Banana and Apple Fritters

My mother likes her bananas green, and while I don’t like them quite that “fresh”, I do enjoy a nice yellow banana. What I love though, is when the end of the week comes along and the uneaten bananas have over ripened and gotten ugly on the outside but sweet and delicious on the inside. Those are the best for cooking.

Yesterday, I saw them on the counter and knew I had to do something with those beauties, and what could be better than…fritters. Some with cinnamon and vanilla and some orange scented.

My SIL though, does not at all enjoy overripe bananas. Just the look of them puts her off, as it probably does most people, but they don’t know what they are missing.

and speaking of my SIL….

A few years ago, we were all together on a long train ride in Canada. Perfect opportunity to watch Les Miserables, which she hadn’t seen before (sort of –but that’s another story). She took out her iPad, plugged in her earphones, and proceeded to entertain the entire train.

Not with Les Mis, but with her reaction to Les Mis.

“Oh no!” she was yelling at the screen within the first five minutes.

People turned their heads to see what was wrong. I began to giggle.

“Don’t do that!’ she bellowed to Hugh Jackman, oblivious to the fact that she was louder than the actual revolution had been.

More people began to crane their necks to try and figure out if they should form an angry mob or gear up for a rescue mission. At this point, Tim and I were pretty hysterical.

“That’s terrible!” she wailed before catching sight of my now purple face as I convulsed in laughter.

“What?” she demanded taking off the earphones, looking around and finally realizing that people from four cars away were crowding into our car to see who was being murdered. “Is the movie too loud?”

The movie, no. Mercifully, through the magic of modern technology, you are the only one who can actually hear every gunshot as though you were there in person. We, on the other hand, can hear you.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she wanted to know.

Why? Because I was enjoying the show!

Ingredients:

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3)
1 cup oat flour ( put rolled oats in a blender/processor to make the flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

** to make the orange version, swap out the cinnamon for ground ginger and the vanilla for the zest of 1-2 oranges (depending on how strong you want the orange taste to be)

Dipping sauce:

6 dates, pitted
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons orange juice

Blend all ingredients together in a small blender or processor till smooth and creamy

Apple Fritter Variation:

1 cup of diced apple, sautéed in a few Tablespoons of water till water has evaporated and apples are soft (option to skip the sautéed apples and just put the apples in raw for extra crunch)
1 cup oat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of nutmeg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions for fritters:

in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and allow the batter to rest for a few minutes while you heat the oil.
In a pan, I recommend one with high sides if you have it, heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil over medium, medium/low heat ( the low on my stove is still pretty high..the object is to get the oil hot enough to cook the fritters quickly without burning them. Bring the oil to temperature first and maybe try one fritter to test that it is not too hot)
Drop the fritters by the teaspoonful (a regular teaspoon, not a measuring teaspoon) into the oil and fry for 30 seconds – 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. I used a small spatula to flip them. Transfer to a paper lined plate to absorb the excess oil before serving.