Hey, Soul Sister!

As I was pillaging around my kitchen looking for something for my breakfast/lunch just now, I decided upon a PB&J. A pretty simple concept...a childhood classic...something I still love as an adult.



J.J.'s perfect PB&J


• White Bread - GASP! I know in this health conscious culture that is kind of taboo. I even find myself questioning white bread. But really! Some things just call for it. If you really feel that strongly on the subject...Wonder Bread (Ah...another childhood classic) makes this white/wheat job. It's not too bad!


• Peanut Butter - Not all peanut butters are equal! I myself was a Skippy kid. I like it on both sides of the bread.


• Jelly - Not preserves, but sugary delicious jelly. Strawberry or cherry is my jelly of choice.


• Glass of cold milk - white or chocolate. It must be whole milk for this fat kid as the lower grades seem to upset my stomach.


Now, back to all peanut butter is not created equal..I used to not believe this. I prefer Skippy as that what I was raised on, but when I first moved to Maryland, Skippy wasn't easy to find. I would get Jiff or even a store brand. Then a beautiful friend of mine, Melissa aka Soul Sister, introduced me to this peanut butter from Whole Foods. OH EM GEE! I am ruined for all other peanut butter from here on. The only ingredient in this peanut butter is peanuts! Smashed up peanuts...that’s all! Really! It is heaven...to die for. I will eat it with a spoon right out of the container...it's that good. This is when I discovered all peanut butter is not created equal.


I think Melissa brought me this deliciousness back in October of last year for the first time. The thing is, I could go to Whole Foods and get this beautiful peanut butter, but the nearest Whole Foods to me is in Annapolis or Silver Spring. Granted 17 miles really isn’t that far away...but if you have ever rode with me in traffic you would understand why I hesitate making the journey for the sainted peanut butter. I am a simple farm boy from the Midwest, where a traffic jam constitutes five cars stuck behind a tractor. Baltimore/Annapolis/DC traffic makes me crazy. Right now I am supstituting the Skippy Natural...it is good, but nothing in comparison to Melissa's delicious peanut butter.

Melissa being the beautiful and wonderful friend she is brings me this awesome peanut butter on occasion. Along with it, she brings me all these other wonderful foods/sauces/wines/beers to try from time to time. Come to think of it, Melissa and I spend a lot of our time together eating/cooking and this isn't even the reason we became friends in the first place, but that is a different entry.

Dinner tonight…ribs! They have been in the oven on 170 since about 8:00AM, rubbed in my special BBQ rub the night before. Soon they will be sauced and bumped up to 200. Maybe, one day, I will share my delicious rub with the masses.