Going nuts for peanut butter again

I have not, for most of my adult life, been the biggest fan of peanut butter.

My school lunches featured endless peanut butter sandwiches. Plus, there was that one time I thought it would be a good idea to eat a whole bag of marshmallows dipped into an open jar of peanut butter. It was not, it turns out, a good idea.

At summer camp, the main sustenance on our four-day canoe trip was “glorp,” a claylike mixture of peanut butter and honey crammed into plastic bags and smushed onto bread as fuel for paddling.

I pretty much stopped eating peanut butter after that.

But seemingly endless weeks of quarantine have mysteriously transformed my lack of enthusiasm for peanut butter into an outright passion. I now crave the nutty flavor of my youth, breakfasting on toast with peanut butter and bananas, baking dozens of peanut butter cookies and wolfing down my daughter’s inventive peanut butter mousse and chocolate pudding parfaits.

Pour the sauce over the brisket and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. Serve with rice. If you’re feeling ambitious, saute carrots, bell peppers, onions, scallions and unsalted whole peanuts in a bit of sauce from the crockpot. If you’re not feeling ambitious, no one will blame you.

Peanut butter dip

This recipe from www.acouplecooks.com is fantastic for snacking, and has all the calories and fat necessary to balance out the healthy fruit you’ll be dipping in it.

There are only four ingredients. Mix 1 cup of yogurt with 1/4 cup peanut butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Substitutions are just fine according to your preference. Use cashew, almond or sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter. Try regular plain yogurt or vanilla yogurt instead of Greek yogurt. Sweeten the dip with brown sugar, honey or agave syrup in place of maple syrup, and try almond extract instead of vanilla.

Stir it up until it’s nice and smooth and serve with whatever fruit or crackers you’ve got. Sliced apples are yummy, but so are bananas, pears, strawberries or graham crackers. Spread it onto a rice cake or waffle. Dip some cookies in there (ooooh, how about peanut butter sandwich cookies?), or just dip your finger in there and lick it. Or no, wait — dip your finger into a jar of peanut butter and then dip your peanut-butter covered finger into the peanut butter dip. It’s like peanut butter with peanut butter frosting. No, of course I haven’t actually done that! No, I am not giggling nervously.

Peanut butter icebox pie

There are lots of variations on this dessert, but the recipe online at www.butterwithasideofbread.com is pleasantly uncomplicated.

Blend half a block of cream cheese (that’s 4 ounces of an 8-ounce block) with 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth. Mix in a whole 8-ounce container of whipped topping along with 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Pour the mixture into a store-bought graham cracker crust. Use a chocolate cookie crust if you’re feeling decadent.

Freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drizzle with chocolate syrup, chocolate shavings or crumbled peanut butter cups. Serve with extra peanut butter.