Ghetto Banana Oat Chunk

As a proud member of the Bryan Hall Kitchen Club, I would like to share with you my first Bryan-Born cluster-fuck of a recipe!

 The Bryan Hall kitchen was best described by my roommate Colleen as the kitchen used in Jurrasic Park.  There is a striking resemblance.

Sooo with a few mushy bananas from the dining hall, applesauce, oats, and walnuts, I thought I'd try to whip together a home go-to ...

Banana Bread.

Armed with my goods, I headed to the dungeon.

To have the key to Bryan kitchen is to unlock a world of strange out of date kitchen devices, crusty pans, and sticky utensils. Somehow everything has a residue, and smells like a nursing home. :) Yummy! Let's get cookin'!

Ghetto Banana Oat Chunk

Thanks to lack of ingredients and a muffin tin I dubb thee... CHUNK!

Not quite a loaf. Definately no muffin... 

What you Need

- 2 Spotted/brown bananas

- 1/2 cup of Applesauce

-1 egg

-1/2 cup sugar

-1 cup flour

-1/2 cup oats

splash of vanilla

cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Walnuts 

cinnamon sugar /cocoa powder for dusting

**Warning I did not use actual measurements for the baking powder and soda b/c everything was STICKY and gross!**

Preheat Oven to 350

(The oven I used was not accurate and kiiiinda burnt the top of my banana chunk)

1. Mash up your naners real good. Add in applesauce, egg, sugar, and vanilla.

2. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients... Flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and even cocoa powder if you are a chocaholic. 

3. Combine wet and dry ingridents. Mixy.

4. Grease your lil' pan... 

4. Create an added sweet crunch on top with crushed walnuts, and cinnamon sugar... And wish the lil' guy luck! There he goes!

WOW YOU may be surprised that there is NO FAT in this here naner-bread!

Yupp! Applesauce and mashed bananas gives enough moisture and richness that you don't need any oil or butter! Amazing!

We made it out of Bryan Kitchen alive... Now pour a big ol' glass of milk, and butter up a slice of warm banana oat chunk... A wholesome, ghetto-baked treat!! 

ADDED HEALTHY GOODNESS
* Oats - dietary fiber and whole grain
* Walnuts - Rich in Omega-3 and minerals
* Applesauce - Alternative to Oil




Who says you can't eat good in the ghetto?


Just for fun... change the words to...
"I'm not a loaf
...Not quite a muffin!"

Table for one.

Yo Degas! It doesn't have to be like this!


Why are we so afraid to eat alone?  God forbid we go to the dining hall without an entourage big enough to move tables around to accommodate everyone. Why is it so shameful to independently venture into a restaurant by oneself?  So often we heat up a Lean Cuisine instead of going to get what we are really hungry for.  And I am not talking about going to a cafe with r stack of homework to occupy ourselves and non-verbally tell others that "Ok I may be alone, but it is because I am just really busy."

What might happen if you go out to eat solo?  Will you feel judeged? No one wants to be that poor guy/girl who is eating alone in public, right?  Well sometimes, I want to be that person.



Not that I don't love social eating, but some of my favorite meals have been little personal adventures.  I go, I eat, I enjoy.  No need for small talk or gossip, just nomming with myself!


 Whenever I am feeling at disconnect with the world and need to be centered I seek solitude.  I ride solo to go do something rather risky--- and usually more rewarding.

I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine

I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky

I'm solo, I'm Nommin' solo

I'm nommin' solo, I'm nommin' solo, solo

Nommin' S-o-l-o

I needed to find inner- independent- food- rebel-Anthony Bourdaine-self ... Like the time i blew $30 bucks at a tapas bar in JFK International airport , or when I went to the traditional Indian meal for the Diwali festival by myself.

Yeah it is about time.

So here I go... Off to the little bitty town of Eclipse for a bang up meal.  A  'Local Tasting and Dinner' from new Eclipse chef, David Lopez that featured seasonal and local fare from around Athens Ohio. $15 per person if you drive, or $10 if you ride your bike...SCORE! Jeez.. that is cheaper than a meal at the dining hall, and there's even a mini-bike work-out!

Where Its At Yo : The Eclipse Country Store

 So I made it... And now I realize I am alone in a room full of locals with their groups of friends and family. Where to sit? It is like the first day of school all over again! How refreshing!


"Do you mind if I sit here? I am a loner tonight!" --- And just like a table of strangers becomes a welcoming gang of fellow humans!  Really, everyone wants a new friend, even a weirdo that bikes to restaurant events by herself :)


Soooo what's for dinner?!

Le Menu

Spinach and mushroom lasagna with local Snowville Creamery cheese.

Chicken in a pear sauce, 

A grilled vegetable and olive antipasto platter

Savory spanish rice pilaf

Creamy gruyere Potatoes

Local greens with gouda and homemade dressing

Home made breads

And a desert of lemon bars, dark chocolate ganache topped cupcakes, and black bean brownies...

Ehhh if i HAAAAVE too..

After all was said and devoured I had to stop and think about what just happened as I looked up at a sunset that I would have missed had I stayed in to do homework.  That sky was a one time deal, as was the meal, as was the conversation between newly made friends.  Sometimes you just have to do whatever the hell you feel like doing--- Or eat wherever the hell you feel like eating. Even if you are alone.