GUEST POST SUNDAY - Vegetarian Ventures

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Vegetarian Ventures

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"I’ve been going through a bit of a food crisis lately as I approach the last couple weeks of my college career. I have this terrible fear that I will never be able to enjoy foods like macaroni and cheese, ramen, or PB&J sandwiches without having a terrible feeling of guilt; a feeling that I’m too old for it to be socially acceptable for me to enjoy childhood favorites. This has in turn triggered an urge to eat these things on a weekly basis in hopes that I can get my lifetime fill in the next eight weeks." 

"The funny part about this is I don’t even really like Ramen (it’s a bit salt and veggie-less for my liking) and I didn’t eat PB&J sandwiches for the first 21 years of my life. Honestly, it wasn’t until earlier this year  when I saw my roommate making a fatty sandwich that I thought maybe the peanut butter and jelly combination would be rather tasty (I never liked the texture of jelly growing up but now I love it on toast so why wouldn’t I love it with peanut butter?!). My health-nut roommate prepared it with almond butter instead of PB, which inspired me to invent the ‘Rich’s girls AB&J’ and dayyuuum it’s delicious. I usually toast two pieces of sprout bread and then lather one side with organic Almond butter and the other side with all natural strawberry rhubarb jam (and sometimes even sprinkle a tiny bit of ground flaxseed over the Almond Butter if I’m feeling like I need the extra nutrition)." 

"This pie is my tribute to the “Rich Girl’s AB&J”. Although I was not able to use all almond butter (the texture is just not ideal for cooking), I tried to put my own twist on this pie as much as possible. The end result was fantastic combination of salty peanut butter followed by sweet jam layers. I topped my piece with more jam but my boyfriend enjoyed his with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream." 

"This pie is perfect for potlucks or the everyday celebration that you are never too old to munch down on some PB&J. I made my pie non-vegan but I will include instructions on how to make it vegan alongside the ingredients section." 

PB&J PIE

¾ cup natural peanut butter

¼ cup natural almond butter

¾ cup plain yogurt (make it dairy free for vegan)

1 cup sugar1 teaspoon ground flaxseed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract1 cup spelt flour

1teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup your favorite flavor jam

9 inch prebaked pie shell (check the label if you’re vegan because they aren’t always)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the peanut butter, almond butter, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and flaxseed. With a hand mixer, cream until everything is well incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir until everything just starts to come together and the dough is stiff.
4. Pour half the batter into a prepared pie crust and smooth out with a spatula until it’s distributed evenly all around the pan. 
5. Next, add the jam on top of it and do the same thing by spreading it out. 
6. And finally, top with the last part of the peanut butter batter. (The three layers are pictured above) 
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pie sets and starts to turn brown on the top.
8. Let cool so that the inside can harden up a little bit. 
9. Serve with jam or ice cream or bananas or whatever floats your boat. 

"Make sure to share some with your kitty and enjoy a nice big glass of [almond] milk with it!"