Apparently I really like peanut butter

So, It has been almost a month and a half since I have posted last..... it was not supposed to be that way.  Gertrude and I were going to have an epic last go at this whole baking thing and I was going to write an awesome post complete with witty puns and mouthwatering photos.   Considering how committed of a baker I am, very few things could possibly come in the way of this last hurrah.  Well, one thing did.... I found out I had to move to Minneapolis a month earlier than I intended for a new internship.  I make that sound like an absolutely TERRIBLE turn of events.... it really isn't.  I am so lucky to have gotten this job and would not trade anything in the world for it, including a good last Gertrude post.

I'm going to be honest and say that despite Gertrude's many quirks,  I really miss her.. especially since I scrubbed her for hours as one of my official lets-see-how-much-of-a-deposit-we-can-get-back tasks. I must say- she looked pretty darn fine by the end of my first oven cleaning experience.  I really think she regained at least 20 years to her life.  It's a shame I did not get to enjoy her at all in that state since I could not risk dirtying her up!  

This last month or so I have not yet had a kitchen of my own, so minus the occasional boxed brownies or cake batter cookies, I have not really had the chance to make anything.... something about doing a whole extravagant baking project in someone else's kitchen doesn't exactly go with my whole being a good guest plan (even though I am sure my hosts would have appreciated the treats!).  Yesterday though, a friend delivered a whole big box of my kitchen stuff to me... I felt like a part of me had been revived! One of my precious items in the box was a food processor.  Now, don't get me wrong- I appreciate food processors.  My food processor can crumb-ify oreos like it is nobody's business.  However, my appreciation for food processors has skyrocketed after my peanut butter making adventure today.

I love peanut butter.... skippy, jif, peter pan, trader joes..... you name it, I love it.  However, I do try to eat natural peanut butter since I am not all about things like partially hydrogenated oils.  Unfortunately, natural peanut butter is much more expensive and now since I am a poor college grad, I need to save every bit of money I can.  Nuts alone are way cheaper than a jar of natural PB or almond butter, so I decided to give making my own a whirl.  I am not even going to bother posting a recipe, because it is so freaking easy.  Just put your nuts in your food processor and let it spin for about 5 min (be patient!!).  I made normal slightly-salted PB and AB... my only fail of the night was my other batch of honey PB..... it did not get the smooth creamy texture I was aiming for.  I predict that I put the honey in too soon, so next time I am going to wait till the very end to add the honey.  Lesson learned (even though the picture of it is gorgeous). Anyways, I could not encourage everyone enough to give this a shot.  Go Nuts! (sorry, had to have at least one lame pun)