Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast

           I don’t know why, but peanut butter is not a popular ingredient in Russia…or, probably, I never paid attention to this condiment when I lived in Moscow – as I’ve mentioned, I was not interested in cooking and exploring grocery stores at the time. So, as I moved to India and discovered this product (as I caught a sight of it sitting on a shelf in a supermarket, I remembered that it was mentioned in the Western movies and decided to give it a try) I didn’t know exactly what to do with it. I was wondering how to incorporate it into our home menu and eventually decided not to invent a wheel: in the long run, most of people around the world simply spread it on a toast and top with banana to get a quick, healthy and nutritious breakfast (it has even got a special “code name” – PB&B toast). Later on I transformed it into a bit more elaborate dish – a stuffed French toast – and added chocolate sauce to it. I realize that the question of it being a healthy breakfast became arguable since then, but…it is so undoubtedly good that, I guess, I will definitely cook it for my friends in Russia – in order to popularize this condiment and yummy things one can make with it!

Banana Walnut Tart

      
          If you ask my mum what was my favourite fruit in the childhood, she would be quick to give you an answer: banana! Yes, I was a banana-obsessed child. Nowadays, however, I feel rather indifferent to it – probably, I’ve had too much of it (there is a theory that you can consume only a definite amount of a particular edible substance and once you reach your limit, you can’t see it for the rest of your life) or finally realized that it is a rather rich fruit to snack on constantly. In spite of that, you can always find a big bunch of bananas in our fridge – for my husband’s late evening fruit salad and for my early morning oatmeal (yes, I still have this fruit sometimes – haven’t reached my limit yet, only slowed down the pace). And the only problem with the bananas (they ripe fast) is easily soluble – you can make stuffed French toasts, pancakes, muffins, a coffee cake or even a banana bread. Last time I got overriped bananas, I decided to go for a tart with caramelized honey and walnut topping. Luckily, I had some home-made ice-cream at the time which served as a lovely accomplishment to the dessert.