Shine Supper Club: Spiced Peanut Butter and Melted Banana Sandwich Spread

Even though I can't eat much in the way of bread anymore, with my nutty work schedule, I can certainly appreciate the simple convenience of a sandwich. So when, two days before I'm supposed to leave for vacation, I got a call from work asking me to come in early the next day, I knew what my lunch would be. And it just so happened that the Shine Supper Club is doing Sandwiches this month.

So I had a major challenge: Come up with something I could eat on the way, would hold up in the heat, and all in a matter of about 6 hours. Oh, and my mother happened to have just used up all but the last heel of the bread.

I've been somewhat obsessed recently with a couple of things. One is a blog called Chocolate CoveredKatie, full of healthy dessert ideas. Another is PB2, a powdered peanut butter that, while not convenient to mix and use as a peanut butter replacement, is wonderful for mixing into smoothies, yogurt, pancakes...or sandwich spread.

So I combined two things. I used CCK's Melted Banana trick, and mixed the caramelized banana with PB2 and cinnamon with just a little water to thin it out.

The “recipe”:

Spiced Peanut Butter and Melted Banana Sandwich Spread

Enough for one sandwich

1/2 large banana

2 tblsp PB2

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Water, enough to thin to desired consistency.

1-2 slices of bread (I don't folding over for a half sandwich, but it does make for a thick sandwich)

1. In a covered bowl, microwave banana in 20 second intervals, mashing with a fork between intervals, until banana is completely mushy. (About 3 sessions in my microwave).
2. Mix in PB2 and cinnamon, adding water to achieve desired consistency.
3. Spread over bread slice and enjoy!

They say necessity is the mother of invention. While I may go back to my old standbys, though, this is one to keep in the aresenal. It held up until I got to work without making an absolute mess, and still tasted good when I got there.

Sometimes I bring a cold cut sandwich, sometimes peanut butter and jelly, sometimes it's cream cheese and olive and other times I grab something from the drive thru on the way. When I'm in the mood for something different, though, I know what I will turn to.

Shine Supper Club: Microwave Peanut Butter Egg Pancake

Welcome to my world over the winter.

Working for a sports team means I usually work at night, when I don't get as many opportunities to cook for my family. When I do, I stick to old standbys like Baked Chicken. For dinner, I'm either scrounging leftovers, preparing some overly processed food from the freezer, or making something simple.

But simple doesn't always mean not creative. Someone recently posted her recipe for Nut Butter pancakes in a healthy living chat room. It couldn't have been more simple – a tablespoon of any nut or seed butter, one egg, and an eighth of a teaspoon of baking powder. A simple, egg-based pancake. It was the perfect meal for me – easy enough that I could whip it up when I get home at 11:30pm or after a workout when I'm exhausted and need food fast. Of course, being me, I played with the recipe. I got lazy and started cooking it in the microwave, like I might scramble my eggs. And with the Shine Supper Club doing egg dishes this month, I saw a perfect opportunity to share my even-easier – and in my opinion, tastier – version.

Microwave Peanut Butter Egg Pancake

(My apologies, as I forget which of my friends posted the recipe its adapted from!)

For each pancake, you will need:

1 large egg

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cooking spray

Topping of choice (in this case, spreadable honey, but maple syrup, bananas, yogurt, and applesauce would all also be tasty ideas).

In a small bowl, whip egg with honey, baking powder and cinnamon until well combined. Add peanut butter and mix well.

Spray a dinner-sized plate with cooking spray. Pour batter onto plate. Microwave for about 1 minute, until it appears just moist.

[Blogger's note: I do apologize for my photography. The reason I don't do too many step by step photos is that you are typically seeing pictures minutes after the food is made and often minutes before I am about to devour it. This is especially true with lunch meals, like this or my Mocha Oatmeal. I love to cook and eat and it's tough when things get between the two!]

Of course, this can be done in a skillet (the original was). You can sub any nut or seed butter you wish. Or whatever sweetener you wish. That's why I love recipes like this: They're easy to tweak and make your own, or so you don't get bored with the “same ole, same ole.”

It's also perfect for many other occasions. Family doesn't all get up at once? It only takes a few minutes to whip up a single serving as they come down for breakfast. Since it's only one serving, it's also good for single cooks like me. Or perhaps for modifying it for an individual family member's tastes. It's quick, it's high-protein, reasonably healthy, and delicious.

Now what's next? Perhaps an Asian Savory Egg Pancake? Fluffernutter?

With me, one never knows...

Shine Supper Club: Breakfast-in-Bed-Worthy Mocha Oatmeal

When I first saw that the Shine SupperClub was doing “Sexy Dishes” for February, I was at a loss. I'm a single girl, just cooking for family and friends. Romantic dinners for two hasn't been in my repertoire.

Then, after a hard workout, I was exhausted and looking for some carbohydrates. I turned to one of my quick and easy favorites: oatmeal. When I'm as tired as I was, I sometimes just make an instant oatmeal packet with hot brewed coffee. When it's plain, one of my favorite sweeteners is a packet of hot cocoa mix. At this point, I was so tired I wanted someone to just bring it to me.

And then it hit me: it's the perfect breakfast-in-bed food. And what's sexier than breakfast-in-bed and chocolate?

Of course, instant oatmeal and hot cocoa are easy enough to throw together. So for my next post-workout oatmeal dish, I set out to make a more from-scratch version.

So, a little coffee, a little sugar, a lot of cocoa powder (I like it dark!) and a coffee creamer and voilia!

Breakfast-in-Bed Mocha Oatmeal

Serves 1...but easily doubled

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2/3 cup cold coffee (oatmeal will be on the thick side, use more or less to taste)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon sugar (use more or less to taste)

1 half-and-half coffee creamer, or flavor of choice

Splash of vanilla extract

Mix oats, cocoa, and sugar in a bowl, stir to prevent clumping when wet ingredients are added. Add coffee and vanilla, stir.

Microwave 1 1/2 minutes, or amount of time specified on oatmeal container.

Add coffee creamer, stir until well mixed.

I think this on a tray, maybe with a side of strawberries, would make anybody's sexy meal list. It's also a perfect breakfast food – get your caffeine fix in your morning oatmeal!

I'm not making any promises if you serve this to your sweetie. But I think it ups your chances. Now if someone would just make it for me...

Maple Spice Microwave Mini Cake

Ah, October. The humidity is down for now, the air has cooled a little, it's been sunny and pleasantly breezy. It almost feels like fall...at least as much fall as we get here in Florida. Naturally, it's also the time to start thinking about fall foods. Like spice cake.

I've mentioned a few times about the “Meal Deals” that my local grocery store has. A fairly frequent one is buying some bacon and getting pancake mix and pancake syrup free. We go through the pancake mix and bacon a lot quicker than we do the syrup, and it's starting to pile up. So I decided to try something with it.

I know very little about replacing sugar in a recipe with maple syrup. It's not my family's favorite, so it's not something I've tried before. But still, this is a microwave cake. I figure if I messed it up, it's small enough to not make a fuss over.

I took my base recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, Kirbie's Cravings. There aren't a whole lot of mug spice cake recipes out there, so I started with her “Light Strawberry Mug Cake” and swapped the pancake syrup for the sugar and added the spice, omitting the strawberries. Yes, I know you're supposed to reduce the liquid. I didn't.

The cake itself came together nicely. I noticed two things baking it, however: One, it took a lot longer – almost two and a half minutes – to microwave. For two, it was very dense. It almost had a pudding like consistency. This was mentioned in Kirbie's original post on the recipe, so I can't necessarily blame that on too much liquid.

Still, I can have my cake and eat it too. I topped it with about a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar for a little extra oomph. Yet neither myself nor my mother could taste maple (granted I didn't use real maple syrup), and it wasn't very spicy either.

Anyhow, the recipe I used:

Maple Spice Microwave Mini Cake

Adapted heavily from Kirbie's Cravings

Ingredients:

5 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup pancake syrup (use real maple if you have it, but otherwise the blends will do)
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 egg
5 tablespoon nonfat milk
1 tablespoon oil
1 tsp cinnamon

1tsp Pumpkin Pie spice

1tsp cinnamon sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except cinnamon sugar. Stir until smooth. Spray a microwave-safe 2 cup ramekin or oversize mug with baker's spray and pour in batter
2. Microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. Continue in 20 second intervals until cake tester inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean.
3. Invert ramekin over a small plate and top with cinnamon sugar, if desired.

Dense and non-spicey-maple-y as it might have been, it still tasted good. I'm going to keep this in the play-around with file. That is, if I don't find another recipe I have to try first.

Perfecting the Microwave Applesauce Cake

I actually made this earlier in the week, but only just now got around to blogging about it. With the larger and healthier version of the mug cake seeming to be a legitimate working recipe, I have been after bigger sights. A cake that's ready quickly (although it always, always, always takes me more than 5 minutes) and only serves a small crew would be perfect for those little celebrations that can pop up unexpectedly.

I used this recipe mostly, except for adding two tablespoons of coffee. That equals the amount of liquid in the regular mug-sized version. I also started it out for 90 seconds, adding time in 20 second intervals until it was done. (it ended up being 2 minutes 30 seconds, a full minute less than the original). I also used another one of my new toys – a 1-quart souffle dish – instead of the mixing bowl.

I had a couple of icing cups leftover from Hungry Howie's Cinna-MMM bread, so I figured I'd go for it and glaze the cake as well:

The result? A tender, moist and rich chocolate cake. The only problem with applesauce is that the cake does go stale quicker than cakes baked with fat. So what? You can consume the whole unglazed cake for less than 650 calories. Even I can't eat the whole cake.

Two thumbs go way up for this one. What's next for the microwave cake? Well, my latest round of toys all has to do with cake decorating...

I can't wait to see how far this goes.

The Microwave Mayonnaise Mini Cake: Revisited

There's so many things that made me come to this idea that it's not funny. For one, my microwave cakes have successful enough that I want to do more with them. How nice would it be if you could quickly whip up a little bitty cake, actually decorate it and bring it to a friend to celebrate something unexpected? Plus, there's actually regular mayonnaise around the house right now – a rarity.

To top it off, I had an Oreo doughnut last week from Dunkin' Donuts. I loved it – in fact, it's become a close second behind my favorite doughnut of all time, Tim Horton's S'more donut. It's a chocolate frosted doughnut with mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs on top.

S'mores are by far my favorite summer food – namely because I like marshmallows and chocolate. And, because inspiration comes to me like this, it got me thinking about making a s'more microwave cake.

So I whipped up the original recipe with regular mayo, saving the flour for last instead. I dumped it over 3/4 cup of mini mint chocolate marshmallows in the bottom of my new 2-cup ramekin (gotta love the excuse to use new toys!). I also cut the microwave time – it took about 2 minutes to be reasonably done. I had graham cracker crumbs at the ready as I dumped it over onto a plate:

As you can see, the results were not quite what I anticipated. So I just cut it into fourths and forgot about the graham crackers. Not to mention, the melty marshmallows made for an almost pudding like texture on top of the cake.

Still, I have to say I have discovered that, yes, regular mayonnaise makes all the difference (although you don't get the diet benefits, but because it rises more, you can decrease the serving size). Plus, ugly as it was, it still tasted good.

Plus, I also learned that marshmallows will melt completely after 2 minutes in the microwave. As the Mythbusters (my favorite TV show!) say, “Failure is always an option.”

And it's been said many times that you learn more from your failures than your successes. Now, if only Dunkin' would come out with their own s'mores doughnut...

Microwave Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Oh, the microwave cake. This week has been a taste of normality – I've been working with a kid's scuba camp. And one of the great things about the microwave cake is that they are the weeknight baker's best friend – quick and easy.

So, with my lack of time this week, I decided to try and combine my last two microwave cakes. A Chocolate Sourdough Applesauce cake?

I took some risks here – I modified both so much I almost don't want to put my beloved “semi-original recipe” label here. For one thing, I reduced the sourdough starter slightly – I'm all about simplifying, especially for a quick recipe. 6 tablespoons of sourdough starter (twice what was in the not red velvet cake) works out to 1.125 thirds of a cup. Measuring sourdough starter by the tablespoon is possible, but being such a viscous liquid that isn't typically stored in a container where it can be easily poured into a measuring spoon, I'd rather just say 1/3 cup. I also increased the cocoa powder to match that of the regular microwave chocolate cake. Finally, I pulled out a toy that's been sitting in the back of the cupboard – a 4-cup bundt pan specifically for microwave cakes.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe:

Microwave Sourdough Chocolate Cake

Serves from 2 to 8

1/3 Cup Ripe Sourdough Starter

1/2 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup + 1 tblspn Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa powder

1/2 Cup Applesauce

2 eggs

1/4 tspn baking powder

1/2 tspn vanilla extract

1. Mix sourdough starter, eggs, applesauce and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Add baking powder and vanilla.
2. Add cocoa powder and flour, mixing until just combined.
3. Spray microwave safe baking dish (I use Baker's Joy). Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Check for doneness, adding time in 30 second intervals
4. Tip onto serving plate and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy!

I was also trying to avoid the problems I've had with my first few microwave cakes. As I understand, the two major reasons a cake turns out tough is that the flour gets overworked and that it gets overbaked. I added the flour last to avoid the first problem, but ended up with a few lumps in the flour (I used the little mixing bowl, making it tough to mix properly). The latter...it finished on one side quickly, but the other side didn't turn out so well. So I put it in for two more 30 second stints after the initial two minutes. I nervously waited for my usual guinea pigs to have a taste.

The consensus? “A little chewy, but good.” So I'm going to give it one thumb up. I'm hoping a different baking dish might yield some better results.

The problem? I just ordered a whole host of new baking toys from Amazon (more on those when they come in). So looks like I'm going to be waiting for my next free gift card...

Sourdough Microwave Mini-Cake

Being that I just started this blog, I pay attention to how people are finding my site. Someone recently came across my Microwave Mayonnaise Mini-Cake by using the search term “Microwave Cake Sourdough Starter.”

Generally, I like microwave cakes for two reasons. One, they're simple and quick (a memorized recipe and less than ten minutes suits me when I'm being lazy). The other is that they don't leave a lot of leftovers. I can have a couple bite's worth of brownie, share it with my family, and not have the rest of the pan staring me in the face.

Not so much with my sourdough baking. I like to plan those things out and I expect them to be a long, drawn-out process. Plus, the denser cakes make for a decent (if indulgent and not exactly healthy) breakfast – meaning it's easier to resist chowing down on half a cake.

But this whole idea of a sourdough microwave cake intrigued me. And it got me thinking: Is there a way I could make a mini sourdough microwave cake?

Some time ago, when I first learned of different mug cakes, I came across Kirbie's Cravings. She makes lots of mug cakes, including a red velvet mug cake.

Now, my original sourdough red velvet cake was good, but didn't have that red velvet texture – but I doubt the microwave version would whether it was made with sourdough starter or buttermilk. No harm in trying, right?

The main modification was the use of sourdough starter instead of buttermilk and the addition of more liquid, although I didn't make it a “red” velvet cake (I had no red food coloring and this is a spur-of-the-moment kind of recipe) and subbed water. Nor did I frost it – although that being my favorite part of red velvet cake, I probably should have.

So without further ado, here's my sourdough version of Kirbie's Red Velvet Mug Cake:

[Not]Red Velvet Microwave Cake

Adapted from Kirbie's Cravings

Serves up to 4, if you feel like sharing

Ingredients

4 tbsp flour
4 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp ripe sourdough starter
1 egg
1/2 tbsp water (use food coloring to make it a true red velvet cake)

1. Mix ingredients, starting with the wet ingredients and ending with the flour, in a large microwave safe mug or bowl.
2. Microwave on HIGH for 90 seconds. Check for doneness – if the top looks like its overly moist and feels sticky, it could use another 30 seconds. (Mine did in a 1000w microwave).
3. Tip onto a plate, if desired, and enjoy!

No, it wasn't red velvet cake (or velvet chocolate cake, as the case may be). But it was lightly sweet, done perfectly...and I have to say a two thumbs way up success! I can also see this being a useful recipe for those who prefer to use up all of their starter if they aren't going to use it for a while, or even just an excuse to use it.

Props to Kirbie for an awesome recipe, and to whomever typed those words into Google...I hope you keep searching. I think I nailed it for you.

Another Microwave Cake

There is a major downside with living with other people (granted, I pretty much have my own apartment upstairs, complete with a mini fridge, but no cooking appliances). Things – especially food – I think is going to be there isn't. A few weeks ago, someone got a hold of a soda that we don't normally buy that I had been saving for a later project. It only just got replaced today at the grocery store (with a two liter instead of a cans, or I might have done that today). And I could have sworn there were still four different boxes of muffin mix, two boxes of cake mix (different kinds, which is why this is an issue), a sugar cookie pop kit and a whoopie pie kit in the pantry.

I started grabbing what I needed. The whipped topping mix and hot chocolate packet (also things I'm trying to get rid of) and then the yellow cake mix. Except it wasn't there. Apparently, my mother had given it to my sister. Thanks Mom.

But I promised her I'd bake today. In steps another microwave cake experiment I'd been wanting to try.

I've been trying desperately to eat healthier, which is one reason I don't bake nearly as often as I used to. The initial recipe I had received for the Amish Friendship bread calls for either a cup of oil, but says half could be replaced by applesauce. Since single serve applesauce cups are exactly half a cup (try it – I actually wash and reuse them for snack mixes!), it worked perfectly.

Not so much for the microwave cake, for which the original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of oil. That's less than half of the single serve container.

So, not wanting a huge project for the day and keeping my promise to my mother, today was the day for the experiment:

Microwave Chocolate Cake

Serves up to 8...maybe

1/2 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa powder

1/2 Cup Applesauce

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 egg

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small, microwave safe glass mixing bowl. This is also your baking dish, so scrape the sides down.
2. Microwave on HIGH for 3-1/2 minutes. This is for a 1000w microwave oven, so your time may vary
3. Immediately tip over onto a plate. Let cool and enjoy!

I was hopeful that with the milk and oil replaced with applesauce, coupled with a real egg in a more appropriate amount, would take care of the rubbery quality the original microwave cake had and still rise (unlike the mayonnaise version). Alas, it was still there, although it was a cake and not a brownie.

Still, it was good, just not two thumbs up worthy. Probably one thumb up. I have a few ideas for fixing it.

But that will have to wait. The sourdough starter is waiting...

The Microwave Mayonnaise Mini-Cake (or Brownie)

“Were you going to bake something today?”

This was my mother yesterday, as I was poking around for the yeast to get my sourdough starter re-started (it's nice and bubbly and chillin' in the fridge now, by the way, and hopefully I'll get to those biscuits next week). This is Mom's hint that she wants something sweet.

But I have a plan, and that involves using up some baking mixes next week when family is in town. So I had no intentions of actually baking anything until Wednesday. In steps the microwave mini-cake.

I got the original recipe from a chain email, which burst over the top of a 12oz mug and made a mess of the microwave (not to mention, it was a tad rubbery). Then I found this recipe at Instructables. It recommends using 2 tablespoons of beaten egg, rather than a whole egg.

My mind had instantly gone to my mother's mayonnaise cake recipe, which replaces the oil and egg in the recipe with mayonnaise. The first time I tried this, it came out wonderfully, but more brownie-like than cake-like. I blame this more on the light mayonnaise than anything else.

So I decided to bake us one (split 3 ways) with a little bit of baking powder. However, because of my lack of baking lately, our baking powder is a little old. It still came out delicious, but more brownie-like than cake like.

Not that that's a bad thing – I like brownies too. Mom did appreciate having a little bite of chocolate. Using regular mayonnaise or better baking powder might yield better cake results, though, so I don't guarantee texture. I like this recipe too because it's easy to mix whatever in – the original two recipes call for chocolate chips, but I could also see nuts, candy pieces, and for some reason I want to try mixing pretzels in. You could also use different extracts to flavor – almond or peppermint would be wonderful as well.

So without further ado, here's the recipe:

Microwave mayonnaise mini-cake

Serves 1-4, but who am I kidding?

Ingredients

1/4 cup All-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbs cocoa powder

3 tbs milk

5 tbs (1/4 cup+1tbs) light mayonnaise

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

1. Mix dry ingredients together in either a small microwavable bowl or a jumbo microwavable mug.
2. Add wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly
3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes (time is for a 1000w microwave, you may need to adjust time)
   
   
   
   
   

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