Tag Archives | banana

Sweet Caribbean Flatbread

By Rob Carroll on July 22, 2017 in

I made this flatbread for my better half for dessert one night, mostly just to use up a couple bananas that were about to turn one degree too ripe in the next five minutes. What is it about bananas and ripeness? It’s as if they’re a hair underripe when you buy them, then by the time you get them home, they’re about to turn soft. When they get too soft, into the freezer they go, destined to be a smoothie, and even that bag is getting bigger by the week. One can only eat so many smoothies. Our life is a constant juggle of banana ripeness.

I’ve noticed that absolutely everyone has a very specific level of banana ripeness that they prefer. (Come on, you know you do!) Even our dog, who loves banana, won’t eat a piece if it’s even a bit too ripe for him. So confounding!

Anyways, my better half loves food that makes him feel like he’s on a tropical island: coconuts, bananas, mangoes, you name it. He’s always buying bananas. And one night after we had salads for dinner, I noticed him cruising around the kitchen looking for something sweet. What can I say, I know him!

I had been wanting to broil some banana slices for some time, so I offered to make him a little something special on which to slake his sweet tooth. He didn’t even know what was coming, but he readily agreed. I shooed him out of the kitchen and set to work.

Not that it was a whole lot of ‘work.’ In the time it takes to pre-heat the broiler, this flatbread recipe can be completely prepped up, and ready to go.

Someday I’ll invest in a crème brûlée torch to melt the sugar on the banana slices with a bit more precision, but until then, a broiler will have to suffice. No one should probably live in a home where crème brûlée is easy to make, and this would be one step closer to that world, am I right?

This flatbread comes close to the creamy sweetness of that classic French dessert, right down to the slight crunch of the turbinado sugar, but with a tropical edge. Needless to say, my sweet-who-loves-sweets loved it, and was even willing to share with me my latest flatbread creation.

If only all banana solutions were as quick and easy!

-Amy at Flatout

Sweet Quesadillas

By Rob Carroll on January 23, 2017 in

Any way you want it, flatbread can do it. Take, for instance, our sweet flatbread quesadilla duo: on one, spread some of your favorite nut butter, then add bananas, strawberries, and chocolate chips. Perfect for breakfast on Sunday morning. On the next, take dessert to the next level with marshmallow spread, bananas, and mini chocolate chips. Whipped cream and chocolate sauce seals the delicious deal. Perfect for the end of a romantic meal for two! Whichever one you’re in the mood for, our video takes you through every sweet step:

Build Your Own Rainbow Fruit Pizza

By Rob Carroll on October 1, 2015 in

Berry Banana Nut Wrap

By Rob Carroll on July 25, 2010 in

It’s blueberry season, and I couldn’t be happier! I’ve always had an affinity for these little berries and love to throw them into all my salads, flatbread wraps, breakfasts, and snacks.

Only true blueberry lovers know this, but there are dozens of different varieties of blueberries, each of which has a distinct characteristic, but the U.S. is known for high bush plants, which are taller. Years ago on a trip to Sweden, I discovered that they have wild low bush blueberries which grow in the forest. They’re so small, people have developed a plastic, hand-shaped contraption with grooved teeth to pick them with so you don’t have to stoop too far down. The berries are super tiny, but delicious!

In Michigan, blueberry farms dot the coast along the lake shore, where it’s temperate and the soil is sandy. You can buy picked berries by the box if you’re pressed for time, or you can pick your own, which is great fun if you don’t mind touristy things and have some time to kill. The farmer hands out buckets on straps so you can sling them over your shoulder, (thus keeping your hands free for picking) and sends you out to the part of the grove where the bushes are ready.

At my favorite blueberry farm, there’s a huge hand painted sign posted at the entrance to the groves that says “Please do NOT throw the Berries!” I guess that’s a thing, throwing berries. It can start innocently enough, with a little toss up into the air to see if you can catch a berry in your mouth, then it might progress to aiming a berry, just one or two, at some unsuspecting friend, until it becomes an all-out berry war made with precious, freshly-picked handfuls. It’s a downward spiral.

Not that I’ve ever done it. I prefer to enjoy my berries in more traditional ways: in pies, muffins, and especially in this fabulous quick breakfast flatbread wrap.

Even if all you have is a minute, you can wrap up a breakfast filled with creamy ricotta, crunchy nuts, banana and a handful of anti-oxidant rich blueberries that will be the envy of anyone who sees it. Blueberries make mornings fun!