Then melt the butter and add the banana once the butter has melted. Cook on both sides until caramelized. Assemble the sandwich with peanut butter, jam, then banana on top. Enjoy as an open faced sandwich.

Smore Bananas!


In case you don't have a camp fire handy, and or don't really like marshmallows, this is a good substitute for s'mores.

1 banana
4 graham crackers
schmears of nutella as needed or desired
1 table spoon butter

Okay, you're going to caramelize the banana as you did in the recipe above.
Now all you need to do is assemble. Schmear as much or as little nutella on each graham cracker. Top with a slice of caramelized banana. Imagine a roaring camp fire, and enjoy!