Nutty

This is one of the things about living in a different country than the United States: you crave peanut butter, but you can't buy it.

So I did what was necessary.

Unfortunately, I have heard about blenders breaking while trying to make peanut butter, so my blender was not an option. Neither was my nonexistent food processor or electric grinder. There was only one option left...




...el Molino



I've had encounters with el molino before, grinding corn for tamales, cacao, and coffee that our host dad brought back from the campo. But peanuts are another beast.

I bought a 1/2 kilo of raw peanuts (the price here is about $1.50 for a little over a pound of peanuts), and got them all roasty-toasty. Then I rubbed them together to remove the skins. To get rid of the little papery skin bits, I used this great technique that my host mom taught me where you put them in a wide bottomed dish, go outside, and just blow the little bits into the air. Works like a charm.



I put the nuts through once, then a second time with about a 1/2 tsp. of oil with every 1/3 cup or so of ground peanuts. It got a beautiful creamy texture this way. Mind you, this thick gummy paste is brought to fruition by human power and nothing else. It's quite a workout.



Then I added a couple tablespoons of honey, about a half teaspoon of salt, voilá! Peanut butter, my love!

This is not something I would do every day, that thing was a mother to clean out. And my arms are a little sore. But at least I have peanut butter!