If this column doesn't turn out so great, you can blame it on my wife. She asked me what I intended to write about this week while she plastered a thick layer of peanut butter on her English muffin, and I brashly quipped, "I'll think of something. I can write about anything."
"Oh yeah?" she retorted. "Write something about peanut butter."
So there you have it, she threw down the challenge, and now I have to put up or shut up!
To begin with, peanut butter is a paste made from ground roasted peanuts. It is used throughout the world mainly as a sandwich spread, but it's much more than that. Peanut butter can be added to other ingredients, such as chocolate and jelly, to make an enjoyable layer on toast, and is often used as a filler for sandwich cookies or on cheese-flavored crackers. Some people even eat peanut butter on celery. Try it; it's good!
Aside from being a delicious treat, peanut butter can help protect against certain cardiovascular diseases due to its high levels of monounsaturated fats. It also contains protein and the important vitamins B3 and E, magnesium, folate and high levels of antioxidants. However, there are a few people who have a peanut allergy that can cause anaphylactic shock, and its use has been banned in some schools. I have a great grandson with this allergy, and he must shun peanuts in any form, including peanut butter.
All I really know about peanut butter is that it is a great sandwich spread that I have enjoyed
There is a product called Plumpynut that is a peanut butter-based food used to fight malnutrition in famine stricken countries. A single pack can contain 500 calories, can be stored unrefrigerated for up to two years and requires no cooking or preparation. It has actually been a life saver to a number of starving people.
I personally prefer peanut butter on a sandwich made from a toasted English muffin that has creamery butter on one half and peanut butter on the other. I grew up in an era when times were hard, and peanut butter sandwiches were a staple for many schoolchildren. They were filling, nutritious and easily prepared. With perhaps an orange or an apple for dessert, it was a healthy and satisfying lunch.
There are 70-some recipes for peanut butter pie -- including some that require no baking -- and also for peanut butter cookies and peanut butter fudge. There are also several recipes available on the Net for making peanut butter soup.
Peanut butter has also proved to be an effective bait for mouse traps, and a simple outdoor bird feeder can be made by coating a pine cone with peanut butter and bird seed.
Until I began researching it, I didn't realize what a versatile and beneficial product peanut butter was, but I have taken a somewhat different view since I found out its healthy and nutritious properties. And, either in its smooth or chunky form, it is a relatively inexpensive product.
While writing this column I have acquired a strange and compelling desire for a between meals snack, and I can think of nothing more appealing than peeling a banana, slathering it with peanut butter, and devouring it voraciously. After all, it will contain minerals and vitamins, and that's a good thing.
Joe Bushika, of Stamford, Vt., has been known to eat peanut butter with Florida Mountain turnip. Well ... maybe not.
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