The Peanut Butter Boy

SITE MOVING, UPDATE FEED URL

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:58:00 +0000

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A Taste of Nocturnal

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:44:00 +0000

Food is something we all need to energize and keep our bodies moving, but there is something else that can accomplish that: music. Music helps me focus on homework, alleviates the monotony of long car rides and ramps up my workout intensity. I enjoy many genres of music, from jazz and classical to rock and electronic. I've decided to take a short interlude to introduce this other aspect of my life. What's your favorite kind of music and when do you listen to it?

Contrary to what most people think, electronic music is not just head-banging beats with no background music (although I'll admit that a lot of it is junk). It may appear repetitive and annoying (see: Surfin' Bird) to the casual listener but as with anything in life, the more you experience something the more you're able to understand and appreciate it (like wine, chocolate, peanut butter). With electronic music, it's the energy buildup and the ever-changing subtleties to the harmony and main beat that I most enjoy. For me, this type of music induces energetic feelings and keeps my mind moving even when my body isn't, especially useful when doing work. Other than a cup of coffee and your morning oatmeal, what gets/keeps you moving?

One of my current favorite electronic artists is Matt Darey. His style of music is a blend of trance, house and rock. Every week he produces a 2-hour radio show called "Nocturnal". The first hour is Matt Darey himself, mixing his favorite tunes from around the world. The second hour is a guest DJ who mixes his/her own blend of music. The mixes tend to have a great beat and some good vocals. I love listening to them on the long drive I make to San Francisco and back every other weekend, and many of the songs keep me energized at the gym. The mixes have also introduced me to many new musical artists.

I've provided links below to stream the mixes online, view the tracklists and download cue sheets. But more importantly, I've spent the better part of an afternoon compiling an easy-to-use list to download all of the mixes. For those of you that are new and lost among the ~300 mixes available, try streaming Hour 1 (Matt Darey Mixes) of Nocturnal 35 (trance), Nocturnal 38 (harder trance), Nocturnal 132 (house) or Nocturnal 108 (rock), they're all great. Every week a new Nocturnal show is released and I'll try to keep the download list updated.

The promised pumpkin recipes are coming up next, so stay tuned via email, iGoogle or your feed reader of choice so you don't miss them! And for those of you that came expecting food I've provided a little snack at the end...

* The above picture is from Sensation White 2008 in The Netherlands. Yup, everything, including their clothing, is white.

Downloads: To download any of the Matt Darey Nocturnal Radio Shows for offline (anytime) listening or to burn them onto a CD, choose from the following (in .mp3 format, ~55 MB each):

Streaming: To listen to any of the Nocturnal Mixes right now without downloading, check out the media player here: Nocturnal Media Player

Tracklists: To see the tracklists for the mixes go here: Nocturnal Tracklists

Cue Sheets: To download .cue files (very small files), used for splitting the Nocturnal Mixes into their individual songs, go here: Nocturnal Cue Sheets. In addition, you will need a cue splitter program which will use the .cue file to chop the corresponding .mp3 file into pieces and rename the songs accordingly, I suggest Medieval CUE Splitter. This is a convenient tool so that you have around 10 regular-length songs instead of a single hour-long song.

Additional Info:

Still hungry? Then here's a quick recipe: Cut a crisp apple into 8-12 slices, arrange on a plate and douse with cinnamon. Place plate in the freezer for 20 minutes and serve.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:50:00 +0000

Fall is here! I know because it took 3 tries to open the front door this morning it was so darn windy. To me, the fall means fallen leaves, warm soup, candy corn and pumpkins. Pumpkins in particular are a wonderful representation of fall because they have so many uses: picking, carving, eating, baking, toasting the seeds, and smashing once they go bad. I doubt a fall has gone by where you didn't eat, touch or at least see a pumpkin, it's just impossible. Washing, cutting, cleaning and roasting your own pumpkin is a laborious task, one that I leave to Libby. Canned pumpkin is miraculous but unfortunately, unless the recipe calls for the entire can, it tends to fall to the same fate as the half-full yet fully-forgotten can of condensed milk in the back of the fridge.

Now as promised, I have a few delectable pumpkin recipes up my sleeve. The main reason I developed these recipes is because I was determined to use the whole can of pumpkin puree. This is the first in a series of at least 3 pumpkin recipes I've got to share here at the Peanut Butter Boy, all the recipes will be fat free (other than heart-healthy peanut butter fats of course), gluten-free, and 2 out of 3 are vegan.

We start off with a pumpkin pie ice cream. The problem with making ice cream is that you generally need an ice cream maker, an appliance that I have never owned or operated. From my understanding, all that an ice cream maker does is constantly churn the mixture so that it doesn't form ice crystals during the freezing process. It also takes a considerable amount of time to make a batch. You may recall the Fresh Peanut Butter Ice Cream from a few weeks ago. This recipe is very similar only tailored to taste like pumpkin pie. My process is quite simple and only takes about 5 minutes to prepare a fresh batch of super rich ice cream that is made only from fruit, yogurt, peanut butter and in this case, a vegetable. It's so healthy that I'll eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner and so delicious that I make it about 5 times a week. Ever have dessert before dinner? Well now, dessert is dinner!

Stay tuned via email, iGoogle or your feed reader of choice so you don't miss the upcoming recipes! Let the pumpkin craze begin!

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 peach or nectarine
2T peanut butter
1/3 cup nonfat greek yogurt*
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2t cinnamon (5-7 shakes)
1/8t pumpkin pie spice (or a pinch of nutmeg is fine)
2-4T skim or soy milk, as needed
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)

* Use flavored yogurt if you have a real sweet tooth.

Instructions:

1. Prep the fruit. Peel the banana, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until rock-solid, about 4 hours but preferably overnight. Wash peach/nectarine and remove pit, cut into at least 4 chunks and freeze in a sealed plastic bag for 4 hours or preferably overnight.

2. Break the banana into 4-6 chunks and drop into the blender. Add the yogurt, pumpkin, peanut butter, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and the protein powder, if using. Process until a smooth consistency is achieved. You may need to stop the blender several times to mix or scoop down the sides with a spoon. Add milk 1T at a time only if the mixture is too thick to process.

3. Add the peach/nectarine chunks and process until smooth. The consistency should be that of soft serve ice cream. Serve with a spoon and any desired toppings such as granola and/or raw almonds. Or, as suggested below by Margeritte, crumble graham crackers on top for an authentic pumpkin pie!

Additional Info:

You can omit the peanut butter for a fat-free version, but as the Peanut Butter Boy I can't recommend that. I use protein powder to boost the protein for before/after a workout but it's not necessary by any means. Keeping a stash of frozen fruit on hand will enable you to make a batch whenever the craving hits. Bananas turning brown? Peaches getting too ripe? Freeze em!

Indonesian Meatballs with Peanut Sauce

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:51:00 +0000

This recipe is a long time coming. I first made this dish for the Sacramento food blogger potluck, hosted by Elise from Simply Recipes. The potluck was a lot of fun and it was great to meet some local food aficionados. And while it's generally not a good idea to make a brand new dish for a group of strangers, this one looked too good to pass up. The dish was such a success that I made it a few weeks later for a house warming party.

The seasonings are perfect in these meatballs and the sweet/salty peanut sauce add the perfect touch. You can serve these up two different ways: with toothpicks for dipping or served over rice with peanut sauce poured on top. These would be great with a pasta sauce as well, just be sure not to use too many seasonings in the sauce otherwise the meatballs will be overpowered.

Read on for the recipe and stay tuned to the Peanut Butter Boy via Google or Email, I've got a few recipes coming up that you won't wanna miss (hint: lots of pumpkin goodness).

Ingredients:

Indonesian Pork Meatballs:
1lb 95% lean ground pork (ground pork tenderloin)
2T oat flour
1/4 cup green onions, finely chopped
2t cumin
1/2t salt
1/4t ground allspice
1/4t ground coriander
1/8t black pepper
1 egg white (2T egg substitute)

Peanut Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
2t soy sauce
1/2T lime or lemon juice
1-2T honey
2t fresh grated ginger or 1/2t ground ginger
2-3t chili powder
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup skim, coconut or soy milk (I used vanilla)

Instructions:

1. Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Shape into 1" meatballs. For oven: Bake in a nonstick baking dish at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring them around half way through. For microwave: Cook on high for 4 minutes, stir, and cook on high for an additional 4 minutes.

2. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients except for the soymilk. Once mixed together well, whisk in the soymilk. Microwave or heat in a saucepan until warm.

3. Stick toothpicks in the meatballs use the dip as an appetizer or serve the meatballs over brown rice and cover with peanut sauce.

Additional Info:

Every time I make this I modify the sauce. Being the peanut butter addict that I am, I'm constantly on the quest for the ultimate peanut sauce and am never satisfied, but this is the best so far. Do you have the ultimate peanut sauce recipe?

While not quite a vegetarian recipe, the peanut sauce is vegan and the recipe as whole is still gluten-free!

* Recipe image courtesy of Chucrute com Salsicha (I forgot my camera the day of the potluck).

Twice-Baked Peanut Butter Sweet Potatoes

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:26:00 +0000

Good news! Do you use iGoogle as your homepage? If so, then you know that you can "add stuff" to personalize it. Now, when you go to "add stuff" and search for "recipes" you can find the new Peanut Butter Boy module! Although other than clicking that link you'd have to go to page 14 to find it. But with increased popularity it should move up the rankings and there's no better way to spread peanut butter love to the world!

And what better way to celebrate then with a new peanut butter dish created from scratch! Twice baked potatoes are a satisfying side dish that always provide a warm, cozy feeling, but they are usually made with regular potatoes. I think most foodies will agree: sweet potatoes are superior. In case you are unsure of the exact meaning, here's a definition:

food·ie [foo-dee]
-noun Slang.
in the age old question of whether one eats to live or lives to eat, a foodie is the latter.
[Origin: FOOD + -IE, in part extracted from JUNKIE]

Depending on what part of the world you are from you may call them sweet potatoes or yams, but what I'm talking about here are the potatoes with the brown/red skin and are bright orange inside. The best sweet potatoes (yams) I've ever had are the casserole style sweet potatoes my mother makes for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I'll be missing them again this year, but hopefully she'll freeze some for me like last year (you're reading this right mom?). Her recipe calls for butter and brown sugar but most importantly a can of chopped pineapple. And to top it all off, a layer of marshmallows are lined on top and broiled until browned and melty.

It's not quite Thanksgiving yet and that recipe is quite labor intensive but I needed a sweet potato fix pronto. These potatoes turned out ultra creamy, sweet and savory, and once again this recipe is gluten-free and vegan if you use a tofu cream cheese. I was full from the rest of my meal and only planned to eat half, but once I got started I couldn't stop. But I'm curious, what do you prefer: regular or sweet potatoes?

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2T creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
1/4 cup nonfat cream cheese
2T vanilla soymilk
1t cinnamon
1/2t honey or maple syrup, to taste
1/4 cup currants or raisins (optional)
8 large marshmallows (optional)

Instructions:

1. Wash the sweet potatoes, pat dry and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender all the way through. I like to stick the bottom of an all-metal spoon in the middle of the potatoes while they bake to help distribute the heat to the center.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients (except marshmallows, if using) in a medium bowl. Remove the potatoes once they are done and cut in half. Scoop out the insides and add to the bowl, trying to remove as much as possible while still preserving the skin. Stir everything until well mixed and make sure to scrape the bottom. Add more soymilk, as needed, to achieve desired consistency.

3. (If using marshmallows, cut them in half and place on top of the sweet potatoes.) Place the potatoes back in the oven for 5 minutes. (If using marshmallows, switch the oven onto broil until the marshmallows are brown on top.) Remove from the oven and serve!

Additional Info:

Other than the main baking time for the sweet potatoes, this is a very fast and simple dish to make. Add a touch of nutmeg or cloves for an extra kick, just be sure not to skimp on the cinnamon.

Authentic Mexican Tacos

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Another peanut butterless dish, I know. I hope I'm not dissuading any fellow enthusiasts to deviate from the holy path of peanut butter. As strange as it sounds I do not eat peanut butter with every meal. Luckily I eat 4-5 meals a day so peanut butter can sneak its way into 2-3 of them. But I get other cravings too, mostly for Mexican food.

Before I moved out to California I had a very different impression of Mexican food, specifically tacos, a family favorite when I was growing up. We often had tacos for dinner, but we were eating what I later learned was the "Americanized taco", U-shaped crispy corn shells filled with ground beef (seasoned with a packet of taco seasoning) and topped with cheese, salsa, black olives, tomatoes, cheese and sometimes sour cream: essentially a homemade "supreme" taco from Taco Bell. They were/are delicious. But a couple years ago my girlfriend tried to convince me that my idea of tacos was completely wrong. She told me that "traditional" tacos were only meat, onions and cilantro. Preposterous.

At the time, she told me to buy corn tortillas instead of the crispy or flour ones. I loved eating flour tortillas for snack so I tried a bite of a raw corn tortilla. I immediately spit it out and threw the package in the garbage. Either I didn't like "traditional" Mexican food or these Mexican people were crazy. Turns out I was crazy and now I'm in love with "traditional" Mexican cuisine, although I still enjoy the "Americanized" variety. The corn tortilla problem worked itself out once I realized that you needed to cook or toast them in some fashion. In fact, since I perfected the recipe for homemade tortilla chips, not only has every one of the 30+ people who has tried them become addicted, I'm now one of the first few search results for 'homemade tortilla chips' on Google. Clearly my ways have changed.

The key to these tacos is the shell. You'll have to find the exact cooking time for your oven but for me it's 7-8 minutes. The perfectly cooked tortilla will be slightly crispy but also chewy and still bendable enough to not crack: it's addicting. Use your favorite meat or tofu in this recipe and you will have a gluten-free and vegan masterpiece!

In addition, I want to send out a huge thank you to Katie from Naturally Nutty who, after hearing about the twice-leaked butter toffee peanut butter (the replacement shipment leaked too), personally mailed me an intact Butter Toffee jar along with a Naturally Nutty canvas bag! If you haven't already, check out Naturally Nutty's line of flavored peanut and almond butters, they are some of the best I've ever tasted and have added nutrition bonuses. I recommend buying a case (free shipping on 12+ jars) and giving some away as Christmas/Hanukkah gifts.

Ingredients:

8 (4") corn tortillas
1/2 lb meat (chicken/turkey breast, ground beef, pork tenderloin, tofu, etc...)
1 cup beans (whole, refried or peanut butter)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
cumin, chili powder and paprika
kosher salt, or other coarse salt

optional:

1/2 cup nonfat shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican, cotija)
1/2 cup spicy salsa
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup canned black olives, sliced
1/2 cup peaches or mango, chopped
lettuce or cabbage, shredded
nonfat sour cream
green onions (scallions), chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degree. Line 2 baking sheets with tinfoil and place 4 corn tortillas on each. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt and place in the oven for 4 minutes. Remove trays, flip the tortillas, and place the cheese down the middle, if using. Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

2. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Chop the meat into bite-sized pieces or chunks. Spray the skillet with cooking spray and add the meat. Add the cumin, chili powder and paprika in a ratio of about 2:2:1 to taste, but the more the merrier. Add salt and cayenne or chipotle pepper powder to taste. Cook the meat, stirring occasionally for about 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through.

3. Remove the tortillas from the oven and top with meat, beans and cilantro. Add additional toppings (my favorites are cheese, salsa, sour cream, black olives and peaches).

4. If you've never had this type of taco before you might want to take a seat first, prepare to be blown away.

Additional Info:

This is a great meal that you can almost always have on hand. I always keep dried or canned beans on hand, corn tortillas in the freezer (they last for a while and defrost quickly) and usually have salsa, sour cream and shredded cheese around. You can also omit the meat for a bean taco, you might not even notice the difference.

Dark Chocolate Salt & Sugar Almonds

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:15:00 +0000

Sometimes the truth hits you like a ton of bricks. Everyone has a different way of thinking, my way different than most. Like the time my buddy Nate (my long-lost twin) and I went to the Jersey shore and took a trip to the Coin Castle, one of those arcades where you win tickets and trade them in for subpar prizes. After each spending around $20, Nate and I had just enough for 2 pyramid-shaped candles as we were curious to see how they would burn (we're engineers). There were 4 different colors in the display case but we wanted the same one. Despite the fact that they have 100 red, 100 blue, and 100 green bounce balls, it never occurred to us to ask for 2 of the same candle (not to mention the fact that everything is in a display case, used to display one of each prize). We reluctantly asked the lady for the blue one and the purple one. While she went downstairs to get them (from a, no doubt, large box of blue and purple candles), we rock-paper-scissored for the blue candle and I lost. She handed us our prizes and we were on our way, loot in hand. I took one last glance on the way out at the blue candle in the counter and cursed choosing scissors in the final round! Well on the walk back we told our friend Lily of our prize and predicament.
"Why didn't you get the same candle?" she inquired.
We stopped walking, looked at each other, and about 1 second later it hit us.

That's sort of what happened with these almonds. I talked about the original delicacy in the Peanut Butter Cookie Nickbar recipe. These almonds are covered in dark chocolate and rolled in sea salt and turbinado sugar. To say the least, they're addicting. Each one is like a meal - sweet, salty, savory and healthy, all wrapped up in a neat little package. After going through at least a package a week and spending $5 each time, I stepped into my kitchen and glanced very craftily at the large bag of local almonds, copious amounts of dark chocolate, 2lb jug of turbinado sugar and shaker of sea salt in my cabinet. And to think I was rationing my intake because the most convenient Trader Joe's is in San Francisco where I only go twice a month when I visit the girlfriend. Well if you didn't catch them the first time, here's a glance of the Trader Joe's version:

Mine turned out with a thinner chocolate shell because of my impatience, but on the plus side I got more almonds out of it (~150). A great chocolate to use is the Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% Dark Chocolate bar: for about $4 you get over 17oz of surprisingly good-quality chocolate imported from Belgium. I recommend letting the chocolate cool down to thicken or even double dip the almonds for a heartier shell. Whatever you do, don't be home without some.

Ingredients:

1 cup dark chocolate shavings (chopped is fine)
125-150 raw almonds
2t sea salt, or other coarse salt
2T turbinado sugar, or other coarse sugar

Instructions:

1. Place chocolate in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on a medium power level, checking and stirring every 30 seconds, just until melted. If the liquid chocolate is hot and very thin, let it cool for a few minutes until it thickens.

2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Toss about half of the almonds in the bowl and mix them with a small spoon to coat with chocolate. Take them out with the spoon and place one at a time on the baking sheet as shown above. Repeat the process with the remaining almonds until you've expended your supply of chocolate.

3. Mix the salt and sugar in a small dish and sprinkle over the top of the almonds. Freeze the tray for about 30 minutes and then let sit on the counter for another 30 minutes. Place in a sealed container and store at room temperature. If they aren't fully dry, you can place the container in the refrigerator for an additional hour.

Serving Size: 10 almonds
Servings per Container: 15 (150 almonds total)
Calories: 130
Fat: 10g
Carb: 7.5g
Fiber: 2.2g
Sugar: 4.3g
Protein: 4g

2/3 of the fat is from the almonds, 1/3 is from the dark chocolate.

Additional Info:

Here's a little comparison of the before and after cooling pictures of the almonds. The fact that they were taken from near the same perspective was on accident but pretty nifty eh?

Soft Whole Wheat Pretzels

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:52:00 +0000

How about a little change of pace. A recent episode of Throwdown on the Food Network pitted Bobby Flay against the pretzel king of Philadelphia. I forget who won, but that part doesn't matter. Seeing tray after tray of hot, soft pretzels was all the motivation Elisabeth and I needed, the next morning we were in the kitchen whipping up a batch of doughy goodness. She used to bake them with her mom but it was a foreign affair to me, so I searched for a recipe and chose one from Baking Bites that incorporated whole wheat flour. Finally a way to use up my oversized bag of whole wheat pastry flour!

Soft pretzels are a big part of life growing up in New York. We'd get them all the time at baseball games, carnivals and on every corner in NYC. Anyone else have SuperPretzels as a kid? A few minutes in the microwave and bam! you had a hot pretzel in no time. You can do the same with these pretzels. Simply freeze them after baking and microwave or bake in the oven to bring them back to life.

The girlfriend was quite impressed that I had all the ingredients on hand, although I surprised myself too given how seldom I bake. Several times I was tempted to add peanut butter to the batter, but being that it was my first attempt at pretzels (and whole wheat ones at that) I didn't want to chance it. However, these pretzels turned out divine! Be sure to whip up a batch of Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter to spread on top, you won't be sorry!

Ingredients:

6 cups warm water, divided
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour, divided
2T vital wheat gluten
1T active dry yeast
1T sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2t salt
3T baking soda

coarse salt or cinnamon and sugar, for topping

Instructions:

1. Combine 2 cups warm water, 2 cups flour, vital wheat gluten, yeast and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well, cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.

2. Stir in the honey, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour and mix well. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and work in the remaining dough, 2 spoonfuls at a time, until the dough comes together and is elastic but not sticky: I used about another 1/2 cup flour. Lightly grease the large bowl and place the dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface again and divide into four equal chunks. Work with one chunk at a time (place the other chunks back in the bowl and covered) and divide into 3 pieces. Roll each piece to about 24-30 inches in length, cross the ends and place down in the middle, forming a pretzel shape.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Place about 4 cups of warm water in a medium-sized pot and stir in 3T baking soda. Dip each formed pretzel into the baking soda and water solution and place on the tray, leaving an inch of space on each side of the pretzel. Sprinkle pretzels with salt or cinnamon and sugar (2 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon) and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Should make 12 good-sized pretzels.

5. Serve with Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter, Cream Cheese, butter or ketchup and mustard:

Freezing Tip - Wrap each pretzel in tinfoil and place them in a large sealed bag in the freezer. To resurrect, defrost the pretzel in a smaller sealed bag at room temperature (~2 hours or overnight). Then, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake it in the foil wrapping for 10-12 minutes. For a quicker pretzel, take a frozen pretzel, remove the foil and microwave on high for exactly 1 minute.

Additional Info:

Thanks to Reeni from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for awarding me with the following award. It's actually the second time I've received it, the first time being when I posted the Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Scones. But thanks again Reeni!

Peanut Butter and Tomato on Toast

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:28:00 +0000

If you've been to the Peanut Butter & Co. Sandwich Shop in NYC you may have seen the Peanut Butter BLT on the menu. The only difference between that and a normal BLT is using peanut butter instead of mayonnaise. I hate mayonnaise but love BLT's and the peanut butter version is quite tasty. But I'm sharing something different with you today. Instead of Peanut Butter BLT's, how about some Peanut Butter T's? No, not T-shirts (although I have a great shirt idea but am in need of an artist), but Peanut Butter Tomato sandwiches. Not really a sandwich, more like on toast...and for breakfast.

As strange as it sounds, I didn't come up with this. I received an email from a reader named Dan who told me that his mom used to make him this for breakfast when he was young. I wanted to know more so I asked him to dig up some info. Dan's mother, now 83, used to have it for breakfast growing up in West Virginia when her mother (Dan's grandmother) would make it for her. Dan's mother was born in 1925, about 30 years after peanut butter was first invented, but smooth peanut butter wasn't commercially available until about 1928 when Peter Pan was founded. She missed the Universal Exposition of 1904 (and unfortunately so did I) where plain peanut butter sandwiches were all the rave, but she was born at a very exciting time for Americans (can you imagine a world without peanut butter?). Our old friend, the PB&J, wasn't invented until after 1940, so she enjoyed what can only be one of the first peanut butter creations: Peanut Butter and Tomato on Toast. How can you not try this historical peanut butter landmark?

In addition, I want to thank Kath from Katheats for sending me a jar of Earth Fare peanut butter! When I recently shared that I had found a great new peanut butter, I heard otherwise from Kath. She told me that while Whole Foods brand peanut butter was good, Earth Fare's was even better. I had never heard of Earth Fare and for good reason, it's a small chain in the southern US, an area I have yet to visit. She is so excited about this peanut butter that she went to the trouble of shipping me a jar. While the shipping price was probably twice the price of the jar, it was worth it. This is some great peanut butter. It's a no-stir creamy peanut butter with a touch of salt and sugar. The amount of sugar was perfect and greatly added to the fresh roasted nutty taste. Thanks again Kath! You'll be receiving a package shortly too =). By the way, let me add that if anyone wants to send me peanut butter then feel free!

Ingredients:

1 slice whole grain bread
1T creamy natural peanut butter
1 thick slice of a large local tomato
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Toast the bread, spread on peanut butter and top with tomato. Sprinkle on salt and plenty of pepper. Eat with a knife and fork.

Additional Info:

I was impressed at how good this was. I had it for a midday snack but could definitely see eating it for breakfast. Apparently, Dan has it for breakfast to this day and he suggests adding some bacon underneath the tomato for an extra treat!

Roundup: Peanut Butter Exhibition #4 - No Bake

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:07:00 +0000

When I think of peanut butter the first thing that comes to mind is peanut butter and jelly (or jam, to you British). It's no wonder, considering the average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. Given the popularity of the PB&J along with the call for recipes for The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #4 - No Bake, I would expect at least one unique take on our favorite sandwich. Perhaps something like my Ultimate Double Decker but no, not one sandwich. Fortunately, the entries were even more interesting than our old pal PB&J (however, one of our winners did manage to shove a PB&J into something!).

This time around we had 16 excellent entries, 4 of which are peanut butter balls, 4 ice cream, 3 bar recipes, 1 pie, 1 dip, 1 mousse, 1 parfait and 1 flavored peanut butter (and a partridge in a pear tree). Keep in mind, since these are all no-bake recipes they are fast and easy to make. Take a look at that picture above and pick out at least 4 recipes that you are going to make. There are a few duplicates because not all entries had pictures so I used some extra pictures from the entries. When e from Foodaphilia and I chose our favorites based on the criteria we discovered we had another tie, this time for 2nd place. Rather than hold a tiebreaker we've awarded two 2nd place winners! Of course, don't forget that there are no real winners because the real prize is the collection of peanut butter recipes and blogs that we've collected here.

Before I go on, I wanted to inform you guys of a few quick updates. First, I created a Peanut Butter Boy gadget for your iGoogle page. You can add it to your Google Homepage by clicking this link or the iGoogle button at the bottom of the menu on the right side of this page. I think it is superior to adding a simple RSS feed. Once it's added, click the down arrow on the top right of the gadget and click "Edit Settings" to change a number of options such as # of posts to display, show/hide summaries, etc... The second piece of news is that I've updated the Fresh Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe. I've experimented with a lot of different ingredients and found that cantaloupe is excellent in the recipe and cottage cheese is just as creamy and tasty as yogurt. You won't be able to tell the difference and it's also lower in carbs, higher in protein and cheaper!

Now keep reading to see the contenders and winners of the Fourth Peanut Butter Exhibition!

Congratulations to the winners! We loved them all but we had to choose the winners. It's always difficult to decide, but here are the no-bake masters of the peanut butter domain:

1st Place: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Ice Cream from Lucy at Lucy Draws is much more than shoving a PB&J into some ice cream. Well, maybe not, but it sure looks tasty! This scored perfect in almost every category and the pictures are drool-inducing. This recipe is also vegan and easily made gluten-free. As a bonus, it requires very little added sugar and even incorporates whole-grain bread - a nutritious treat just like my take on Peanut Butter Ice Cream!

2nd Place (1 of 2): The Peanut Butter & Honey Truffles from Maureen at Hold The Gluten wowed us with her simple list of ingredients, easy prep and room for customization. I knew that huge box of instant milk would come in handy someday!

2nd Place (2 of 2): Peanut Butter & Banana Gelato from Ben at What's Cooking? tied for 2nd place for the always-wonderful combination of peanut butter and banana. The fact that he called it a gelato made it even better and those peanuts certainly seal the deal for me. Drizzle a little melted chocolate on top and you've got yourself a nice evening.

3rd Place: The No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Tofu Pie from Kylie at The Baking Bird comes in at a close third. I never saw this one coming, made with tofu and no added sugar - it sounds too good to be true! This one also happens to be vegan, although I'd love to try it with cream cheese.

All Entries:
- Chocolate and Peanut Butter Oat Bars from BakingBlonde
- Peanut Butter Balls also from BakingBlonde
- Classic Hippie No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars from Life, Love and Food
- Raw Granola Bar from Deliciously Gluten Free Cooking
- Bliss Dip from Gluten Free Goodness
- Super Easy Peanut Butter Oreo Mousse from Mochachocolata-Rita
- Double Peanut Butter Ice Cream from Equal Opportunity Kitchen
- Peanut Butter Bites from Gregg Taliercio
- Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls from Debbie via Foodaphilia
- Fresh Peanut Butter Ice Cream from me, The Peanut Butter Boy

Last but not least are 2 recipes submitted via email. The first is a spicy chocolate peanut butter from Curtis Stewart:

Montezooma's Revenge

16 oz roasted peanuts
1T chipotle chili powder or New Mexico chili powder
1t True Lime lime powder
4T amber agave nectar
4oz dark chocolate
1t salt
1/2t habanero powder (optional)

1. Grind the peanuts with the chili powder and lime powder.
2. Add the chocolate, agave nectar and salt to taste.

Second up is a parfait from Cati:

Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Parfait

1 (6oz) container nonfat Greek yogurt
1 ripe banana
1T natural peanut butter
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1/2 cup peanut butter granola (I used Erin Baker's)

1. Mash the banana with a fork until it looks smooth and glossy and set aside.
2. Stir the peanut butter and cinnamon into the Greek yogurt, then gently fold in the mashed banana.
3. Layer the peanut butter granola and the yogurt mixture in ice cream sundae or parfait glasses (alternatively, toss everything into a bowl).
4. Dig in and tell me it's not delicious!

Additional Info:

I hope you guys don't mind but I took the liberty of modifying some of your pictures a little bit, touching them up and evening them out so they are around the same shade and sharpness.

I hope you all enjoyed the roundup! I'll be sending out snazzy badges to the winners within the next day so you can proudly display your achievement on your site if you wish!

Peanut Butter of the Month Club - Part 1

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:14:00 +0000

It's that time of the month! My first shipment of gourmet peanut butter has arrived! I recently mentioned that I was enrolled in the Peanut Butter of the Month Club as a birthday present from my sister. Needless to say, I was excited. The shipment took a while to get here because of 2 unfavorably-falling weekends and 1 liar of a delivery man who claimed delivery at a time that I was home and waiting. Either way, it's here! Those two glorious jars above battled it out for my approval, but in the end, there was one clear winner.

The "subscription" my sister got me was for 2 jars every other month for a year. This time around I got Naturally Nutty brand Butter Toffee Peanut Butter and Sunland Raspberry Peanut Butter Spread. When I received the package, there was oil all over the box and it turns out the Butter Toffee Peanut Butter had leaked. The resulting peanut butter is probably a bit drier than it should be and it had some odd looking spots on top, although that didn't stop me from eating some. The customer service at Amazing Clubs was very helpful when I emailed them about the shipment. They responded within a day and immediately sent out a replacement jar. They also have about 50 other clubs from wine and beer to teddy bear and dog treat clubs.

The package came with a background on the two peanut butter companies, a description of the flavors and a recipe for each one: Butter Toffee Peanut Butter Fudge and Raspberry Peanut Butter Popcorn. I didn't try these recipes but I did use the peanut butters in a few of my own ways. Read on for ingredients, nutrition facts and the taste test results!

Raspberry Peanut Butter Spread (12oz, $5.00)

Ingredients: Roasted Valencia Peanuts, Sugar, Raspberry Compound (Raspberry, Sucrose, Dextrose, Fructose, Food Acids, Pectin, Natural Flavor), Palm Oil, Salt, Modified Corn Starch.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 2 Tbsp (32g)
Calories: 190
Fat Cal. 120
Total Fat: 13g
Sat Fat: 3g
Cholest: 0mg
Sodium: 80mg
Total Carb: 11g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 6g

The first thing that struck me about this peanut butter was that it was called a peanut butter spread. Perhaps it's because, as you can tell from the ingredients, that there is quite a bit of added sugar in this peanut butter concoction and it shows. The raspberry taste is strong and it's very sugary, a little too much for me. But the raspberry flavor is strange, it tastes very artificial and is almost a little sickening when mixed with the sugar. Not that this peanut butter is terrible, I just wouldn't buy it again. I read a review of various peanut butter flavors and the reviewer noted that all fruit-flavored peanut butter, regardless of brand, had a artificial and weak taste to them and were not desirable.

There is some discrepancy between the jar I got and the one listed on Sunland's website. They show a 16oz plastic jar instead of the 12oz glass one I received. Either way I don't need 16oz of this peanut butter, 12oz is plenty. Other than eating it on a spoon, I added it to my morning oatmeal and was surprised at how much better it tasted than by itself. With a sliced banana and some cinnamon added the oatmeal was pretty tasty. Overall, a decent peanut butter but not one to write home about.

Butter Toffee Peanut Butter (15oz, $6.75)

Ingredients: Dry Roasted Unsalted U.S.A. Peanuts, Butter Toffee U.S.A. Peanuts (butter, sugar, salt), Organic Flax Seed, Organic Hemp Seed, Organic Palm Fruit Oil.

Right away this peanut butter has a lightly sweet taste, partially due to the flax seed. The perfect amount of toffee flavor and a small amount of sugar make this a very appealing peanut butter. It is similar in taste to honey roasted peanut butter but with a slight caramel twist. This no-stir peanut butter does not need to be refrigerated because of the palm oil, the same method used by Peanut Butter & Co to prevent oil separation.

I used this peanut butter in several ways. I added it to my morning oatmeal along with a banana and it was much better than the raspberry version. I also spread it atop my world-renowned Banana Pancakes and they were scrumptious! It's also pretty tasty when simply eaten with a banana.

The motto of Naturally Nutty is "Handcrafted for Health and Happiness", a statement they fully live up to. Apparently, it's their best selling peanut butter and according to them: "Watch out...you will get hooked!" I agree.

Overall:

The king of this round and the clear winner is the Butter Toffee Peanut Butter, placed high on the pedestal above. Peanut butter of the month club, who woulda thought? Perfect present really, especially for The Peanut Butter Boy. Thanks sis!

Additional Info:

I want to thank Carla from Chocolate Moosey for giving me my second "I love you this much award." The first one I got was from Dee at Choos & Chews but forgot to post it, sorry Dee! I assume I keep getting these because, seriously, who doesn't love peanut butter?

Peanut Butter Can Change The World

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:42:00 +0000

We all know that ramen noodles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and microwaveable macaroni and cheese are what sustain our college students. I don't know where we'd be without them although looking back I may have changed my eating habits (besides the peanut butter of course). But unlike the others, peanut butter is a highly nutritious food source that is still incredibly cost effective. Besides providing sustenance to the collegiate population peanut butter can also help you pay for college.

I recently stumbled upon the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest which features a $25,000 scholarship fund as the grand prize and four runner-up $2500 scholarship funds. The contest runs from August 4th, 2008 to November 14th, 2008 and is open to kids aged 6-12 but of course parents can help their kids develop their recipe. Ten finalists will be posted on Jif's website and open to a nationwide vote. From there, the Top 5 will compete in a live judging event in New York City. This will be the 7th annual running of this contest and you can check out the previous winners on the website above and I'll be posting last years winning recipe below.

I've always said that peanut butter would change the world, I just never knew how. This seems like a great opportunity that I wanted to share with you guys. While I doubt I have any 6 year old readers, I know that a lot of you are moms and may have children in that age range. As a mom, you can apply to the Mom's Voice Their Choice Contest to win a 4-day trip to NYC and to sit on the judging panel for the aforementioned sandwich contest.

I also want to thank everyone who submitted an entry to The Peanut Butter Exhibition #4 - No Bake. In total, we received 16 recipes which ties for the largest number of entries with the original Peanut Butter Exhibition #1 - Cookies. The roundup should be up and running sometime next week!

Crunchy Chinese Fortune Cookie Sandwich
Samuel, Age 11 from Riverside, CA

Ingredients:

Sandwich Mix:
3T creamy peanut butter
1T finely diced celery
1T finely diced apple

Chinese Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
1T soy sauce
1T brown sugar
1T lemon juice
1/2t sesame oil
1/2t chili powder

Instructions:

1. To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in small saucepan and cook over low heat while stirring with a wire whisk. When the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, remove from heat and let cool.

2. While the dipping sauce is cooling, roll flat the four slices of bread with a rolling pin. Use a large circle shaped cookie cutter to cut out each slice of bread into a circle. Mix the 3 sandwich mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Place a tablespoon full of mix into the center of each circle shaped piece of bread. Fold the bread in half so the sandwich is now a half circle. Crimp the edges of the sandwich together with your fingers so the mix will not come out. Then, while holding the center of the sandwich, pull the sides of the sandwich down so the edges touch each other, forming a fortune cookie shape.

3. To make fortunes for your fortune cookies, use a clean plastic lid from a tub of butter, yogurt, or sour cream. Cut small plastic strips then write your fortune on them with a permanent marker. Tuck the edge of the fortune into the edge of your cookies to make them real fortune cookie sandwiches.

4. Once the dipping sauce is cool, serve the crunchy Chinese cookie sandwiches with their fortunes and extra apple and celery slices on a plate with a cup of dipping sauce. Dip in and eat!

Additional Info:

I haven't actually tried this recipe yet but it looks pretty darn good. For a while I've been looking for a quick and easy peanut sauce that rivals store-bought. I currently have one that I'm experimenting with but I'm going to try this soon and report back. I hope this is helpful to some of you!

Fresh Peanut Butter Ice Cream

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:31:00 +0000

Update: I've experimented a lot with the recipe (since I make it almost every day) and discovered a few interesting tidbits. While you can use regular yogurt, greek yogurt is much creamier but, surprisingly, nonfat cottage cheese works just as well and is a lot cheaper. If you like it really sweet, feel free to use a flavored yogurt or cottage cheese. Also, I just found out that cantaloupe works great as the secondary fruit! I've updated the recipe to reflect these changes.

I've been dishonest with you guys. Well not dishonest... more like... I've been hiding something from you. A while ago I posted The Perfect Smoothie but since then I've discovered something big, something huge, gargantuan even - the white nectarine. The summer here in Davis, CA sees at least 1 full month of nonstop 100+ degree days. Fortunately, there's no humidity. But on days like today and tomorrow where the projected high for the day is 105 and the last thing your body wants to do is eat, there's only one solution: ice cream.

Luckily, the summer here in Davis also brings a few quality crops, namely peaches ($0.49/lb), white peaches ($0.99/lb), nectarines ($0.69/lb), white nectarines ($0.99/lb), pears ($0.19/lb) and gala apples ($0.59/lb). To say the least, I've been eating my fair share of fruit. But when they come in 3-5lb bags and you can't leave the market without at least 3 different bags, what do you do with the quickly ripening fruit? My solution is fresh ice cream. By "fresh" I mean "make it when you want it" and without an ice cream maker. The same method applies to the Chocolate Peanut Butter Anytime Cookies - simply bake 'em when you want 'em. And I've discovered the newest secret to this culinary masterpiece: White Nectarines. As you'll see, the base for this ice cream is always the same, and while you can use strawberries, peaches, or any other fruit, white nectarines reign supreme. The key is to keep a freezer full of fruit. Right now I have 5 bananas, 3 bag of nectarines, 1 bag of cantaloupe, 1 bag of peaches and 1/2 bag of strawberries in the freezer all ready to go. Peaches and strawberries make for a creamy ice cream but for some reason the regular and white nectarines make this ice cream incredibly creamy - move over Ben & Jerry's. Fruits like pears, plums and apples are tasty but the resulting ice cream has more of an icy texture. I can't explain why certain fruits work except that they seem like more "creamy" fruits, if that makes any sense.

So here is my entry into the No Bake Peanut Butter Exhbition. Speaking of which, get your submissions in soon because the deadline is Sunday, August 31 @ Noon PST! I made an easy to use submission form, simply click here to enter your submission now before time is up!

I also wanted to share my latest accomplishment: I was interviewed for an article in the Sacramento News & Review entitled The Peanut Gallery. I was really excited but I doubt anyone read it. The reason is that it's in a very odd location - right below the article is an advertisement for "POT - Not a party drug anymore!". It also directly follows "The Rainbow Festival" section which I have no problem with except that it was nothing but 8-pages of solid ads, all of them highly suggestive. Not to mention the article was smack in the middle of 56 restaurant reviews (yup, I counted), of which, 50 restaurants got a 4 star rating and 6 restaurants got 4.5 stars. No 2's, no 3.5's, all of them received 4's and over which doesn't seem like a very good rating system in my opinion. Anyways, here is the article in all it's glory:

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 (or more) white nectarine (peaches, strawberries, cantaloupe, etc..)
1 container (4-6oz) nonfat greek yogurt (or cottage cheese, seriously)
2T creamy natural peanut butter (can omit for a nonfat ice cream)
2-4T vanilla soymilk (as needed)

2-3T cocoa powder (optional)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional, for the gym rats like myself)

Instructions:

1. Prep the fruit. Peel the banana, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until rock-solid, about 4 hours but preferably overnight. Wash nectarine and remove pit, cut into at least 4 chunks and freeze in a sealed plastic bag for 4 hours or preferably overnight. If using a fruit other than nectarines, wash thoroughly and remove any pits, seeds or stems and cut into small chunks before freezing.

2. Break the banana into 4-6 chunks and drop into the blender. Add the yogurt, peanut butter, 2T soymilk and any of the optional ingredients. Process until a smooth consistency is achieved. You may need to stop the blender several times to mix or scoop down the sides with a spoon.

Note: The more room-temperature optional ingredients you add the thinner the mixture gets. Therefore, you'll need to add more frozen fruit to thicken it which will lead to a larger batch of ice cream, not a bad thing really. You can freeze any excess, but you need to let it thaw for about 20-30 minutes to achieve an edible consistency - but even then it's a little bit icy. Best enjoyed fresh.

3. Add the frozen nectarine chunks (or whatever fruit you are using) and process until smooth and consistency is very similar to soft serve ice cream.

Note: Stopping the blender several times to help the process along is normal. If the fruit is pureed and the mixture is too thin and melted, add more frozen fruit to make it thicker. Add more milk only if the mixture is too thick to process (shouldn't be the case, you want it really thick).

4. Pour into a large mug and eat with a large spoon (it should be so thick that it isn't really "drinkable"). Top with crunchy cereal or granola - I use a mixture of 1/2 Kashi GoLean and 1/2 Kashi GoLean Crunch.

Additional Info:

Here's the final product, a thing of beauty really. The one pictured here is the basic smoothie with none of the optional ingredients. One bite and I promise that not only will you be making it once a day like myself, but you won't even mind washing the blender every day. Don't be daunted by my lengthy instructions, I just have a lot of tips from my extensive experience. Once you get the hang of it, it's really quick and easy. Makes a great breakfast, lunch or dinner - I've had it for all of them.

All you chocolate fanatics, be sure to add plenty of extra dark cocoa (I actually forgot the peanut butter in this one but it still worked beautifully):

Chocolate Peanut Butter Anytime Cookies

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Reminder: Only 1 week left until the deadline for The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #4 - No Bake! Submit your entry now!

Like fresh-baked cookies? Want to have them at the touch of your fingertips at any given time? Then these are for you. Now I'm not the biggest dessert person in the world - the savory part of the meal is my favorite and I tend not to leave space for dessert. However, like every other self-respecting foodie in the world my ears perk up at the mention of the holy combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

Ice cream is a great dessert, but there is something special about a warm, fresh baked good. For some it's cake, for others it's pie. For me, there is nothing quite like a fresh out-of-the-oven simultaneously chewy and crispy cookie. But unless you've got the culinary talents of Celine to bake single-serving portions, the problem with baking cookies is that they are at their prime within 20 minutes of leaving the oven. After that, they only stay fresh for a couple of days. One solution is to gobble down the entire batch within those peak 20 minutes. A better solution is my anytime cookies. It's quite genius really - make the dough, freeze the dough, slice off desired amount, refreeze the remaining dough, bake and enjoy. This way, you only have to make the dough once, you only have to wash the dishes once and you have the power of fresh-baked cookies at your fingertips. Could you think of a greater superhero power?

Contrary to popular belief, chocolate and peanut butter can be a very nutritious duo. Peanut butter is very low in saturated fat and contains mostly healthy fats, the heart-healthy fats that will also help you lose weight (if you're looking to do so) on an otherwise low-fat diet. However, chocolate is a large source of saturated fats and generally contains quite a bit of sugar. But cocoa is an excellent source of antioxidants, and if you buy all the science behind it, eating foods rich in antioxidants will make you live forever. Lucky for true chocoholics like myself, the darker the chocolate, the higher the cocoa content. But even better than chocolate is unsweetened cocoa powder - chock-full of antioxidants, very low in fat, no added sugar and lots of fiber and protein. Along the same lines, these chocolate & peanut butter cookies are nutritious and delicious.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4t baking soda
1/8t salt
3T natural chunky peanut butter
2T healthy butter spread (I use Smart Balance Light)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2T granulated sugar
1t vanilla extract
1 egg white (2T egg substitute)

Makes about 24 cookies

Instructions:

1. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Remember to lightly spoon the flour into the measuring cup and use a knife to level it off. In large bowl, mix the butter spread and peanut butter until well mixed and fluffy. Add in the sugars and mix until well blended. Add vanilla and egg white and mix well. Stir in the flour mixture until a nice even dough is formed.

2. Place the dough on a sheet of wax paper and shape into a log about 6-8 inches long. Roll up the wax paper and roll the log around to get it more evenly rounded. Freeze for at least 3 hours or up to several months.

3. When you feel like some cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place some tinfoil on a baking sheet (easy clean up) and spray with cooking spray. Take the log out of the freezer and cut a few 1/4 inch thick slices (as many as you think you'll want plus 1), turning the log after each cut to prevent the bottom from flattening. Place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart and bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes. Cookies should be crispy on the outside and perfectly chewy on the inside.

Additional Info:

Be sure to dip them in a glass of your favorite milk.

Before I forget, I've been awarded the Magic Lamp of Luck Award by The crew at Equal Opportunity Kitchen. Thanks guys! Perfect timing for my interview article in the Sacramento News & Review. More on that later...

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:43:00 +0000

What gives humans the right to hog all the peanut butter? Is it just because we're the only species that can make it? Share the wealth I say! Every creature deserves some peanut butter once in a while which is why I have made some delightful dog biscuits.

I originally found the recipe at one of my favorite recipe sites, Allrecipes. I didn't change much except that I don't have a dog. What, you ask, was my motivation to make these? To be honest I stumbled upon the recipe while looking up peanut butter baked goods. I was amazed at how healthy and nutritious they were so I figured I'd give them a try. But I also made them for you guys! I know a lot of you have dogs and I figured that I would help you share our love of peanut butter with your personal pups.

I was a little surprised that none of the other reviewers had tasted them. Well I can proudly say that I was the first creature with advanced thought (not by much) and the ability of speech to review this recipe. In case you're curious they're a bit dry, which is to be expected - it's dog food. As for the shapes, I didn't have a dog-bone cutout so I made shaped them with a knife. I quickly tired of that and gave some thought as to other shapes that would make them more appealing to dogs. Dogs are notorious for eating their own poop so why not shape them into perfect little coils? Those were actually the tastiest ones as they were a little bit chewier.

Reminder: Don't forget about the upcoming No-Bake Peanut Butter Exhibition! I've only got a couple entries so far, let's get those peanut butter jars to work! While these dog biscuits aren't an entry into The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition, I have submitted these to the I Love Baking Food Event over at Ben's What's Cooking? Forum. It said nothing about needing to be people food, right?

Ingredients:

1 large banana
1/4 cup egg substitute (1 egg)
1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
1 T honey (more if you plan on eating them too)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup wheat germ

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Mash the banana with the back of a fork in a medium bowl until very few clumps remain. Add the egg, peanut butter and honey until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the flour and wheat germ and mix well.

3. Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/4" thick. Cut into desired shapes. If you don't have a rolling pin, like myself, use a washed wine or alcohol bottle to flatten the dough. If you don't have any cookie cutters, also like myself, use the screw cap from a spice bottle or get creative and roll the dough out to make the little "piles" below.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. Serve ~~with coffee or tea~~ when good behavior deserves a reward.

Final Thought:

Nothin' like a steamin' hot one in the morning.

Peanut Butter Cookie Nickbar

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Lots of exciting things going on here at the Peanut Butter Boy. For starters, I received an email the other day from a lady at the Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento's second largest newspaper. She was interested in interviewing me for a weekly column she writes called the Corner Table. Naturally I accepted the offer and the interview will be published in next Thursday's paper. It's a free publication that is distributed all over the Sacramento area and available in many locations here in Davis so I can't wait to pick up a few copies next week!

Next up, I wanted to send out an invitation to all the foodies out there to guest write for the Peanut Butter Boy. If you've got a great peanut butter recipe and a killer photo, I'd love to publish your recipe on my site! If you're interested shoot me an email at yummy@peanutbutterboy.com. I tend to focus on healthy recipes here but I'm open for anything!

Last time I mentioned that I may have discovered a new favorite peanut butter. Avid readers will know, Trader Joe's creamy natural peanut butter is my favorite peanut butter out there, and on top of that it's also the cheapest at $1.69 for a 16 oz jar. Well that may have changed. I used to be a fan of chunky but once I discovered Trader Joe's brand, I fell in love with their creamy style. It's so creamy and runny and perfectly salted that chunky just couldn't compare. I tried Trader Joe's chunky style and was unimpressed. But then I read an article from AOL Food which blindly tasted 20 different peanut butters and named Whole Foods brand crunchy peanut butter as their #1 rated peanut butter. I didn't believe it could be the best but naturally I had to try it. The Whole Foods brand is 365 and their crunchy peanut butter is a force to be reckoned with. This peanut butter is perfectly salted and has an incredible roasted peanut taste. The creaminess between the chunks is the perfect consistency and as a bonus this natural peanut butter needs minimal mixing. When I bought it there was no oil separation and has yet to separate like other natural peanut butters. The price? $1.69 for an 18 oz jar which beats the already low price of Trader Joe's brand peanut butter. To recap my #1 peanut butters, for creamy lovers: Trader Joe's creamy natural peanut butter and for chunky lovers: Whole Foods 365 natural crunchy peanut butter shown below. Go pick up a jar of each and concoct something delicious for the upcoming No-Bake Peanut Butter Exhibition!

Next, I wanted to explain the main picture above. No, that's not a picture of the Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar, that is a Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered almond dipped in sea salt and turbinado sugar. To break that down for you, it's an almond covered in a rich dark chocolate with large crystals of sugar for an extra burst of sweetness in addition to large crystals of salt for that sweet/salty combo. The reason it's the main picture is mainly because it looks more appetizing than the Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar. The other reason is that they are absolutely delicious. I love gourmet and artisan dark chocolate bars but I always reach for these almonds first because each one is like a meal, it has every flavor you could want in such a small package. I urge you to find a Trader Joe's, find their chocolate section (usually on the shelves above the frozen section) and buy a package of these, you will not be disappointed.

Last but not least is the Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar itself. I was informed by VeggieGirl of this upcoming flavor in the popular Larabar lineup. I finally found one but was a little disappointed by the ingredients: dates, peanuts, salt. This was supposed to taste like a peanut butter cookie? I liked the simple and unprocessed nature of the bar but I was hoping for it to live up to the name. But after tasting it I was impressed. For only containing 3 ingredients, this was a pretty tasty bar reminiscent of a peanut butter cookie. And why shouldn't it be? The basic ingredients are the same as my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies minus the egg. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you go out and spend $1.60 for 51g of chopped dates and peanuts. What I do suggest is to follow my copycat recipe for the Larabar in what can only be called the Peanut Butter Cookie Nickbar. Using the nutrition facts and weight of the bar I was able to calculate the precise quantity of ingredients necessary to concoct this energy bar. I've provided two methods below to measure out the ingredients so you can get the perfect ratio.

Ingredients:

By Weight:

78g roasted unsalted peanuts
75g whole dates, chopped
pinch of salt

Or By Volume:

3/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped dates (buy them whole, chop them yourself)
pinch of salt

* Note: Make sure to buy whole soft dates (Barhee, Halawy, Khadrawy or Medjool type)

Instructions:

1. If measuring by volume make sure your dates are chopped before you measure out 1/2 cup. If measuring by weight, coarsely chop the dates before or after weighing them, it doesn't matter (The Law of Mass Conservation, remember?).

2. Process the dates in a food processor until a fine paste is achieved and pour into a bowl. Process the peanuts and salt until you get small chunks, this should only take a few seconds. Add the peanuts/salt to the bowl and mix together with your hands until well mixed. If the mixture is not sticking together, pour the mixture back into the food processor until it starts to clump together on its own (and see note below).

3. Shape into 3 equal bars, surround in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.

Additional Info:

Note: I bought the dates pre-chopped and they were a bit drier and did not chop up finely enough in the food processor. This ultimately made mixing the ingredients impossible, so I had to process the mixture together resulting in the peanuts grinding to more of a peanut paste which held the bar together instead of the dates. The end product looks different and has a different texture than the real Larabar but the taste is almost identical. Avoid this by buying fresh dates which are moister and will better process into a paste.

And finally, here is a picture of the Nickbar. Like I said, it's not that pretty to look at, but that is partially due to over-processing the peanuts in the food processor. Below that, I've included the nutrition facts for the Larabar which has been mimicked by the Nickbar.

Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Scones

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Portable breakfasts are the holy ~~whole~~ grail ~~grain~~ of baking in my opinion. As a man who thoroughly enjoys his breakfast, I'm always looking for an energy-packed equivalent for on-the-go. The Banana Bread was the first contender for the ultimate portable breakfast but this is a close second. I tested them out on the girlfriend and she approved. I'll be making another batch for when she comes to visit this week for 4 days, hoorah!

Other than the positive feedback from the scones, I had a very successful and delightful weekend. Prompted by Veggie Girl's extreme enthusiasm for the new Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie flavor, I too became very excited to locate this energy bar. Whole Foods unfortunately didn't have it but I did find it at Sports Basement, an outstanding sports outlet in San Francisco. Well I bought one and tried it. I was surprised...before I opened it I had checked out the ingredient list which had lowered my expectations, but the taste exceeded these now low expectations. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'll be reporting more detailed findings on this along with a little surprise very soon. In addition to that, I'll also clue everyone in on a new tidbit of information. Here's a teaser: Has the Peanut Butter Boy discovered a new favorite peanut butter?

While not in the runnings for the upcoming No Bake Peanut Butter Exhibition this recipe is no less of a winner. This appears to be at least the third remake, given that I found it on Bon Appegeek where it was adapted from Baking Bites. Despite the history and long journey of this recipe it still turned out tasty! I used 75% dark chocolate shavings to "fill" the scones but I recommend mixing chocolate chips or chunks into the batter instead. I can't find it now but I remember reading somewhere that you can replace the egg in this recipe with 1/4 soy milk, which will give it a more bread-like texture, but also make the recipe vegan!

Ingredients:

5T peanut butter
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2T white sugar
2T brown sugar
1t baking powder
1/4t salt
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
2-4T skim milk
4t shaved dark chocolate (or 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a small baking sheet. Smear the peanut butter about 1/2 inch thick inside a small bowl. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. If you want the chocolate mixed into the scone, mix the chocolate chips in now. Place this bowl in the refrigerator. Lightly beat the egg and 2T milk in a small bowl or measuring cup and also place in the refrigerator.

3. Remove the peanut butter from the freezer and scrape out and add to the flour mixture. Work it in with your hands until very few clumps remain. Add the egg/milk mixture and mix together with a large spoon or by hand until it is evenly mixed. Add more milk as needed (1T at a time) to make the dough workable, but keep it stiff. I used 2T of milk and had a heck of a time with it sticking to my hands. I eventually scraped it off with a spoon and tried to touch it minimally.

4. If you've already mixed in the chocolate then form a 6 inch disk on a lightly floured surface and proceed to the next step. Otherwise form two 5 inch disks on the floured surface. If the dough is really sticky, use the back of a spoon and one finger to shape it all correctly, although it seemed to become less sticky as it warmed to room temperature. Draw shallow guidelines with a knife on one disk to separate the dough into 4 sections (but do not cut through!). Make sure to draw the lines in an orientation that you will remember (I made sure that one line was parallel to the counter edge). Put 1t of chocolate shavings or chips into each section. Top with the other disk and press down and seal the edges to form one big 6 inch disk as shown below:

5. Cut the dough into 4 sections (hopefully you remember where the lines are if you filled them with chocolate!) and seal the edges. Place on the baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are lightly browned. Top with strawberry jam or dunk in a cup of coffee!

Additional Info:

Whether or not it matters if the flour and egg/milk mixture be refrigerated is uncertain but I believe that freezing the peanut butter for a short time is good enough.

I nearly forgot about my blog award! I received the following award from Anjanette at Eat From Your Pantry for being touted as the following: "This blog is a recent addition to my favorites. I love the rotating funny sayings that pop up when the page loads. And I love that he is a male food blogger! Way to go! As you can imagine, you'll mostly find peanut butter recipes here, with a few surprises thrown in. Peanut Butter & Pomegranate stew with edamame bulgur anyone?" Thanks Anjanette! I'll be sure to keep an eye on your blog now!

The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #4 - No Bake

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:22:00 +0000

The Great Peanut Butter Exhibition has returned for another round! In conjunction with Foodaphilia, I am proud to present the latest and greatest in peanut butter blogging!

In the heat of the summer we've decided that the best theme for this PBE is No Bake! What's you're favorite way to eat peanut butter cold? Perhaps an explosion of flavor in a Linda Delite or an Ultimate Peanut Butter Sandwich? Mayhap some Peanut Butter Mousse or a nifty Banana Pudding modification. Submit your recipe following the guidelines below and we'll be rounding up all submissions and choosing a Top 3. The deadline is August 31th @ Noon (PST), a full 24 days from now, which gives you 4 weekends to demonstrate your expertise with our favorite tan-colored paste and flex those non-baking muscles! The Top 3 will be prominently featured, but all entries will be displayed. Winners will receive badges to proudly display their accomplishments!

Of course, the real prizes from the previous Peanut Butter Exhibitions are the recipes themselves. We have yet to receive a recipe that didn't make us drool. We're looking forward to another great batch of recipes to round up! The category is quite broad this time but I think we'll get some excellent & creative recipes. We're excited for this round, so put on those thinking caps and get in the kitchen!

So sit back, have a margarita and read a book. Then, run to your local grocer, pick up some peanut butter and get those spoons-a-churnin'! Read on for the details...

Submission Details: To enter your recipe, click here to submit online now or email the following information to pbe@peanutbutterboy.com with "PBE #4" as the subject:

Name
Blog Name
Title of Recipe
Recipe Permalink URL or Recipe

Judging Criteria: Peanut Butter Weight, Presentation, Creativity, and Preparation Time.

Other Rules: 1 entry per person, so choose wisely! Pictures are highly recommended but not required. Also, please link back to this page to indicate that you are entering the recipe into this contest. Feel free to use any of the PBE logos to link back here. Good luck to all!

Participating? Use this image to link back here:

Blogless?: Don't worry if you don't have a blog, you can still submit your winning recipe. Follow the same procedure above excluding "Blog URL" and "Recipe Permalink URL" and feel free to email the picture along with the recipe!

* Logos courtesy of the talented Kristina Sacci.

Peanut Butter Refried Beans

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:12:00 +0000

After my first Mexican/peanut butter crossover, I've decided to reveal my second success. I've wanted to try this for a while but was a little afraid of ruining an entire batch of beans. Of course it never occurred to me to add peanut butter to a small batch first and decide if it was good or not, so I went for the gold and made a full batch right off the bat.

I've posted my original refried beans and by no means are they lacking anything. But most refried beans use pork fat to make them extra creamy, so I thought: why not peanut butter? 1/4 cup was the perfect amount for me, but you may want to add it 1T at a time to make sure the mild flavor of the beans doesn't get overpowered. I recommend using dry beans but if you're in a hurry you can used canned instead (drained and rinsed).

Ingredients:
2 cups dry pinto beans (~1 1/2 cans?)
1 large onion, chopped
1T olive oil
1/4 cup peanut butter
garlic salt or regular salt, to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions:

1. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with about 3 inches of water and a good amount of salt. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer, about 1 1/2 hours. The beans are done when they are very tender and the skins begin to burst open.

2. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the oil and cook the onions until slightly browned.

3. When the beans are done, drain them and return them to the pot. Using a potato masher or other device (I use the end of a meat mallet), mash the beans to the desired consistency, adding water, as needed, to keep the beans moist. Turn the heat to medium and add the onions, peanut butter and cheese (if using). Continue to add more water and salt as needed. Keep in mind that when the beans cool they will stiffen quite a bit so add plenty of water, perhaps even more than you think. Serve hot, using Homemade Tortilla Chips to dip.

Additional Info:

Today I am officially 24, although it took me a little while to remember that. My sister got me probably the coolest present ever. I received an email from her late last night saying that I was enrolled in the Peanut Butter of the Month Club! Every other month I receive 2 jars of natural gourmet peanut butter from unique places. I don't want to spoil the monthly surprises so I didn't check out too many details but I think they have a range of flavors and styles from small little boutiques around the country. I can't wait!!

Chicken Mole

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Hoorah! That is the actual sound that left my lips after the first bite. Why? My love for peanut butter is clear, but Peanut-Butter-Boy devotees know of my love for Mexican cuisine and the desire to incorporate peanut butter into a Mexican dish.

As of yet I have barely tried to combine the two but I do believe it is possible and potentially delicious. Running with a suggestion from a commenter whose Mexican family makes their Chicken Mole with peanut butter instead of chocolate led me to discover this delightful recipe! The original recipe was an advertisement for Jif peanut butter. The recipe called for citrus cilantro rice as a side, but instead I served it with a side of Edamame Bulgur and ate it with the best-ever tortilla chips. I highly recommend you give this dish a go, not just because it's a Mexican/peanut butter fusion but because how often do you get to eat chocolate and peanut butter for dinner?

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken tenders or chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14oz) can chicken broth
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
2t chili powder
2T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4t cinnamon
1T honey

Instructions:

1. Spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and cook chicken over medium-high heat. Once cooked through, remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2. Spray more cooking spray in the skillet and cook the onions until softened. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If you're a chunk-o-phob (new word?), the sauce may be pureed at this point. Add chicken to the sauce and cook, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Top with chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, if desired, and enjoy!

Additional Info:

From what I hear, there are hundreds of varieties of mole sauce in Mexico and you'll never have the same one twice. Along the same lines, you can customize this dish to taste, some like it spicy, others like it sweet. Experiment with the peanut butter, cocoa, chili powder and honey quantities as you see fit. The dish is outstanding, especially with the tortilla chips, and if you prepare it be sure to comment and describe your own twist on it!

One suggestion I have is to substitute 1oz of grated dark chocolate for the cocoa powder. Next time I make this I plan on using pork tenderloin instead of chicken. And while this recipe is not authentic, it is a lot faster than a traditional mole sauce. This whole dish, start to finish, can take as little as 30 minutes to prepare.

Southern-Style Banana Pudding

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:57:00 +0000

Update: I've made another batch with peanut butter and had some outstanding results! It is now listed as an optional ingredient but it's quite necessary. I also used cheesecake flavored pudding instead of vanilla and it was delicious, so get creative!

I'm a man who enjoys his pudding. I'm no fanatic, but every so often I'll pass down the pudding aisle and casually topple a box of instant pudding into the cart. Nowadays, Jell-o has a large variety of flavors but my favorite one by far is difficult to find on the east coast yet easy to find here in California, banana cream. Sometimes I'll use it for protein pudding, sometimes I'll make a banana cream pie and other times I'll simply eat the pudding plain. I've never tried the kind where you have to cook the pudding first nor have I ever prepared a homemade pudding. And so, in keeping with that tradition I bring you a quick and delicious old fashioned banana pudding recipe. This you must try!

While planning for our July 4th party, we decided that another dessert was in order. And really, when is another dessert not in order? For a while I'd been wanting to try what I believe to be a traditional southern dish. I'd never heard of it until I stumbled onto a slew of banana pudding recipes at Allrecipes. My favorite one was super quick and got great reviews, entitled Uncooked Banana Pudding. I liked it because it was simple and seemed easy to modify. I was a bit apprehensive about making a brand new dessert for a crowd of guests, but my desire to finally have a reason to consume this dish surpassed any fear I had.

Judging from the response, this dish is not only a keeper, but a necessity. The entire bowl of pudding was gone within 10 minutes, I kid you not. To the surprise of me and my family, it even went faster than the ever popular Raspberry Brownie. This banana pudding was polished off in no time and kept us all wanting more. It was so good in fact, that I made another batch the following week just for my parents and I. We polished that one off too. After a few hours in the fridge the vanilla wafers begin to soften and take on an incredible texture. Even after several days when the wafers have completely softened, they are still just as delicious and add the perfect depth to this simple dish. And since this dessert is nearly guiltless, containing a minimal amount of fat and relatively low in sugar, I guarantee that you'll soon be eating this for breakfast.

Here's a compact recipe card for the banana pudding or read below for the regular format:

Southern Style Banana Pudding

A healthy version of the classic banana pudding dish. Add ...

See Southern Style Banana Pudding on Key Ingredient.

Ingredients:

8 oz nonfat sour cream
2 cups skim milk
8 oz nonfat frozen whipped topping, thawed for 30 minutes
2 small packages nonfat instant vanilla pudding
3 bananas, in 1/4" thick slices
1/2 (16oz) box reduced-fat vanilla wafers
1/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter, or more to taste (optional, but not really)

fresh berries, to garnish
shaved dark chocolate, to garnish

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the sour cream and peanut butter, if using. Then whisk in the whipped topping and milk until no clumps remain. Stir in the instant pudding until well incorporated and mixture begins to thicken.

2. In a large glass serving dish or trifle bowl, form a layer of vanilla wafers, flat side facing up. Cover with a thin layer of pudding, followed by a layer of banana slices. Add another thin layer of pudding and repeat. Get creative by pudding (hah!) some wafers against the wall before adding the next layer of pudding for a nice presentation. Garnish with fresh berries and/or chocolate. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Additional Info:

The pictures aren't that great this time around because I forgot to put my camera into zoom mode. But the point is, they don't need to be. If only you could reach through and taste this dessert you would understand. Do yourself a favor and git yerself summa this southern deeelite!

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post this one for a while. I've only made this recipe once before and almost forgot about it, but it was so good that it needed to be made again and with all of my friends coming to spend the night on July 4th, this seemed like the perfect time. As it turned out, this was the ultimate addition to our brunch the next day.

I made 2 different types, one with and one without chocolate chunks. I did this because some people don't like dark chocolate or at least not as much as I. Not only did the loaf with chocolate chips rise more, but it was the perfect addition to the bread, rounding out the flavor on the palette. Everyone agreed that the chocolate chip loaf was superior.

For a while I've been trying to concoct a portable healthy breakfast for days when I'm in a rush, with limited success. But as I was chomping down half a loaf, I realized that I had finally discovered the perfect breakfast to go. Banana bread in general can be a fairly healthy treat, but this one packs a nutritious punch.

The bread is sweetened with only brown sugar, contains no butter, and uses 100% whole grain flour (whole wheat pastry flour to be exact, sorry to the gluten-free readers!). And this bread needs nothing to accompany it. I tried it with plain peanut butter, cinnamon raisin peanut butter, plain cream cheese, cinnamon raisin cream cheese and lastly butter. The butter was the best, but I liked it plain even more. I recommend making these a day ahead of time because they become even more moist and delicious. Just slice it up and microwave each slice for about 7 seconds. It also freezes wonderfully.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1T baking powder
3/4t salt
1/4t cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
1t vanilla extract
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans (or muffin tins).

2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine mashed bananas, milk, peanut butter, vanilla and egg.

3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.

4. Split evenly between the two pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Additional Info:

A few tips: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, don't dig the cup into the bag. Doing so can result in using up to 40% more flour! Also make sure the bananas are very ripe, mostly brown on the outside or at least half covered in brown spots. 2 medium bananas should work perfect for this recipe and to mash them, just place them in a bowl and use the back of a fork until a fine puree is achieved.

The original recipe comes from The Recipe Girl, I just modified it to suit my fancy.

Roundup: Peanut Butter Exhibition #3 - (Cup)Cakes

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Looking at that picture above, I think we should start a peanut butter bakery. I know it would work. Even if I was the only customer, I'd spend enough to sustain it. There were 14 excellent entries this time, which led us to break our promise: we didn't choose a top 3. When e from Foodaphilia and I chose our favorites based on the criteria, we discovered that both of our 3rd choices were tied. Rather than hold a tiebreaker, we decided to declare a Top 4. Of course, don't forget that there are no real winners here because the real prize is the collection of peanut butter recipes here.

We received a few oddballs this time. Actually, we always seem to receive at least one. As they say, there's always one. Our first entry was received only an hour or two after the call for entries was put out. Unfortunately, there was no recipe, or at least not one that could be posted because the recipe was modified from a cookbook. Still, does that exclude it from our roundup here? Absolutely not! Besides, the owner of the blog says she was removing the blog anyway because she doesn't have time to continue it. Well I convinced her to keep it around because at least the recipes could still be accessed by people, like me, who have them bookmarked. Other than that, we also received a brazil nut butter recipe which I said was perfectly fine because all us nut butters need to stick together (hah!). However, it was also a brownie recipe... But, not only is it still included in the exhibition, but I thank you, Cheryl from Gluten-Free and Healthy for continuing the tradition of submitting a recipe that doesn't match the theme!

Read on to see these interesting and outstanding recipes along with the winners of the Third Peanut Butter Exhibition!

Congratulations to the winners! We loved all the recipes, but when it came down to it, we had to choose the winners. Given that we couldn't choose a top 3, but rather a top 4, I hope you can appreciate how hard this is! I think we should start requiring samples to be mailed to us, making it easier and funner to judge =). On to the peanut butter!

1st Place: Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake w/ Peanut Butter Frosting from Amanda at Slow Like Honey created something much more than a combination of two recipes. I saw this post a few months ago and fell in love with the pictures. I mean seriously, look at that! And don't forget about the free screen cleaning she provides for your laptop when you check out the pictures.

2nd Place: Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Filled Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Buttercream from Jessica at Half Baked and Burning Sugar wowed us with the sheer amount of peanut butter used in her recipe. Not to mention the length of the title really does justice to the quality of the goods.

3rd/4th Place: Peanut Butter & Jelly Filled Cupcakes from Giz at Equal Opportunity Kitchen tied for 3rd place for the always-wonderful combination of peanut butter and jelly in a sweet and convenient package. The silver balls only sweeten the deal.

3rd/4th Place: Peanut Butter Buckeyes from Gluten Free....licious! demonstrated not only a love for peanut butter in her recipe but a very unique and delicious Gluten Free entry!

Runner-Up?: These were an outstanding entry (mostly because they look like mine), but I apologize, I forgot to include the picture in the collage above, so here they are now in full - Dreamy Peanut Butter Cupcakes:

All Entries:
- Right Royal Peanut Butter and Banana Cupcakes from Choos & Chews - a true tribute to the king!
- Peanut Butter-Banana-Chocolate Bliss from CookiePie
- Peanut Butter Eclair Cake from The Crispy Cook
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake from Baking Buddies
- Banana Cupcakes from Vegans Eat - keep the blog up!
- Elvis Cake from Foodaphilia - Excellent cake, too bad it wasn't in the runnings!
- Double Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes from The Peanut Butter Boy
- Brazil Nut Brownies from Gluten Free Goodness - not quite cake, but still delicious =).

Last but not least is a recipe submitted by Katrina Johnson who has no blog (yet) or picture but a killer recipe!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

Cupcake:

3 ounces Dark Chocolate
1/4 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup + 1T whole wheat flour
1 Cup Raw sugar
2 eggs
1/3 Cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 1/4 T unsweetened Cocoa powder
3/4 t baking powder
small pinch of salt
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate and peanut butter in a microwave until smooth in a large microwave safe bowl. (small chunks of chocolate are ok and extra tasty)
2. Add sugar and stir, let cool for about 10 minutes.
3. Stir well for 3 minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, mixing between each. stir in the applesauce.
5. In a separate bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
6. Pour dry into the wet and mix wet and dry ingredients thoroughly.
7. Add vanilla and honey and mix until blended.
8. Scoop into cup cake cups and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Filling (*makes enough to fill 8 cupcakes):

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1//2 T Vanilla extract
1 1/2 T Milk. ( I usually use vanilla or chocolate soy milk)

1. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Chocolate Frosting:

2 ounces Dark Chocolate
2 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 T butter at room Temp.
1 Cup Powdered Sugar.

1. Chop chocolate and keep in a heat safe bowl.
2. Heat cream until bubbly around the edges of pan, pour over chocolate.
3. Let sit for 1 minute, stir to combine.
4. Add butter and vanilla and stir. Let cool for 10 minutes
5. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Continue to beat until lighter in color and has a creamy texture.

Assembly:

1. With a small knife, cut a cone shape out of the top of the cupcake. Flip the cone over and remove the cone leaving you with a flat top.
2. Fill the cupcake with the Peanut Butter filling and replace the top.
3. Frost with Chocolate frosting with whatever method you choose.

I'll be sending out snazzy badges to the winners in the next few days so you can proudly display your achievement on your site, if you wish. Sorry for the delays everyone, but somehow I've been busier while on vacation than when at school. I still have some great recipes from the Fourth of July party we had, so expect more updates soon!

Random Musings of a Peanut Butter Nature

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:43:00 +0000

During my internet travels I, as most people, have discovered some interesting things. There really is a site for everything you could imagine plus a million times more that you'd never even dream of. I want to be part of the latter group. I want people to be blown away when they realize that some wacko has devoted a site to peanut butter recipes. I also want to provide some sort of useful information to people and I think I figured out what.

One of the oddest things I found was a recipe for Ground Pork Peanut Butter Cookies. I'm not sure how these came about (perhaps a joke?), but needless to say, I have yet to try them. It states that the recipe is originally from "The Heart of Iowa" cookbook. I don't know anything about that cookbook, but I don't think I would recommend it. At first I thought that maybe one of the ingredients was listed wrong, but the list includes not only ground pork but also lard, flour, sugar and brown sugar. If you're a daring individual, I urge you to attempt the recipe, perhaps in a smaller batch.

Want a great peanut butter bedtime story? Here's one about the journey of Elvis and his friends on the evening of February 1st, 1976. Great story, and I've made a sandwich version of the Fool's Gold Loaf and it is surprisingly tasty.

Read on for some useful peanut butter information...

Methods for Stirring/Enjoying Natural Peanut Butter

With all of my peanut butter consumption, I've discovered the best way to work with the often tricky natural peanut butters. A lot of people are turned away by natural peanut butter because it is annoying to constantly stir, and keeping it in the fridge makes it near impossible to spread. The first thing I do when I buy a jar is to store it, upside down, in the cabinet. This allows the oil to rise to the bottom of the jar and make it easier to stir.

One easy method is to empty the entire jar into a larger tupperware and stir it with a fork. The larger the tupperware, the better, because it will be easier to stir each time you open it. If you use it often enough, don't worry about storing it in the fridge either, just give it a light stir when you open it each time. But the following is my preferred method, because it uses no tupperware. However, it requires you to have an empty, or near empty, peanut butter jar. Or, contact this guy and ask him to make you one of these awesome peanut butter jars.

Peanut Butter Boy Method

1. Store peanut butter jar upside down.

2. When your current jar is running low, turn the new jar right-side-up, open, and stir well with a butter knife until well mixed.

3. Pour half into the old jar. Now you have 2 half-jars, making it much easier to stir when the cravings hit.

For those of you curious about the results from the Third Peanut Butter Exhibition for (Cup)Cakes, I'm currently in NYC on a vacation away from my vacation with my girlfriend who is visiting for a few days. I'll have the excellent cake entries posted within the next day or two!

Raspberry Brownie

strandman7@hotmail.com (Nick) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:34:00 +0000

As promised, here is my recipe for the highly praised raspberry brownie. This weekend is going to rock, and this raspberry brownie is only going to sweeten the deal. For starters, I'm home in NY for our annual 4th of July party. Every year there is a fireworks show held over the Long Island Sound and every year we host a party at our house that overlooks the water. The fireworks show is about a mile out and lights up the night sky and fills the air with echoing booms and crashes. This year, not only are my good friends coming but my girlfriend is flying in from California! In preparation, my mother and I have begun to plan the menu. Now sit back and enjoy, I've got a story to share.

For as long as I can remember, raspberry brownie has been a part of my life. It began at our annual end-of-the-school-year pool parties with pizza and raspberry brownie. Kids would come from all over the neighborhood for a bite of the raspberry brownie and a dip in the pool. Now flash forward to 10 years ago, where my memory really kicks in. We moved into our new house and began having July 4th parties. The raspberry brownie tradition continues to this day, and arriving guests' first question is still: where's the brownie? Even when we invite guests we get asked if raspberry brownie will be served, and on several occasions my mother has gotten requests from relatives for raspberry brownie on less-fitting occasions like Thanksgiving.

I distinctly remember attending a friends pool party one summer where my mother brought along the famed brownie. Of course my friend and I dove right in, but the other children took in all their options first. Right in front of my mother, another adult remarked derogatively: who brought that dessert? Well that commenter ate his words and missed his chance at pure bliss, because within 10 minutes the double batch of raspberry brownie was polished off while the other snacks were barely touched. Upon first impression, the commenter had a point - this is a tacky looking dessert. It's not all that pretty to look at and if it were jewelry it would be large, gaudy, made of plastic and in the $1 bin. Indeed, the goal is almost to make it as bright, colorful and in-your-face as possible.

But before you dismiss this dessert as a simple combination of brownie and sherbet, let me say a few things. First off, it is much more than meets the eye. Something happens to this dessert in the freezer, the brownie basically turns to fudge. We're not exactly sure how, but our guess is that during the sherbet application, some of it melts and soaks into the brownie and continues to do so slowly in the freezer. When you serve it, it's the most amazing combination of textures and flavor: a rich combination of creamy raspberry sherbet with a decadent fudgy brownie that is simply irresistible. I feel a little bad divulging this family secret, but it's really no secret at all. It's so simple, but the end result is mind-boggling. In return, all I ask is that you make this, not eventually but as soon as possible, and let me know how you liked it.

Through our experimentation over the years, we have determined that any brownie mix will work, but the lower fat mixes seem to work best. We now use the No Pudge brand and it is just as fudgy, if not fudgier, than with higher fat brownies. We've never made a homemade brownie underneath, but I'm sure it would work just as well. Another intriguing option would be to try the original quick version of black bean brownies, where you simply buy a regular brownie mix (not lowfat), add a can of pureed black beans and disregard the other required ingredients listed on the box - thereby creating a nonfat brownie. Try if you wish, but we dare not deviate from the time tested formula. One bonus to this dessert is that it is fat free and fairly guiltless - although you'd never know it.

The only deviation is this past time as you'll notice in top portion of the picture above. I applied Breyer's nonfat double-churn strawberry ice cream to about 1/3 of a double batch of the brownie. This ice cream is soft and creamy right out of the freezer so I thought it might be incredible. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll report back once I have.

Ingredients:

1 package No Pudge brownie mix (or other low/non-fat brownie mix)
2/3 cup (~6oz) nonfat vanilla yogurt (not needed if using other brownie mix)
1 quart raspberry sherbet (not sorbet)
sprinkles or other decoration (optional)

Instructions:

1. If using No Pudge, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together No Pudge brownie mix and yogurt and bake for 30 minutes. You don't want to over-bake and under-baking is somewhat preferred, so a few minutes less is fine.

If using any other brownie mix, bake according to instructions on the box.

2. Let the brownie cool completely, about 3-4 hours. Remove sherbet from the freezer and let it soften for a few minutes. Take a large serving spoon and scoop out layers of sherbet about 1/2" to 3/4" thick, or about the same thickness as the brownie, and place on top of the brownie. Repeat until most of the brownie is covered, and use the back of the spoon to smooth it all out. You should use close to a full quart of sherbet. It will start coming together when the sherbet softens to a specific point where it becomes very creamy and easily molds together.

3. Top with sprinkles or other decoration, cover with tinfoil and freeze for 4-6 hours, but preferably at least 1 day. Using a spatula, cut and serve the frozen brownie. Enjoy immediately. Stores well for at least 4 months.

Additional Info:

I cut a corner piece out to take a picture, you'll notice the layer of fudge forming between the sherbet and the brownie. Don't be fooled though, the entire brownie is like fudge, not just that thin layer. Now enjoy our family's tradition for over 15 years!