When Allie posted on her blog a few of weeks ago (yes, this is a tad late – I originally wanted to post this that week I couldn’t post photos – sorry!) that she was the host of the Blogger Secret Ingredient and that her ingredient of choice was almond butter, I just knew I had to enter.  I really love all nut butters and feel like they can be put on anything.  Plus, if you’re a fan of the sweet/savory combo (I realize it’s sort of a ‘hate it’ or ‘love it’ type thang), then nut butters can basically be worked into anything and everything and will make your creations taste out of this world.  Consider working nut butters into your pasta dishes, spreading them on fruit and/or dried fruit, as a topping for your yogurt or hot cereal and my personal favorite, in a crazy sandwich or panini combination.

When I was a kid, I remember my uncle making this unusual sandwich and saying to myself, “is he nuts?“  For some reason, I was intrigued by his non-traditional sandwich making ways.  I then took a bite and I was instantly in love.  My uncle’s sandwich of cinnamon raisin toast with peanut butter and ham was unbelievable.  The saltiness of the ham was tamed by the sweetness of the cinnamon raisin bread and the peanut butter just tied the two together.  To this day, that is still one of my favorite sandwiches but I know not everyone ‘gets’ it.  But that just makes the sandwich that much better in my mind.

That said, I decided to come up with my own updated version of my uncle’s sandwich and enter it into Allie’s contest.  It was the perfect opportunity to recreate one of my favorite meals and to enter into my very first BSI contest.

My entry for BSI: Almond Butter was….

Creamy Nut Buttery Fig Panini

• 1 tortilla wrap (I used Joseph’s Flax Oatbran & Whole Wheat tortilla wrap)
• 1 TBSP of nut butter (I used Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, but Almond Butter would work just as well.  Allie welcomed any type of nut butter in her contest)
• 1 TBSP of ricotta cheese (I used nonfat; you could use any kind)
• 1 slice of ham (I used Applegate Farms Slow Cooked Ham, but prosciutto would be swell, too)
• 1 dried fig, chopped into bite sized pieces (I used Trader Joe’s Turkish Smyrna Dried Figs)
• drizzle of agave nectar

Spread the nut butter onto the wrap, spread the ricotta, then layer the ham and finally, layer the fig pieces.  Drizzle the agave nectar over all and wrap like a burrito.  If you’d like, you could also fold your wrap in half like a quesadilla.  Place onto your indoor grill, panini maker or frying pan with a heavy object such as a filled tea kettle placed on top, and heat and press for a few minutes until everything starts oozing out!  Once cooked, cut in half (or in multiple wedges if using the quesadilla method) and savor the goodness!

The result?  Delicious! It tasted just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, except much more sophisticated! The sweet and savory flavor was a bit more subtle than the sandwich my uncle created but more complex for the palate.  The dried figs and agave nectar complemented the peanut butter and ham and gave the entire panini a tart and mildly sweet taste.  The ricotta balanced it all out and added to the creaminess of the peanut butter.  I chose the Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseed because of it’s saltiness and the fact that there are chunks of peanut and flaxseeds which helped to add to the depth of the sandwich.

This panini was so easy to make and was quite filling.  I love simple panini/sandwiches that have a crazy little combination inside.  They’re fun to test out and even better when they end up tasting yummy like this one!  I want to thank my uncle for giving me the inspiration to make this wonderful sandwich and I want to thank Allie for giving me the outlet to revamp my family classic.  I had a great time brainstorming my idea for the contest, but I had an even better time tasting and eating my entry.  Come on now, nuthin’ is better than nut butter.

What is your favorite type of nut butter?  What is the most unusual meal/dish you’ve made with a nut butter?

Namasté,
Nicole

***Speaking of nuts, check out what my sister dressed up as for her office’s Halloween party/costume contest! Pretty scary, huh?***

Chuckie from Child’s Play!

A pie eating contest?

My sister’s nametag

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

When I was a little girl, I wasn’t quite sure about the avocado.  I mean, it had this ugly dark green hard shell and then it was mushy on the inside with this honkin’ pit in the middle.  I remember having to bring the pit into school for a class project.  We stuck a bunch of toothpicks in it and then let it hover over a jar of water.  I think it was supposed to sprout a plant or something but I don’t think mine ever did.  Or maybe it did?  Like I said, I never was too thrilled with the avocado.  Plus, growing up in a household where my Chinese grandmother did most of the cooking, this fruit didn’t play much of a role.  I mean, if you couldn’t stir fry it in a wok, what good was it?  (OK, kidding, that was a joke!).

Now that my age is Larry Bird’s jersey number, I’ve become quite fond of the avocado.  I love guacamole, sliced up on salads, in a grilled cheese, and the list goes on.  But even more recently, I’ve discovered that the avocado doesn’t just have to be part of a spread or filler in a sandwich or salad.  Yes my friends, I found that this lovely fruit can be the star of the show.

An avocado sandwich, you ask?  Yup.  And you won’t be missing the tortilla chips…

Pass Me the Hass Sandwich

• 2 slicesof whole wheat bread (I used Trader Joe’s – obvi)
• half of an avocado, should be pretty ripe (doesn’t have to be Hass )
• few shakes of red chili pepper
• few shakes of dried cilantro (fresh cilantro would be even better)
• few shakes of garlic powder
• TBSP of lemon juice
• s&p
• TBSP of real bacon bits (or more if you <3 bacon)
• cucumber slices
• tomato slices
• few baby spinach leaves

Carefully remove the meat from the avocado half (discard the pit or keep it if you’re doing a class project) and place into a small bowl.  Add all of your seasonings and the lemon juice and then mash with a fork until well blended.  Spread the mixture onto one of your bread slices.  Then, sprinkle with your bacon bits (thanks Roni for giving me this idea).  Please note that I know these bacon bits aren’t necessarily the ‘healthiest’ thing in the world but we’re only using a tiny bit here and the smokey flavor it adds to the sammie is kick-Hass (see what I did just there?)!  Layer the other slice of bread with your baby spinach, tomato and cucumber slices.  Sandwich the two pieces together and then place in your George Foreman grill or panini maker (or you could heat it on the stovetop in a pan with something heavy like a tea kettle on top of it).  Wait a few minutes and it’s done when your bread starts to get toasty.

Serves 1

The creamy avocado mixture goes great with the crisp cucumber slices, coupled with the warm toasty bread and salty, smokey bacon bits – it’s pure bliss.  When I first made this sandwich, I thought it was going to be more of a snack versus a meal.  Not true.  This sandwich is filling!  I’m sure that has much to do with the high fat content of the avocado (it’s the ‘good’ fat and it’s rich in vitamins and high in fiber) – but don’t let that throw you.  This is sandwich is worth every calorie!

So come out of your shell and Hass yourself some avocado already! (sorry, I just couldn’t resist)

How do you like to eat your avocado?  Ever grow a plant from the pit?

Namasté,
Nicole