Happy Birthday to the King! Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread (Or Alternatively: “It’s Vegan, Except for the Bacon!”)

Remember all that big talk about new starts and clean eating?  Yeah, well that’s going to have to be put on hold for the day.  It’s the King’s birthday, and it’s only appropriate that we celebrate with something that involves peanut butter, banana and bacon.

Most people struggle to stick to their dietary goals despite seemingly abundant opportunities to stray.  Isn’t it always a friend or coworker’s birthday? Or engagement party, going away party, housewarming, wedding, baby shower, retirement, [insert major life event that involves cake here].  And then there’s me, who feels the need to bake to honor the birthdays of pop icons.  Who have been dead for 35 years.  Welcome to my life.

But come on guys!  It’s the King of Rock ‘n Roll!

Elvis Presley would have turned 78 today… if only he hadn’t eaten so many peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwiches.  Oh, and I suppose the prescription drugs may have played a roll.  But I left those out of my banana bread.

I decided to adapt the recipe for the Vegan Banana Bread I made and loved last Easter.  Because what every delicious vegan recipe needs is BACON.  But then I kept adapting and pretty soon I just started making stuff up as I went along.

“Me: Is this sweet enough?”  “Jana: Honestly, I think it could be sweet enough, or it could be a little sugar.”  “I just added a handful of sugar.”  “Well, alright then!”  “I think it could use more bacon grease…”

In hindsight, it’s kind of a miracle it came out alright.  You see, I’m a chaotic enough chef on my own.  When you add Jana as my sous chef?  Let’s just say Courtney came downstairs to investigate the commotion and found a kitchen full of smoke and giggling.

I demanded a photo.

Ten photos later, this was the closest to normal we were able to come up with.

This banana bread  is dense and very moist (thank you bacon grease!).  It’s not a super sweet bread, so despite the ingredients it’s not overly rich.  In fact I think it would make a great pre-run snack.  Oh, and it’s vegan, except for the bacon.  This might be the first time those words were ever used to describe a recipe.  Or maybe not.  After all, bacon is a gateway drug.

Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread

 Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large banana, very ripe
• 1/4 heaping cup peanut butter
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 teas baking powder
• 1/2 teas baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped bacon (cooked) – Reserve the grease

Directions:

1. Blend chickpeas in a food processor; add banana and pulse until well blended.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the shortening and maple syrup.
3. Add in the vanilla, almond milk, peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, banana/chickpea mixture and 2 tablespoons bacon grease.  Mix on high until everything is smooth.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix until well moistened.  Fold in the bacon.
   
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a bread pan and pour the mix inside.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, then check for done-ness. Add another 15 minutes to the bake cycle and keep an eye on the bread so it doesn’t over-bake.  Mine actually took an hour.  Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Johanna