Not Your Grandpa's PBandH

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time with my Grandpa. Well, my Grandma was around a lot too, but it was my Grandpa who introduced me to the finer things in life. One of them was fishing off the docks at Winchester Bay with hot dogs and marshmallows. The second finest thing was the famous Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich. Now, I doubt I have to tell anyone how to make that, because it's sort of self-explanitory. But just for kicks - and to pass on some of my inherited wisdom, I decided to help my son make some first class PB&H. This was so he could stop having to be bored playing with the chickens.


Now listen closely. I have found the secret to not having that crusty, nasty block of honey in the bottom of the jar. Seriously. Bet you didn't know there was a secret. But really - just buy less honey more often. It's that easy! The guy around the corner from my little farm sells clover honey, but I haven't tried to buy it from him yet. I'm afraid of strangers. So, I get it at Winco. If you don't have a Winco, maybe you have some other larger grocery store with bulk food or a "gourmet" section. If you're lucky, you can also score your peanut butter there too. Ours are right next to each other. The nice thing is, it costs the same per pound whether you're getting half of a pound or ten pounds. If you're a price tag reader like me, this will make sense.

First you find the kind of honey that just sounds dang good to you. Or tastes good. That helps too. My pick was Blackberry Honey. At first I didn't want to stop the dispenser because it was jut too dang beautiful. But eventually I did. At about 2/3 of a pound. I put a lid on it, and dated it, that way I could do a little science experiment to see 1. How long before it started to crystalize or 2. How long before it got empty.

Then, I ground up some peanut butter. Dry roasted peanuts in a little machine. Voila!
You must use fresh peanuts, preferrably from a source of origin you wouldn't mind getting eggs from. Old peanuts have lots more mold. You can't see this mold, but it is there. Especially if they traveled a dozen weeks from China in not-well-sealed shipping containers. This particular mold is a carcinogen. Ok, enough about that. Just use fresh peanuts and use the fresh ground peanut butter faster than you would the processed Jif in your cupboard. Plus, your kids will think you're cool and you'll have less sugars, salts and oils to feed them.

So basically, you put a big (we're talking BIG) scoop of this fresh ground peanut butter in a medium mixing bowl. You can use a small bowl, but this is a messy job, so use a medium one.
Then, if you're not concerned about fat and calories, toss in a smaller blob of plain ol' margarine. It makes the peanut butter smoother and, well, buttery tasting and it adds back those oils you saved yourself from with the peanut butter. Ok, you can use Jif, but hey, this is my blog. Or at least my turn to blog.

Then, put a hefty sized dollop of honey in. Isn't this honey beautiful? It makes me want to have bees. But not really. That's like getting sheep to have a nice wool coat. It's not all that easy and glamorous. Did you know you can get bees without stingers? I just learned that yesterday when my husband was introducing the thought of hydroponics to me. Does anyone else think he's insane?

By the way - let your kid dollop the honey into the bowl after you have done the scoop and twirl. This way you don't get honey all over the entire planet.

Now, stir the lovely concoction. I mean, let your kid do the stirring. Then, while he goes to get a damp washcloth, secretly stir like mad behind him to get it all blended nicely. Then tell him what a wonderful job he has done. He will be very proud.

After you have blended everything into a nice, creamy dream, give one piece of WHOLE WHEAT WHITE bread (every mother's dream come true) a giant helping of the peanut butter and honey. Spread it so it looks like something out of a commerical, and top with another piece of nutritious white bread.

I prefer to put some honey straight on my bread. I think it comes from years of being lazy and not wanting to mix it all up ahead of time, but after it sits for a few minutes, it crystalizes a tiny bit into the bread and gives that delightful crunching sensation as the honey bursts into your mouth. I'm drooling.

Then, find someone to lick off the honey spoon.
I found this little squirt to be quite willing.
He is a good boy. Unless he's shrieking.

Assemble your sandwich however you wish.
Just because triangles are the rule in my house, doesn't mean you can't use squares.

I find the lightly salted Kettle Chips to be a delightful accompaniment to any food that is lacking salt to begin with. Toss a few slices of melon on the plate and you're good to go.

Enjoy!