If you can recall how much I adored making raw recipes with bananas (n'ice cream, cupcakes, smoothies, pudding and more), you can imagine how heart broken I was the first day even a glimpse of my former fave caused me to gag. How was I going to make it through the upcoming months without my beloved fruit?
Well, I'm happy to report that I can now consume bananas again, thanks to some encouragement from my son. He thought they'd go great in my bowl of berries, although I think he had another agenda.You see, he really wanted me to have less room in my bowl for the strawberries he had hoped to save for himself (I know they're not in season, but they are his favorite food at the moment).
Actually, his idea proved to be a good one. The bananas tasted okay, and I continued to eat a few more slices over the past couple days.
I seem to prefer them mixed into things, so it was no surprise when a recipe on Food Network caught my attention yesterday. Jacob and I have been glued to the shows with a chocolate theme, agreeing that the Choc-Nanner-Nuts Custards on Cooking for Real would be worth a taste test (with a few modifications, of course).
Now, I had no interest in the vanilla wafer crust, but thought an almond crumble might be nice as a base. As for the filling, I was right with the host as she added the next few ingredients.
This chunky monkey concoction (she said she used to refer to just about any recipe involving bananas with this name) started out with a combination of chopped bananas, chocolate chips and nuts. She added this mixture to the mini tart shells, leaving me hopeful that this would act as the custard.
I should've known that she was still planning to make an actual custard to bind these ingredients together, but I was content with what she already had in the tart shell. It was the perfect snack for me.
I didn't have a cute little heart-shaped, tart-sized ramekin like hers. Instead, I opted for this shallow round one.
You can quickly whip one up, too. But if you are fully raw, I'd advise using some cacao nibs, a broken up raw chocolate bar or homemade raw chocolate chips (make your own raw chocolate, pipe it into mini kisses and allow to set). I hate to admit that I sprinkled some organic dairy-free, gluten-free chips in mine. I apologize for the not-fully-raw visual.
