A few years ago my mother invested in a Champion juicer. We really enjoyed the amazing juices from it for a long time like celery, carrot and apple juice. But in time we began making juices less and less. About this time I discovered it made wonderful peanut butter and lately that has been its main purpose. It gives me a good excuse (not that I need one) to go over to my mother’s house.

However the flu has struke at their house, coinciding with the last bit of peanut butter in the jar. Finally I decided I would just borrow their juicer. So yesterday the children enjoyed helping me make peanut butter at home.

It’s really quite simple. I start with a 5 pound bag of roasted peanuts without salt. I buy mine at Country Life Natural Foods. If you are near a delivery route (they are from Michigan) I really recommend looking into ordering through them. Anyway I digress.

Start with a bag of peanuts and pour them into the hopper at the top.

Use the plunger thingie to help them along and you end up with this

Really amazing peanut butter. Four pounds gives you about 2 quart jars. Unlike natural peanut butter you buy in the store it doesn’t separate. I suppose when you factor in the cost of the juicer whose soul purpose currently in making peanut butter it is a pretty expensive spread. But try it on a piece of good brown bread and it is wonderful.

My aunt told me you can also use the juicer to make almond butter from almond meal. I haven’t tried that yet though. I have also made peanut butter with similar results in a vitamix. I highly recommend it. Whenever I am feeling down about the children’s eating habits I think about the whole wheat bread I make from scratch  and the peanut butter from actual peanuts they seem to live on at times and I feel quite a bit better.

We just got the book In the Garden with Dr. Carver. In the book a group of children receive a visit from a very special guest, Dr. George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver shows them how to revitalize the soil using compost and grow foods. He then prepares a meal of “luxury items” like, “sweet-potato-flour bread, ‘chicken’ made from peanuts, and a salad of strange wild weeks. And for dessert–peanut ice cream and cake!” If they haven’t already they really should publish some of his recipes in a book.