Story Hour
Peanut Birthday Party
Written by Gene B. Williams
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The peanut butter we’re going to make is more gritty than the “buttery” peanut butter the kids are used to. If you don’t already have a jar on hand, be sure to get one, just in case. The first public peanut butter didn’t come about until 1904, and didn’t become creamy until 1922. So they can have fun doing this, and learn a little history at the same time.
It’s almost time for Nicker’s and Danny’s birthday. That happens on February 12, and I sure hope you decide to join us! I have a few special things in mind, starting right here. This Story Hour is going to be a little different.
Maybe you already know that Nicker’s favorite food is peanuts. Oh, my, how he loves peanuts! So, I decided to do everything about peanuts. And YOU can join in.
What do you know about peanuts? We’ll do that next, but let’s start with some fun. Let’s make some peanut butter!
There are many ways to do this. The easiest is to put 2 cups of roasted peanuts into a blender or food processor and turn them into a tasty paste. Two or three minutes, and you’re done.
You can put in a tablespoon of oil. Peanut oil is best, but just about anything will do – and you probably don’t need it.
If the peanuts are unsalted, a quarter teaspoon of salt can help.
You can also put in a tiny bit of sugar, or perhaps honey.
What could be fun is to get a bag of roasted peanuts and shell them yourselves.
I’ve decided to make a different kind of birthday cake. It’s dinner and dessert at the same time.
Start with pancakes. Smear one with peanut butter. Stack another. Smear. Stack another. Now it’s up to you. The topping or icing can be syrup, jam, or … what I plan to do is to use whipped cream and some sliced strawberries. (Maybe you prefer bananas? Both?)
YUMMY!
Don’t forget to sing.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday Danny and Nicker
Happy birthday to you
Then blow out the candles – and dig in! (I bet you can imagine what a sea dragon would do with a cake like that, but YOU use a fork, okay? Or I might get letters from Mom about the mess.)
Maybe after the party, you and your friends can draw birthday pictures and send them in.
Peanuts have been around for a very long time. They were a staple in Peru 7600 years ago. Wild peanuts can still be found there. At about the time America was being born, peanuts were carried to Europe and Africa. Around 1800, they were coming back to America. Thomas Jefferson was convinced that they could be important, and he was right. He and many others saw them as better way to use the soil than cotton.
They might look like nuts but they’re not. They are a legume, related closely to the pea. They are rich in proteins, iron and other nutrients. Today they are used often to add flavor to various dishes. In the past, they’ve been used to replace meat. During the Civil War, soldiers unable to get meat would often turn to peanuts.
In 1890, a doctor in St. Louis got the idea to grind peanuts into a paste for people who had bad teeth. It gave them a protein substitute they could eat. At about the same time, Dr. John Kellogg (of the cereal company) was using much the same idea. It was still a paste and a meat substitute.
In 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair, peanut butter was introduced to the general public. It was an immediate success. By 1922, ways were discovered to make it more creamy, less gritty. Today, almost every home has a jar of peanut butter. In America alone, we eat 700 million pounds of peanut butter every year. That’s enough to cover the entire floor of the Grand Canyon!
What a sandwich that would make!
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