goals for the week; peanut butter and ?

[asakiyume]

My time management skills are getting worse as I get older.

I have a writing goal and a nonwriting goal for the week. The writing goal is to finish this thing about bridges that I'm writing. It's short! I should finish it.



ISIS, the new smash hit in the alarming-geopolitical-news department

Who *are* these people who suddenly have control of a huge chunk of Iraq? How many people comprise their leadership? How did they all meet? I realize part (most? all?) of my ignorance comes from not paying attention to the ins and outs of mideast, especially Iraqi, politics and news. But now I want to learn.

Apparently they're very on top of social media, have polished outreach and propaganda that appeal to mideast diaspora youth (if that's a thing: I mean young people who are first- or second-generation immigrants to Europe and the United States, from the Middle East), and they publish annual reports accounting for their activities--the way a corporation would. They have lots of money. That's what I found out in my quick morning search for info, but I want to know more.

ETA: this article is good on how they raised and disbursed money, points out that foot soldiers are not especially well paid--to ensure only those who are committed join up. Also, the name of a leader: Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

Bar graph from ISIS's latest annual report

Translated by the US Institute of War Studies; Source here

ISIS propaganda poster

Source: here

I was saying on Twitter that I eat molasses in, among other things, peanut butter sandwiches. It was part of my attempt to broaden the things I paired with peanut butter. My two older kids suffered through mainly just peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches in their school lunches, but by the time the third was in high school, I was trying to vary the routine a little more. Here are things I combined with peanut butter:

--apple slices
--dried coconut
--chocolate chips
--banana slices
--molasses
--honey
--brown sugar
--chocolate syrup
--golden syrup (i.e. syrup from cane sugar)
--dried cranberries

ETA: also raisins! And in comments littlemoremasks has some suggestions for nonsweet combos.

What stuff have you tried?

Comments

[littlemoremasks.livejournal.com]

Here are things that I actually like with peanut butter:

- Turkey
- Mustard
- Labne (really stiff Labne, not anything runny)
- Raisins (although I'm guessing maybe you don't like them?)
- Potato Chips (really salty ones)
- Mashed sweet potatoes

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

No, I do like raisins! I forgot to add them.

And I was realizing all my options were sweet, and I need to explore savory ones. What is labne?

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I have never really understood the US love affair with PNB and otherstuff.

I like mine plain and unadorned on fresh hot buttered toast.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Ah, with butter, then ;-)

[littlemoremasks.livejournal.com]

It's a combination of PB&J being cheap, quick, and generally enjoyable by kids. I recently had to explain this to my Ghanaian co-worker too).

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

Is your writing project fiction? Or non-fiction? (I ask because I have a fascination with bridges and have always wanted to travel across country taking photos of old bridges for a book that I, of course, will never write.)

I can't think of anything else I've put on peanut butter, other than sugar free jam, but you've already used jam.

I do like peanut butter on celery sticks, though. Does that count?

I know nothing about ISIS either, and was wondering where they came from.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Fiction! A series of vignettes involving bridges. Very short. I should be done by now :-P

It would be lovely to have an opportunity to go around taking pictures of old bridges--or, I'd like to go around collecting people's stories about the bridges, too.

Peanut butter on celery sticks counts!

[bogwitch64.livejournal.com]

One of the best peanut butter sandwiches I ever ate--THE best one--was grilled cheddar cheese, peanut butter and bacon.

Seriously--it was insanely delicious.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

That sounds awesome--going to have to try it!

[littlemoremasks.livejournal.com]

Well, I'll add that to the list of comfort foods I'll have to try!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I MADE THIS LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER AND YOU WERE RIGHT.

It was insanely delicious.

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

But have you tried different breads? Peanut butter and cream cheese on raisin bread!!!!

There's also no bread. Applesauce topped with peanut butter topped with yoghurt. Maybe with cinnamon.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I like both those ideas! Especially the second, especially w/the cinnamon.

[selidor]

Peanut butter on one slice, tahini on the other. ALL the butters.

Also very fond of avocado and honey sandwiches, which seems to be a somewhat rare combo.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

In Timor-Leste I learned all about avocado as a wonderful sweet, rather than savory, food. Mashed up with some sugar and a little milk--mmmmm!

And yes! Sesame and peanut for the win!

[zdenka]

Peanut butter and sliced cheese can be good.

I once made a peanut butter and cream cheese sandwich and found it delicious, but this was expensive organic peanut butter that I bought because it was Passover. I don't think that would be good with the cheap stuff that I usually get.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think if you're going to do savory sandwiches, it needs to be natural--and therefore unsweetened--peanut butter.

[anais-pf.livejournal.com]

Peanut butter and mustard. Seriously.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I believe it! I'm realizing that I've missed out by only doing sweet things. I'll try mustard--it'll be like having a peanut-sauce sandwich.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

not as a sandwich but I love peanut butter with celery or on ritz crackers (might make the difference in the kind of bread you use)

PB & chips too.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I had PB & chips for lunch! I wanted to have the sandwich Terri-Lynne suggested, but didn't have the ingredients.

In PB and ? . . .

[docdad2.livejournal.com]

I have tried ketchup with our without sweet onion.
Good luck with other Non-sweet things.

Re: In PB and ? . . .

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I like the thought of the sweet onion.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Vegemite/marmite and peanut butter is a winner (if you like vegemite). Liem's eating a plain peanut butter sandwich right now, but of course he can't take them to school these days...

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I like vegemite better now than I did when I first tried it. I had some in Timor-Leste, and it wasn't bad.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

My stomach lurches at the very thought of putting peanut butter in anything, or anything in peanut butter. I have about the plainest, narrowest tastes on the planet. I get excited by the flavor of distilled water, and I swoon at organic unsweetened butter on matzo.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Let's not call them narrow; let's call them refined! It's wonderful to be able to enjoy simple foods and find depths and satisfaction in mild flavors.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

Peanut butter and bacon! I once tried it with both banana and bacon (inspired by Elvis), and that was good, too.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Elvis liked peanut butter, banana, and bacon?

bogwitch64 described a delicious-sounding sandwich featuring both peanut butter and bacon--I can believe it would be delicious!

[heliopausa.livejournal.com]

I am feeling such a mix of things right now... I came in to say that I've had peanut butter (unsweetened - just peanuts) and lime pickle together ( but 'lime pickle' covers such a huge range of things!).
But coming in to say that, of course I stopped to read about ISIS, and that whole situation is all such an unstable towering confusion of injustice and obduracy and revenge and refusal to be humane that I have nothing sane to say at all about it, and can't see any good way forward. :(

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I've had some delicious Patak's lime pickle--very spicy and sour and good--is that the sort you mean?

I had my empathy turned to low and my detached curiosity turned to high when I started my Web search for information on ISIS, and I've been avoiding feeling much of anything by focusing only on trying to learn the concrete details of how they've done what they have. But yes, the realities on the ground there in Iraq are a terrible tangle :-(

[dudeshoes.livejournal.com]

My mother paired peanut butter with whatever was around: cucumber, green pepper, bacon, coconut, banana ... Many families also pair it with Fluff (not exactly nourishing, but a famous Mass. staple).

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about Fluff!

I was never a fan of the stuff, but my friends sometimes had it in sandwiches--this was in upstate New York, so it wasn't only just Massachusetts. Maybe it's most popular here, though.

[genarti]

My father used to love peanut-butter-and-(dill)-pickle sandwiches, though I think he got out of the habit of eating them at some point since I haven't seen him do it in years. I've never tried them. I was always dubious about the entire idea as a kid, and I remain so!

Mostly I just have PB&J, though as a kid I used to do honey or raisins too. I had friends in school who made fluffernutters with marshmallow fluff, too.

My experimental combinations tend to be with sharp cheddar instead.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd forgotten about fluffernutter sandwiches until dudeshoes mentioned them. My friends sometimes had those, but I wasn't a big fan of fluff, so my mom never made me any.

Sharp cheddar and peanut butter sounds good!