So, every since I was a kid I can remember loving to eat Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches. They are a total comfort food for me. In fact, they go beyond the "comfort food" category into a "life saver" category. When I was a student living in dorm at Northwest Baptist College the cafeteria food quality was uneven, to put it nicely. In particular, you would never know if lunch would be palatable until you were in line for the food.
So, my friend Tim Doling and I came up with a system. We kept a jar of peanut butter in Tim's room (although the jar sometimes migrated to my room). We would both get in line for lunch to see what it was. If it was something we liked (and could stomach!) we'd stay in line, get our food and eat lunch.
However, if the food wasn't appealing (which, if I'm honest, was very often) our system would kick in. One of us would head upstairs to get the jar of peanut butter. The other would stay in line, get a couple of bananas and 4 slices of bread. You see, the cafeteria always had bread and bananas available but the peanut butter was only available at breakfast time. Thus, we had our own supply on hand. By the time the peanut butter was brought down from the room the other person had made it through the line with the bread and bananas. We were able to have lunch and make it through the day. The sandwiches were a life saver!
So, in my mind, I equate Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches with some really good memories... from my childhood and from later on. Nowadays I rarely have a Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich. I'm not really sure. I suppose the biggest reason is that although Colleen and I both eat bananas we usually forget about them and they go bad. So, we don't keep them around very often. And it is tough for me to predict the craving for a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich... it can hit at any time and it is rare to be able to get a banana from the store that is ripened to perfection for use in a Peanut Butter and Banana Sanwich.
All of which brings us to yesterday. Colleen, Carlon and I were in Burlington with my Mom and my sister Brenda. We were shopping at the Factory Outlets there. One of my favourite stores to check out is "Harry and David's" which is a specialty food store. Colleen and I like to browse the store and usually come home with a new kind of dip or relish or bbq sauce.
Yesterday we were just about to pay for everything when Colleen pointed out a jar on the shelf. I almost couldn't believe it! "Harry and David: Creamy Banana Spread"! Of course, I bought a jar and brought it home. I didn't open it up until this afternoon. I didn't have it for breakfast because I was afraid I'd be disappointed with it. If I was disappointed with it then I'd want something else for breakfast and wouldn't have time. So, I waited until this afternoon.
And BOY! I wasn't disappointed. It really was like a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich but without having to find a banana that is ripened just right. Now granted, it wasn't the same as an actual Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich but it was suprisingly good. I mean... really good!
So, now I've finished my blog post and I'm tempted to have another Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich. Really... it was THAT good!
