Happy 7th blogiversary to me!

Instead of baking a cake, I had lunch. Seems appropriate.

This is the kind of food I make when I need to eat immediately. A lot of my food fits into that category. It's sort of the theme of the blog, actually. Do you want to eat a plate of something good and interesting, with limited fuss factor? Here you go.

The best thing about these guys is that they're low-effort but high-impact. How basic is a peanut butter and honey sandwich? I ate hundreds of them when I was growing up, both with banana slices and plain. The ingredients are cheap and easily available, and putting them together takes under five minutes. But with a few tweaks to bump up the texture and flavor, you get a far superior end product.

First: rice cakes. They still exist, for one thing, and they're a perfect base for a sandwich filled with peanut butter and honey. You really need a robust crunch to stand up to that soft, sticky, oozing center. Second: just-ripe banana. Fresh fruit with some solid tooth adds a second textural element and a different subtle sweetness. Third: nuts and seeds. These can not only amp up the crunch factor, but add some little pinpoints of heat and aroma, especially if they've just been toasted. The results are crispy, rich, sweet, and savory, and fill you with energy for a surprisingly long time. Yeah!

It's super easy to switch this up to use what you have in the house. Swap out rice cakes for crackers or crisp hot toast, or make a flatbread wrap and crisp the whole thing quickly in the toaster oven. Use sunflower or almond butter in place of the peanut butter. Molasses, agave, or a little swirl of apricot jam (you know, if you're a pb&j person) can work well instead of honey. Apple or pear sliced thinly can sub for the banana, and flaked coconut, chopped dried fruit, or any kind of nut or seed can be a good garnish.

The pantry is your oyster.


Peanut butter, honey, and banana rice cakes with toasted sesame seeds and crushed almonds

rice cakes
peanut butter
honey
banana
sesame seeds
toasted almonds

Start by spreading peanut butter onto a couple of rice cakes. Add a swirl of honey to each.

I like to mix my honey and peanut butter up with the back of a spoon, so I don't get any bites with way too much sugar. It's surprising how much such a simple step improves the taste. Also, it looks pretty.


Slice up a banana and arrange the slices on top of your peanut butter-honey layer.

Now it's time for toppings. I decided to have one rice cake with sesame seeds and one with some finely chopped almonds.

To toast your sesame seeds, place a handful of them in a small dry frying pan. Heat over medium, swirling the pan frequently, for up to five minutes, or until the seeds are just beginning to turn golden brown and smell fragrant and tasty. Be sure to keep an eye on them, since seeds can burn at the drop of a hat. When your sesame seeds are toasted to your liking, remove them from the heat immediately.

Chop a few almonds as finely as you like. Three or four almonds will be plenty for some subtle contrast. My almonds were already roasted, so I didn't need to do anything but chop them up. If you're using raw almonds, you may want to toast them along with your sesame seeds.

Sprinkle your sesame seeds and almond bits over your rice cakes, and you're done.


Eat with the crispy raw fruit or vegetable of your choice. I cut up a fuji apple, sprinkled it with pepper, and had it on the side for even more fruit action.

Happy sandwiching.

What are you making lately for quick yet delicious lunches?