Thanks, George Washington Carver!

We all have our addictions; some are more harmful than others (addiction to watching "American Idol" versus addiction to painkillers...though the former may necessitate the latter). And one of mine is peanut butter. I love peanut butter. On bread, crackers, apples, chocolate, cookies, and celery. The stuff just rocks. If I need a little mid-afternoon snack to tide me over until dinner - toast with peanut butter. When I desire an after dinner treat - milk chocolate chips and peanut butter. If I am having a bad day and I need a little comfort food - spoonful of peanut butter.

Because I love peanut butter does not mean I will eat anything that claims to be peanut butter. Not all peanut butters are created equal! Organic, crunchy, creamy, sweet,peanut flavor, spreadability - so many things to consider. Fortunately, Ed Levine has does some research for me, and my peanut butter, Jif, came in second place. Good job, Jif!

Why do I like Jif? Let's back up and answer the first peanut butter question - creamy or chunky? I have always been a creamy gal, it spreads well, does not dig into the bread, and taken from a spoon, the lack of peanut bits means I don't have to chew anything. And the crunchy peanut butter bits would get stuck in my teeth leading to awkwardly digging said bits out with one's tongue, finger, or toothpick. Second question - why not organic? I could say it is because it is too gritty or more expensive or something, but that would not be true. I remember one time growing up when my mom got organic peanut butter. There was a layer of oil in the jar, and that was gross. I do not want to stir my peanut butter, it should be a premixed food. Maybe organics have evolved since then, but no peanut butter can be my peanut butter if it does not pass the "enjoyable eaten straight from spoon" test. Beyond those two main issues, it is a matter of preference. Peter Pan was not thick enough and a little too sweet, off brand was dry, and Skippy I only know from when I visited my grandmother. So, Jif it is. It is peanut-y, smooth, goes well on bread, excellent with little pieces of chocolate, and has pretty colors on its label.

Choosy Allison chooses Jif!

**Update**

I read a shocking statistic today. Shocking in a good way, that is. Peanut butter helps the environment! Don't believe me? Go here and see for yourself. I suddenly feel so globally conscious. Off to eat a PB & J now. Helping the environment, one bite at a time...

Ramen Radiator

You would think that any recipe with the word "ramen" in its title would be a little suspect. Ramen is for college students and meals of desperation, not meant to be found in a book such as the one I discovered it in, Alton Brown's I'm Just Here for the Food. But there is was, in the chapter on boiling, Ramen Radiator. And then I looked at the ingredient list, "Halibut...huh," I thought, "and shrimp. Maybe this is worth testing." Ah, but the words that sealed the cooking deal for me came from Alton himself, "This is the coolest dish in the book, which is not to say that you shouldn't try the rest of the recipes. " If Alton says it is cool, it must be cool. The guy has flames painted on his mixer, led a motorcycle gang across country for "off the beaten path" eats, and his TV show on Food Network is great to watch even if you have no desire to cook. Trust me, you will like Alton. I know I do.

Back to the food. If you have an oven, a skillet, and foil, you can make this dish. Do not be afraid because it contains fish, shrimp, and strange sauces, the oven does most of the work for you. I followed the recipe, stuck it in the oven, still a little skeptical. Smelled different than I expected, but different should not mean bad, only not the usual smells of tomato sauce or olive oil. After it finished cooking, I took the packet out of the oven (you cook the "soup" in the foil) and opened it. Still smelled different, but the halibut looked good, and nothing leaped out to kill me. And then I took a bite.

I do not remember most meals I eat; probably would not remember what I ate yesterday if you were ask me. And, those meals I do remember are because of the people with me and what happened while enjoying a meal. But this, this meal I will remember because it is perhaps the best meal I have ever had. It was perfection. The halibut was flaky. The shrimp, which usually ends up rubbery, was juicy and crunchy. The broth, veggies, and ramen were scrumptious. As a whole, the "soup" was spicy, sweet, and salty, a veritable firework of flavor for my taste buds. It is a dish so good that I want to make it weekly, but will not because it deserves to be honored and reserved for special occasions, like birthdays, holidays, and Fridays.

Ah, I can see your wheels turning. You are beginning to get a little frantic. You have checked and, no, I have not linked to this recipe. That is because it is not online. It can only be found in Alton's book. So, go buy it, your taste buds will love you! However, if you cannot wait, I was able to find a similar recipe called Ramen Shrimp Pouch. Try it out and, if you want to live dangerously, reduce the shrimp quantity, add a little halibut and see what happens.

A Rumor of War

Written by Philip Caputo after his tour of duty as a Marine at the outset of the Vietnam War, A Rumor of War provides a personal account of what it was like to join in this "splendid little war" before it morphed into what some look at now as a blemish on American history. How did I come across this book? It was assigned by one of my favorite professors in college, and one I did not finish reading at the time. I was only able to get through the first few chapters before it was time to move onto the next book. But, even from those few chapters, I knew this was a book I had to return to read and give it the time and attention it merited.

Caputo entered Vietnam idealistic, ready for an adventure, prepared to answer the call President John F. Kennedy sent forth, "Ask not what your country can do for you..." These boys went out seeking adventure and glory, and were met with the invisible killers of Viet Cong, disease, and booby traps, living the nightmares found in the the confining and confusing jungle of their surroundings and minds. They began with excitement, which turned to apathy, which grew into a rage so strong that Caputo, who in the book seems a voice of reason, set aside the ideals of duty, honor, and country in order to answer that question, "why?" Why were they there? Why did his friends die? Who killed them? From these questions, Caputo and others decided any Vietnamese person they encountered was Viet Cong, and so they sought after and murdered to understand "why."

Since most of my history classes in high school took longer than expected on one era in history, and in college I focused on other times in history, most of the 20th century's history is unclear to me. In a way, I feel like 1900 arrived and everything socially, politically, and economically became more fractured and complicated. Maybe this assumption is correct, maybe it is just me. What A Rumor of War provided me was an eye not into the inner workings of the politics, history, or economics surrounding the United State's entrance into Vietnam, but a discovery of the country, adulthood, death, and hatred alongside Caputo and his buddies. A history unable to be told with policies, speeches, and posturing, but through the voices, lives, and deaths of the sons of America.

Almond Biscotti, or How I Learned My Lesson

I don't know if there is a written set of kitchen laws, but if there were, I imagine one of them would be "follow directions." I did not follow that code when I made Almond Biscotti recently. I added all the correct ingredients in their proper order, but then came the instruction "divide dough in half" to form two loaves. But, there did not seem to be a lot of dough to go around, and I did not want little measly biscotti, I wanted biscotti of substance. So, I disregarded the recipe creator's instruction and made one loaf.

Well, while in the oven, the dough spread just a little and when I took it out to slice it and bake it again, the loaf was a little doughy. So doughy that clumps of the mixture stuck to my knife. I returned it to the oven to bake a little longer. It was still doughy, but I wanted biscotti now, not later. So, I sliced the loaf and baked, and baked some more, and some more. They ended up edible, but not as crunchy as I had hoped, and a little too big. Imagine that.

Take aways:

• Follow the directions for at least the first attempt at any recipe.
• Do not drown the top of the biscotti with sugar. Biscotti is supposed to taste like almonds, not sugar cubes.
• Add a little more flour next time; the dough was quite sticky.
• Follow directions. I am not smarter than the creator of the recipe. At least not yet.