Peanut Butter Pastimes

Brought to you by fellow blogger Bluegrass Mama, whose post today got me thinking about peanut butter.

What does everyone else do when they open a new jar of peanut butter? At Bluegrass Mama's house, whoever opens it gets to carve his or her initials in the top before anyone digs in. In my family, we pass the jar around so everyone can get a whiff.

Also, what do people eat peanut butter with? I put it on pancakes and waffles. I also like:

• PB & bacon and PB & banana sandwiches (which are really good grilled like a cheese sandwich; thank you, Elvis)
  
• PB & graham crackers dunked in milk
  
• PB & dill pickle — surprisingly, not bad
  
• Melted PB drizzled over popcorn is terrific, but keep plenty of napkins handy. Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over top if you dare.
  
• PB & celery isn't bad, either, but I don't like it so much when people put raisins on top and call it Ants on a Log.
  
• PB & honey is too sweet for me, as is PB & brown sugar.
  
• Sister-san likes PB & marshmallow fluff. Isn't that a fluffernutter?
  
• PB fudge is a Christmas favorite.
  
• Mother Media desecrates PB with mayo. YAK!

Incidentally, PB is the best home remedy for getting bubblegum out of hair. Take it from Mother Media, who got plenty of practice on my childhood friends and me: little girls with big gum and long hair in a windy climate. Sorry, Mom.

BTW, there's a restaurant at the Darth Mall (the Mall of America to those of you who don't live in its insidious shadow) that specializes in PB & J sandwiches and variations thereon. Talk about your niche marketing!

And if you're looking for specialty PB, check out Peanut Butter & Co.. Cinnamon raisin swirl PB? Yeah. Okay. Their PB/chocolate mixtures don't look too bad, either.

This reminds me of Nutella, the hazelnut chocolate spread popular in Europe. It's not quite PB, but close. My friend the late Lisa-la got addicted to the stuff when she spent a college year in Germany. When she later joined the Peace Corps and got stationed in Papua New Guinea, she begged us to send her Nutella. We did, always buying an extra jar for ourselves.

Also not quite PB, but close: A few years ago, I discovered the joys of spicy Thai peanut sauce, and now I use that all the time, too. It's great for dipping sandwiches or meat skewers (or plain old grilled chicken breast) in, of course. I also like to use it as a pasta sauce, again with Parmesan on top, or as a salad dressing. Now that I think about it, I suppose spicy peanut sauce would make a pretty fine popcorn topping, too, and you wouldn't even have to melt it. Hmm!

Anyone else?

Today around the world: May 24 is Buddha's birthday. Party on, Bu!