Crispy Fried Plantains

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It’s been an exciting week around here.  Halloween, of course, is a pretty big deal for the littles.   Our neighborhood feels like a party that night.  Quite a few houses are deep into Halloween festivities.  Then the next day the twins turned five!  Yikes, it has been a crazy five years.  The twins were a surprise pregnancy and quite a life shocker for a very young couple.  I always feel funny admitting we weren’t planning to get pregnant, since I know so many people who would give anything for a surprise like that.  But that’s our story.  We were shocked, scared, and really sad; not ready to be parents.  We went to our 20 week appointment, finally starting to adjust to our new reality, and heard the big news: twins.  We laughed.  I still laugh now thinking about how crazy it is that we had twins.  Twins do not run in either of our families.  These two were a surprise in every possible way.  A totally awesome surprise that gave us joy in the midst of our sadness.  Something about the idea of not just one, but two babies coming into our lives so suddenly was amusing and encouraging.  Now, I can’t imagine anything different.  It was chaos for awhile.  Well, it still is sometimes.  Thankfully, B & I teamed up really well, growing and learning together.  We laughed at ourselves a lot, still experiencing some disbelief at where we were in life.  You really never know what’s around the corner in life.  I never thought I’d be struggling to figure out how to be a mom a few years after college with the boy I met in the dorm across the parking lot.  I’m so glad we don’t know what lies ahead in our journeys.  I never would have picked this path for myself before, but it has been amazing and life-changing.  I’ve grown and changed in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without this adventure.  And these kids are amazing.  Our lives are so much richer because of them.  I’m glad I’m not in control after all.

 

Crispy Fried Plantains

10 min, makes 5-6

Ingredients:

2 very ripe plantains (black skins)

2 T melted butter

1/4 t salt

1/4 t cinnamon

1 T maple syrup

3 T coconut oil for frying

Directions:

  1. Mash the plantains in a medium sized bowl.  You should use very ripe plantains, with skins almost all black.  
  2. Pour in the melted butter and stir thoroughly.
  3. Add the salt, cinnamon, and maple syrup and stir for several minutes, until everything is well combined and the large chunks of plantain are all mixed in.
  4. Heat 3 T coconut oil in a nonstick pan on medium heat.  Scoop dollops of the plantain mixture into the pan.  I fit the whole recipe in one large pan.  Let them sit and fry until you can see brown edges on the bottom.  This will take about 4 minutes.  Watch carefully because once the crispy brown starts to form it can also burn quickly.
  5. Flip the plantains and let the other side get crispy brown, about 3 minutes.
  6. Remove from the skillet and let cool slightly on a plate.