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! ***

Cooking Fail

When we first moved to Costa Rica I saw a lovely bunch of radishes at Jaco’s farmers’ market and couldn’t resit. I had some in salad, but wanted to know what the heck people do with radishes besides that. I looked online and found a recipe for radish chips. I was thrilled and decided to use our gas oven (never had one of those before). The problem is that our oven is seriously busted up. You have to light it with the door open (old school style) and the pilot light goes out often because the door doesn’t close properly. I ate them and they weren’t bad, they just weren’t chips. Anyway, let me know what you do with radishes!

Blackouts Are The Best Time To Play Dominoes

We’ve had a couple blackouts since we’ve been here but usually they don’t last long. In December we had one that lasted almost 6 hours. Jim and I had been having a bit of a funky day but playing dominoes by candlelight made everything alright. Our house’s set of dominoes goes up to double 12s, but we decided to start at 8s and work our way down. What follows is how it played out.

(The above photo basically shows the end of the game. Those are Jim’s dominoes at the top, for a total of 268 points. Shoulda quit while he was behind.)

I’m a bit competitive when it comes to tile games (Rummikub in particular). In a moment of being a poor loser I was too eager to get on to the next round (and redeem myself) that forgot to take a picture of Jim beating me at the round of 4s. This next photo is in honor of our friend Jen who doesn’t like to mix up the tiles because she’s a bit of a germaphobe (and a nurse). Her husband Paul finds this to be hysterical and will yell “Hand orgy!” which triggers Jen to promptly get up and wash her hands.

And again, I forgot to take a photo when I lost. Clearly I need to work on that. I was beating Jim by a whole lot (which makes my being a poor loser even more ridiculous) so we decided we’d leave the tile out and play 12s-9s the next day.

We decided to whip up some guacamole and veggies for dinner (by headlamp) and watch a movie until Jim’s computer battery ran out (which is didn’t). My computer died not too long after the power went out. Apple beats HP.

After the movie we got ready for bed and as I was showering at 11pm the power came back on, which was nice as it was a bit hot without the fans going.

The next evening we got back to playing the bonus rounds to see if Jim could redeem himself.

When we were picking to find the double 10 tile, we didn’t find it until it was the last one. This is so rare that our friend Paul (who introduced us to the game) says he’s never seen it happen. Having power, we Skyped him and the rest of his household  (including the birthday boy Tashi) and told them about it. If only we could find a way to play dominoes together over Skype!

Who is the Dominoes Champion? That be me (by over 100 points). Booya! (Ah right, I need to work on being a humble winner to huh?! Work in Progress.)

Wishing You Some Good Luck This New Year

Mississippi Caviar (Eating black eyed peas on New Years Day brings good luck!)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 Cups cooked Black Eyed Peas (about 1 pound uncooked)
• 2 Red Bell Peppers, diced
• 1/2 Cup Green Onions, sliced (white part and 3-4 inches green part)
• 1/3 C Olive Oil (or as you like it)
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers or 1 1/2 T Jalapeno Sauce (or as you like it)
• 2 1/2 Lemons or Limes, juiced
• 2 T Dijon Mustard
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 t Sea Salt
• 1 t dried Thyme
• 1 1/4 t Agave
• 1 1/4 t Tabasco
• Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions:

Drain Beans. Add all other ingredients and toss well. Let stand to develop flavors or chill if you like. Serve at room temp or chilled with Arabic bread/pita.

Notes:

This recipe is adapted from an old cookbook of my Mom’s but I can’t remember the name! I often add other veggies like Carrots or Cucumbers. This makes a lot, so spread the luck and share it with friends!

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge: Resolution You Wish You’d Stuck With

Ever since I started making new year’s resolutions I’ve set to lose weight/get buff and every one of those years I did not and often put on weight instead.

My resolution for 2009 was not to get fit, but instead to write more letters and send them via snail mail to all my friends and family around the world. I don’t think I wrote/sent any more than any other year. I did however lose 25 pounds. (The whole diet and exercise thing works. I know right?!)

So it seems safe to say that whatever I want for the new year I should just not make it my resolution or better yet make a resolution for something I don’t want to happen. That makes sense right?

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