DIY Peanut Butter (1st Guest Post by Kylie Wolf, a.k.a. Zippaloo)

A staple in many families, perfectly paired with jelly, honey, or chocolate is the one and only PEANUT BUTTER.

Peanut butter is and has been a pivotal ingredient in my life.  Here are some classic ways to enjoy peanut butter:

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (PB&J) - I personally don’t like jelly but the majority of this country does, I just eat it plain, though some of my relatives and my siblings would eat a peanut butter and butter sandwich coined the “butter butter” sandwich.

All the Reeses products – Growing up, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups would get shipped in from the US to the Commissary in Dhahran. My friends and I would beg our parents to buy many more than we needed because we didn’t know the next time they would be available. Sometimes they would be out of stock for months!

Peanut Butter Cookies -  I enjoy these the most right out of the oven, and with a Hershey’s kiss in the center.  YUM!

The list can go on and on and on… with snacks and even more gourmet options like restaurants using peanut sauces on entrees (grilled chicken skewers with a thai peanut sauce is one of my favorites).

But growing up in Dhahran I loved Peter Pan creamy peanut butter (with the yellow cap) it was super smooth, sweet, and would get stuck to the roof of my mouth.

Which is all great except for the ingredients!

Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter’s INGREDIENTS:

Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Cottonseed and Rapeseed), Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil.

YIKES!

I care a lot about the food that I put into my body.  I changed my ways and now (thanks to being educated about food) I only buy and eat all natural, organic peanut butter.

Making sure the only ingredient is: Dry Roasted Peanuts.

Over the holidays in Dhahran there was no all-natural peanut butter at the store, so I convinced my dad to do something I had wanted to do for a while:  make my own peanut butter.

If true peanut butter is just ground up peanuts it had to be simple enough and with looking on the Internet and in the Cuisinart cookbook, it was true!

Recipe for Peanut Butter:

Ingredients:

• dry roasted peanuts

(we used raw white peanuts, but I would now recommend buying dry roasted peanuts)

Directions:

• Place peanuts in food processor.
• Process the peanuts for 3-5 mins. Enjoy watching the peanuts turn to powder then form a dough-like ball and roll around the processor. (Dad and I were so amazed I forgot to take pictures!)
• Let the paste sit for about 3 mins for the oils to separate from the peanuts. (You should see the oil bead).
• Process again for as long as you want. The more you process the creamier your peanut butter will be.

With all the excitement and the intensity of the peanut butter (it had a pure peanuts punch!) we skyped Sam to include her on the fun.

The three of us had lots of laughs, oohs and ahhs, and bounced around ideas:

• To decrease the intensity, add honey to the recipe or drizzle honey on the saltines with the PB.

• Try it with ice cream -
  • Vanilla Ice Cream, homemade PB, Hershey’s chocolate sauce.

• Try it with banana slices -
  • Here is an elaborate but delicious snack. Banana sliced, topped with a little PB, sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut flakes.

• Bake it into brownies.

• Try it with oatmeal.
  • I eat oatmeal almost ever day of the week.
    • Cook ½ cup rolled oats with ¾ cup water and a dash of salt in the microwave for 3 mins.
    • Add PB, raisins, generous amounts of cinnamon, and a splash of soy milk.

Health Facts about Peanut butter:

PB should NOT include sugar, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), salt, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Good, healthy, pure peanut butter is JUST ground up dry roasted peanuts.  No need for extra oil, or extra anything.  Make sure you check the ingredients because even Peanut Butter’s that claim to be “Natural” are still made with some of these intruders.

Sugar and HFCS get put in because the US loves sugar and it enhances the flavor. HFCS is incredibly cheap to produce (it’s made from Corn) and is found in thousands of products. It is really just another form of sugar.  Unfortunately adding these ingredients increases your sugar intake, your calorie intake, and your insulin levels.
Hydrogenated vegetable oils are added to stabilize the peanut butter, make it easier to spread, and to prevent oil separation.  I don’t think any of those things is worth the risks that Trans Fats (trans fatty acids) can cause: atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, or a stroke.
Salt is added to prevent spoilage.

Benefits:

Peanut butter does contain mostly fats, but these fats are monounsatuarated fats and they help protect against the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower levels of LDL (“bad” cholesterol).

Peanut butter (and peanuts) also provide proteins, vitamin B3, folate, vitamin E, magnesium, and fiber.

If you have a peanut allergy:

First, I’m sorry, I have a serious love for peanut butter and can’t imagine a life without it.

Second, please be very be very careful – a reaction to peanut allergy is anaphylactic shock and many factories use the same machinery for peanuts as other things, check labels. Better to be safe than sorry.

I hope this post will make all you readers more excited and aware of America’s simple and classic snack, peanut butter. And be sure to check the ingredients of the peanut butters you now purchase!

If you have a food processor I recommend that you buy 1/4 kilogram of peanuts and try this recipe out!

Its easy and delicious.

Kylie (a.k.a. Zippaloo)

*** Check out Kylie’s new blog here! ***

January Goal Completed: Take a Surf Lesson

Alright. So I had been putting it off for ages. We moved here in September (4 months ago!) and I just had my first surf lesson. I was terrified. A year and a half ago I had a near death experience in the water in Dominical, Costa Rica that made me fear waves in a big way. Looking back on it now, it was clearly my fault. Jim and I went swimming as the tide was going out, when there were signs everywhere warning how deadly the riptides are. Then I had the excuse that I had severely injured my chest last year and I didn’t want to reinjure it. Fear. Fear. Fear.

Jim took his first lessons with “Surfer Mike” of Tortuga Surf School in Jaco, back in May of last year. It kicked his butt, but he loved it. When we moved here, Jim quickly took some more lessons which then lead to borrowing a board and practicing, to then buying a board and all the accessories (rash guard, board shorts, board wax, etc.) and surfing most days a week. He loves it and surfs most days a week now.

When Jim’s dad came to visit, he learned from Mike. When we had friends come into town and one of them wanted to take a lesson, he learned from Mike. It’s funny because truth be told, Jim chose to take his first lesson with the Tortuga Surf School because he liked the logo (Shhh! Don’t tell him I told you that.) When he was done with his first lesson he got a sticker from them that he promptly put on his laptop. BUT I’ve got to say, when people suggest surf instructors in town Jim and I almost get offended because we wouldn’t have anyone teach us or our friends and family other than Mike. He’s just that good. His standard of teaching is far superior to others we’ve seen from the beach.

Since we’ve been in Costa Rica we’ve befriended Mike. He’s the most cheerful and easy going guy. Mike is originally from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. He grew up helping with his family’s fishing business, then worked for a diving school, spent three years in Canada, and now has his own Surf School in Jaco. When he was young his grandfather told him that “Wa-ta” is in his blood and therefore (if he knew what was good for him) would make a living off the water. He’s doing  just that!

He’s 135 pounds of lean muscle (check out the photos). I call him He-Man sometimes. He’s ripped, which is good when you’re teaching lessons to touristas who need someone to “tow” them out to the waves. He does this by throwing them his surf board leash and letting them hold on while he paddles for both of them. He hasn’t done that for me yet, but he did maneuver my board quite a bit for me.

For months, Mike has been asking me “When you going to have a lesson Sammy?” (Where he got the privilege to call me by that name, I don’t know.) I kept telling him I wasn’t ready due to the chest injury I had last year. I did tell him I was building up my strength though, which I was by walking, swimming, yoga, and practicing push-ups. As time progressed he pointed out that I’ve lost weight (25+lbs!), wearing different clothing, and look more tico than before (referring to my current tan as I was super white). I told him that by the end of January I’d have a lesson.

Yesterday (just barely making it before the month changed) I had my first lesson. Mike was incredible. He made me feel safe, he taught me SO much, helped me catch waves (including my first one), feel excited, have fun, and make me look good. Jim was such a trooper that he watched and documented the entire two hours. (See the fun video at the bottom which he created!) Sure I wiped out, sure I inhaled a ton of salt water, but I also pushed through fear, learned a ton, and had a blast! Later in the evening and into today I’ve been super sore (mainly tired and bruised muscles and bones) but I’m looking forward to practicing my “pop-ups” and getting out there for another lesson after we get back from our short trip up to Nosara next week!

Quading on the Beach with Reanne

I hadn’t been quading since I was a kid. All the neighborhood kids would get together and quad in the desert.

My friend Reanne who lives in our community invited me to quad down the beach to the estuary for sunset. It was fun riding fast along the beach where I walk every day. We did a couple jumps by the estuary and then chatted until the sun set. Riding back was fun too but with the light having gone a bit flat, I didn’t see a hole that I drove though. Ah well, just made for a more bumpy and exciting ride. I think we’ll go for a ride up into the mountains this week. Should be fun!

Siamese Banana

Watermelon!

Sleepy-faced Jim with his morning watermelon smile!

Check out a couple things we’ve enjoyed eating with watermelon…

These pancakes were fun to make and even better to eat. I added coconut milk to the batter (which I probably won’t do again as it made the pancakes too chewy) and shredded coconut in and on top of the pancakes (which was totally delicious). The best was mixing the coconut milk with some real maple syrup. This is my new favorite pancake topping.

Scrambled eggs and some sauteed onions and peppers in a tortilla with hot sauce. Good then, but I can’t stand the smell of eggs being cooked lately. Ick.

Yay for watermelon! It’s so juicy and excellent blitzed up in the blender with a tad of agave, with breakfasts or even just on its own any time of day. Yum!

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