Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars make a sweet addition to a child's lunch box. Kids can help make the bars by stirring in the peanut-butter chips or spreading the jelly. Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Makes 16 bars 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter or margarine 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup grape jelly 1 2/3 cup peanut-butter chips Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Van Gogh Vodka is introducing what it's calling one of their most innovative and unexpected flavors to date: PB&J. The press release from Van Gogh was spread thick with all kinds of tasty trivia about the beloved sandwich. It says that peanut butter was invented by a doctor in St. Louis for his toothless patients. Van Gogh's PB&J has a primarily peanut fragrance complemented by the aroma of fresh raspberries. But, the profiles reverse on the tongue. Raspberry dominates the flavor, not peanut butter.

Saundra Byrd from Brooklyn, Md., was looking for a recipe for peanut-butter fudge. She said the fudge was served in Baltimore County school cafeterias in the 1960s and '70s. Barbara Whitman of Glyndon sent in a recipe for peanut-butter fudge that she obtained when she was a teacher at Franklin Junior High School in the early 1970s. I'm fairly confident that fudge as luscious and rich as this, even with peanut butter as a main ingredient, would not be found in a school cafeteria these days.

Nicole Pace told the school nurse that her daughter was deathly allergic to peanuts and had her 5-year-old's allergist provide Hillcrest Elementary School in Frederick with a pre-measured dose of medicine, just in case. But a cafeteria worker - unaware of the danger peanuts posed to the girl, Liana - gave her a peanut butter sandwich. "The child immediately began experiencing an anaphylactic reaction; her airway and eyelids began to swell, and she became lethargic and confused," according to court records.

Van Gogh Vodka is introducing what it's calling one of their most innovative and unexpected flavors to date: PB&J. The press release from Van Gogh was spread thick with all kinds of tasty trivia about the beloved sandwich. It says that peanut butter was invented by a doctor in St. Louis for his toothless patients. Van Gogh's PB&J has a primarily peanut fragrance complemented by the aroma of fresh raspberries. But, the profiles reverse on the tongue. Raspberry dominates the flavor, not peanut butter.

A foreign student I knew in college said he loved America for three reasons: our freedoms, the quality of our peanut butter and the excellence of our postal service. He thought it was cool that we could gather and protest anything we wanted to, whenever we wanted to. He thought the famous brands of peanut butter on the supermarket shelves were all good. And he was absolutely amazed that he could mail a letter from Connecticut on a Monday and have it reach almost anywhere in the country by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.

Excerpt of a Saturday New York Times editorialREPORTS of some schools adopting peanut-free zones in lunchrooms and even total peanut butter bans may sound like a freakish health fad, but there have been rare cases where children who were severely allergic to peanuts have died after coming into contact with peanuts in school. With increased reports of food allergies among children, the impetus to protect the susceptible is understandable.About 7 percent of children have some kind of food allergy, with effects that can range from mild itching to traumatic shock or the closing of breathing passages.

Jean Reed from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe for peanut-butter cookies that included orange juice in the ingredients. Norma Purlington of Rapid City, S.D., sent in a recipe for peanut-butter cookies that she has been making for many years that uses orange juice. She says it is one of her family's favorite cookies. These cookies look and taste much like a traditional peanut-butter cookie, but they do have just a hint of orange that makes them extra-special. Recipe requests Gail Rosenthal from Absecon, N.J., is looking for a recipe for German streusel cake.

When Jane and I were 9 years old and full of after-school peanut butter cookies and milk, she told me there was no such thing as peanut butter in England, where she had lived until the previous year.But for me, peanut butter was both a dietary staple and a comfort food: A spoonful from the jar when no one was looking always seemed to make everything better.*My daughter likes to add a little honey. I usually opt for 1 tablespoon wheat germ.Peanut butterMakes 2 cups1 pound unsalted and blanched roasted peanuts (3 1/2 cups)

Because peanut butter often is the go-to grub for school lunches, we decided to put it center stage in a tasting of natural, crunchy peanut butters. Emphasis on natural. The eight contenders' ingredient lists included just peanuts, and maybe salt and / or peanut oil. Unlike regular peanut butter, these nonhydrogenated spreads are devoid of sugar as well as additives that prevent the oil from separating from the solids. This means that oil rises to the top and the contents have to be stirred prior to first use. Our panel was seeking true peanut flavor with a nut-studded yet spreadable texture.

Mockingbirds, sparrows and squirrels have been feasting on the few remaining apples hanging from our Yellow Delicious tree. I purposely left the apples on the tree, you see, to give them a helping hand. The apples won't be hanging from the tree much longer, though. So shortly, I'll set-up our winter holidays animal-feeding station, a homemade holiday wreath that's stuffed with blemished apples that are in winter storage and won't keep. The first holiday wreaths were made by the ancient Greeks, Romans and Persians.

Having just observed Yom Kippur, Zoey Solomon knew what it felt like to be hungry. But, as the 9-year-old walked through an exhibit Sunday depicting the lives of malnourished children from around the world, she still wrinkled her nose at a container of brown paste that smelled like peanut butter, as a doctor explained that children in other countries enjoy it and rely on it to keep them healthy. "We fasted to observe Yom Kippur yesterday, and she was so hungry by noon," said Lorna Solomon, who brought her daughter to the weekend exhibit in Patterson Park, put on by Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian organization that works in 65 poor and blighted developing countries.

Name: Lucas. As in George Lucas. His previous owners were "Star Wars" fans.  They had to find a new home for him when they discovered their daughter's allergies. I still send them photos to keep them updated. Owner: Tobey McGuiness Age: He's 12. A sweet Sagittarius. Home: South Baltimore/Riverside Park Breed: Yellow Labrador Best Trick: Can eat Doritos in a single bound! Favorite activity: Socializing. Whether it be other dogs or people, he loves to meet and greet and is the happiest dog in town.

Schools, homes, shoes and jobs. Love. Hope. As myriad as the needs of those swept up in poverty, abandonment and disaster are the people who pour out their time and treasure to help. In Howard County, we have a commendable reputation for helping our own, but there are some whose hearts reach beyond our borders. Across the sea, in the mountains and valleys and deserts, they root their hearts in lives of strangers. What inspires them to use precious vacation time to bathe dirty orphans and erect shelters on the rubble of earthquakes?

The Center for the Science in the Public Interest, which has done more good for the health of Americans than its legion of detractors has released its annual Xtreme Eating Awards, the most egregious items on chain menus. Here's what they say about the Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake : Even people accustomed to 1,500-calorie burgers wouldn't expect 2,000-calorie shakes. A 24-oz. “Gotta Have It” size shake of peanut butter, chocolate ice cream and milk has a day's calories (2,010)

Thomas Klein from Pasadena was looking for a recipe he had a while back but has misplaced for peanut butter potato salad. As he recalls, it was made much like regular potato salad but with the addition of peanut butter. Sally Lippincott from New Market sent in a recipe she had for peanut butter potato salad that her aunt gave her some years ago. She says she makes it frequently, particularly in the summertime for cookouts, and she always gets requests for the recipe. Her recipe says to peel the potatoes, but I when I tested it, I used new red potatoes and left the skin on. This saved a little time and added some nice color and texture.

Ruth Bosley from Parkton was looking for a recipe for peanut butter bread. I received a recipe from Anna Childs of Northampton, Mass., for a peanut butter and pumpkin bread that I thought sounded interesting and different. Bosley said the recipe came from a co-worker some years ago. She said the unusual combination of peanut butter and pumpkin is delicious and she enjoys baking and sharing these lovely loaves with friends and family. This is a quick bread that comes together in minutes.

You might have heard about Donald Trump's recent statement to the New York Times explaining why he doesn't support same-sex marriage:  "It's like in golf ... a lot of people are switching to these really long putters. Very unattractive. It's weird ... I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist. "  Wow. What? Talk about a flawed analogy.  Stephen Colbert epically skewered this skewed reasoning on "The Colbert Report" last night.