Natural Peanut Butter: Guest Post by Melissa Sonksen of Krema and Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter

My mom and Melissa were roommates on a Study Abroad to Europe back in their college days.  They have kept in contact all of these years and see each other from time to time.  Krema and Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter is a family owned company based out of Dublin, Ohio.  I asked Melissa to share a few things about their natural peanut butter and why it has been rated one of the best natural peanut butter's out on the market.  Trust me, this stuff is really good. They sent me some of their creamy and chunky and it's already gone.  I love that the only ingredient is peanuts.  

"Do you feel this good about everything you eat?" That's one of our slogans. Apparently Men's Health Magazine, Prevention Magazine and Cooking Light Magazine agree as they have named our Peanut Butters in the listings of their top favorite healthy foods. They love our single ingredient, minimal processing, and top quality ingredients as some of the reasons they recommend us to their readers. We were also featured on the Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda on March 10, 2010. They Loved tasting our Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter and they especially loved the smooth and creamy texture and pure peanutty taste! If you're wondering what's the difference between our two brands, there isn't any! It's the exact same Peanut Butter but Crazy Richard's is sold on the East Coast and Krema is sold mainly in the Midwest.

Why choose Natural Peanut Butter??

Why do Men's Health Magazine, Cooking Light Magazine and Prevention Magazine choose Natural Peanut Butter? They have chosen Peanut Butter by the Krema Product Company because of the fact that there are no hydrogenated oils, sugars, or salt added in. Our Krema and Crazy Richard's brands of Peanut Butter are just Peanuts! That's all ! We use the top quality runner split peanuts from Georgia in the good old USA, carefully roast and grind in our time honored tradition and get it quickly to you and your families. We have been doing it the same way since our founding in 1898. Forget all this new fangled reduced fat, low fat, smart whatever peanut butter. Many of those have hidden ingredients like evaporated cane juice (sugar), palm oil, defatted peanut meal and salt, yuck! All you do is stir it up to mix in the peanut oil that has separated to the top. Once mixed, your jar of peanut butter will stay that way if kept in the refrigerator. But don't take out word for it! There's a new nutritional scoring system that allows consumers to see - at a glance - the nutritional value of the foods they buy. It's a summary of the overall nutritional value of grocery store products. It provides one simple score from 1 to 100. The higher the nutritional value, the higher the NuVal Score. Many grocery store chains are adding the NuVal score right on the shelf tags so the comsumers can see at a glance which product scores the highest. The NuVal System is based on a unique patented food scoring formula developed over the course of two years of research by an independent team of nutrition and medical experts from leading universities and health organizations. Led by Dr. David Katz of the Yale University/Griffin Hospital Prevention Research Center, the team's mission was to develop a science-based formula for all foods and beverages to be consumed. So, without all the boring stuff here's how a few peanut butters have scored.

Krema Natural Crunchy & Creamy 51

Crazy Richard's Natural Crunchy & Creamy 51

Maranatha Organic Creamy 21

Jiff Natural Creamy 21

Jiff Regular Creamy 21

Skippy Regular Creamy 20

Smuckers Natural Creamy 20

Skippy Natural Creamy 18

Jiff Reduced Fat Creamy 7

I love that Krema and Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter is made from start to finish in the USA.  They were recently featured on the Today Show.  Check it out here.  You can go here to find out more about Krema and Crazy Richard's products, where they are sold and how you can order them.  They also have an awesome blog with a variety of recipes incorporating natural peanut butter.  Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes to use peanut butter in.  Luckily for me, I can purchase Krema at my local Kroger's.  

Vanilla Bean Paste: Guest Blogger Kelsey Nixon Egan

When I was at BYU, I came across a cooking show on the local college station.  The cooking show, "Kelsey's Kitchen" was captivating in many ways.  She made cooking look like so much fun--and even easy.  I asked Kelsey to do a guest post today on one of her favorite ingredients, vanilla bean paste.  First, let's learn a little bit about her.

Kelsey got her start in the food media industry when she created her own college cooking show, "Kelsey's Kitchen" emphasizing fast, fun and affordable meals. Over the course of two years, Kelsey produced and hosted 100 episodes featuring recipes that were simple yet satisfying.  

After graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Brigham Young University, Kelsey attended Le Cordon Bleu – Hollywood where she earned her professional culinary arts degree. This degree paired with training from the French Culinary Institute provided internship opportunities at Martha Stewart Living and on Food Network's "Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee." Kelsey was a finalist on season four of “The Next Food Network Star" where she made it to the top four and won the “Fan Favorite” vote. Kelsey has had original recipes published in Bon Appetit Magazine and Cosmo Girl in addition to having an original recipe featured on the "Fresh Catch of the Day" menu at over 600 Red Lobster restaurants nationwide. Kelsey has also enjoyed working with PYREX over the past year acting as a spokesperson for their new line of bakeware, cookware & tools. 

Kelsey's passion for food has led her to create recipes that target the beginning cook. She believes in cooking “by the book” - breaking down the basics; teaching proper technique and making anyone feel comfortable in the kitchen.  Now she partners with Spike Mendelsohn, DC restaurateur and former “Top Chef 4” contestant, in a series of Web videos on Food2 that offers two takes on classic dishes – Kelsey’s “by the book” approach and Spike’s “off the hook” spin.  

Recently, Kelsey competed on the premier episode of Chef's vs. City on Food Network in addition to judging for the upcoming season of Iron Chef America. Kelsey recently lives in New York City with her husband Robby where Kelsey spends her days developing recipes and cooking up a storm.

Every good home cook has a few tricks up their sleeve. You know, secret ingredients that take a dish from good to great.  One of my “secret ingredients” that I seem to rely on when making all things delicious is vanilla bean paste. 

I first discovered vanilla bean paste while working at Sur la Table teaching cooking classes. The culinary director that I worked under was shocked when he found out that I wasn’t familiar with the product. He immediately whipped up what I believe is one of the best ways to showcase the amazing flavor that is packed into this product…fresh whipped cream. It didn’t take long for those little pods speckled throughout the fluffy white peaks to start calling my name. 

In culinary school I would literally save money to make a vanilla bean purchase. Vanilla beans aren’t cheap and were only saved for special occasions. One of the many things that I love about Vanilla Bean Paste is that the price point is very reasonable and it can be used just as you would use vanilla extract. There is no doubt that you will notice the extra boost of pure vanilla flavor and your friends and family will rave about your vanilla baked goods. 

When it comes to using vanilla bean paste, I have entirely replaced pure vanilla extract for the paste variety. I think the appearance of the black speckled pods adds character, authenticity, and flavor (of course). I feel that the flavor of this superstar ingredient is best highlighted in simple recipes. Sugar cookies, rice krispie treats, crème brulee, and whipped cream are just a few of my favorites. 

I like gifting vanilla bean paste as it is somewhat of a unique gift and pairs perfectly with a plate of simple sugar cookies. Whether it’s your birthday, a holiday, or you simply believe that you’ve earned a little something, treat yourself to a bottle of vanilla bean paste and you won’t be disappointed. 

Super Soft Sugar Cookies
...............................................
Yield: 2 dozen
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
approximately 4 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add remaining wet ingredients; eggs, sour cream & vanilla. In a separate medium bowl combine salt, baking soda & baking powder. Slowly mix into wet ingredients until combined. Finally, add flour slowly, adding more or less if needed.
Let the dough chill for at least an hour, although longer is preferable. (I suggest sticking it in the freezer for 5 minutes before rolling out) Roll out dough on a well floured surfaced and cut into shapes. Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size.
*Keys to the cookies: Roll the dough at least 1/4 inch thick and don't overbake.

Kelsey blogs over at Food For Thought.

I love Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste the best.  Go here for a list of retailers near you.  Go here to buy online.