I Made Peanut Butter.

Why? Because we were out (a major tragedy). Because, in our pantry, we just happen to hold a large bag of circus peanuts that were crying out to be used (it's a bad, bad thing when circus peanuts cry). Because I'm trying to use up food that we have before we buy more. But mostly, because I read in this fabulous book from the library how easy it is to make. And thought I'd give it a try. We're adventurous like that.

After buying Safflower Oil on my weekly grocery shopping run, Travis, Adalynn, and I sat down to shell enough peanuts to make 4 cups worth. That's a lot of peanut shells, let me tell ya.

I retrieved my trusty $5 food processor (who cares if it only processes 2 cups worth at a time?) and set to work. According to "Homemade", pour the peanuts into the food processor and add about 1tablespoon of Safflower Oil. Process, then add 1teaspoon as needed to make the consistency desired.

I encountered a couple of problems: 1. My food processor simply isn't big enough for 4 cups of peanuts at once. So I made 4 batches. The first batch turned out coarse and tasted like ground peanuts. On the second batch, I processed a little more, added a little more oil and a touch of organic sugar. Improving....on the third batch I processed the heck out of it (really, probably 3-4minutes?) and realized that the longer the peanuts are processed the less oil is needed. Makes sense, looking back.

The fourth batch I had to make like the third...my food processor was starting to reek of burnt metal and couldn't tolerate anymore tampering. Oops. I can't wait for Mother's Day. My Wish List consists of a bigger, better quality food processor (our current model was an impulse buy during the Christmas season, what, like 5 years ago? it's lived a good life.) and a 50mm 1.8 camera lens. Just in case you were wondering.

Despite the problems, our homemade Peanut Butter was a success. I like it, and Adalynn chowed down yesterday on a PB&J that her daddy made her for lunch. It's a little different consistency, and it's not Jif, but I also know all of the ingredients and it was a super easy cooking task. And Adalynn had a hoot of a time helping shell the peanuts. What more could I ask for?