Will Run For Grilled Mango & Cashew Butter Sandwiches

What isn't there to love about warm gooey cashew butter with grilled mangoes, coconut, cashews candied ginger and honey between two whole wheat slices of bread?

Earlier this week I offered to make my favourite farmer a skinny elvis sandwich ( Mamma Peas's remake of the grilled banana and peanut butter sandwich).   I was expecting a, "Wow!  That sooooooo nice of you!  Almond butter & strawberries that is possibly the most delicious combination I have ever heard of (maybe my expectations were a LITTLE unrealistic)!" what I got was, "How about bananas and coconut?".  It turns out that it would be a couple of days before farmer got any kind of sandwich and in the end not really the sandwich she wanted.

Grilled Mango & Cashew Butter Sandwiches

(serves 2)

ingredients

1 ripe mango grilled

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

4 slices of whole wheat bread

4 Tbsp cashew butter

2 Tbsp raw cashews

2 slices candied ginger (thinly sliced)

2 tsp honey (maple syrup, brown rice syrup)

1 1/2 tsp coconut oil melted (margarine, butter, olive oil will work as well)

Begin by slicing the mango into thin slices.  Combine maple syrup, lime juice, & vanilla bean paste in a small bowl.  Marinate mango for approximately 5 minutes (by this time I've probably eaten 1/2 of the mango).  Reserve leftover marinate.

Grill mango for approximately 5 minutes turning when grill marks appear.  I used my George Foreman "Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine" (makes me laugh).

Add several teaspoons (I used 2) of reserved marinade to the cashew butter along with cardamom & cinnamon and combine thoroughly.  Spread 1 Tbsp of cashew butter on each slice of bread.  Top two slices of bread with grilled mango, coconut, raw cashews, thinly sliced candied ginger, and coconut.  Drizzle with 1 tsp of honey (or more!).  Top sandwiches with additional slices of bread.

Lightly brush both sides of each sandwich with melted coconut butter then place in a preheated skillet.

Grill for several minutes on each side until toasted and cashew butter is gooey but not exploding out of your sandwich.  Gobble up!

* Consider using a variety of nut/seed butters (almond, peanut, sunflower, peanut, cashew) dried & fresh fruit (cherries, raisins, peaches, bananas), nuts & seeds (sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, pistachios) and sweeteners (brown rice syrup, maple syrup, honey).  

Will Run For Pesto Portobello Pizzas

If you are a mushroom lover this is the recipe for you!  However, it wouldn't be a lie to say that the mushroom is a great carrier for pesto, sundried tomatoes, red onions, black olives and all of my other favourite toppings.  

Pesto Portobello Pizza

Portobello mushrooms

scraping the gills with a grapefruit spoon

more room for toppings

brush both sides with olive oil/pesto mixture

stuff with your favourite toppings 

bake @ 425 F for 10 minutes

serve with your favourite salad

Pesto Portobello Pizzas

ingredients

4 Portobello mushroom caps, stems removed & gills scraped

1/2 C + 1 Tbsp pesto (store bought or your favourite homemade recipe)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 C Daiya mozzarella style shreds (or your favourite dairy/non-dairy mozzarella cheese)

1/4 C black olives

8 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (** soaked in just boiled water for approximately 5 minutes and then drained) 

1/4 spinach, finely chopped

2 Tbsp red onions (I used green)

* feel free to substitute your favourite pizza toppings.

**  If you happen to live in the company of someone who is in  the habit of drinking unfamiliar liquids that resemble tea (note to self do not drink unfamiliar liquids even if they are lying around your apartment/house) you may not want to leave the leftover water lying around or that person might just get an tomato surprise!**.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Using a grapefruit spoon scrape the gills out of the portobello mushrooms.  

Combine 1 Tbsp of pesto & 1 Tbsp of olive oil and brush all sides of the mushrooms.

Place 2 Tbsp of pesto in the scraped out portion of each mushroom.  Top with your favourite toppings ( mozzarella style shreds, black olives, spinach, red onions and sun-dried tomatoes).

Place mushrooms on a baking stone and bake until mozzarella style shreds are melted and mushrooms are cooked.  This should take approximately 10 minutes.

Enjoy with your favourite salad!