pb&j

a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. it’s perfect. simple ingredients in between two pieces of bread. add a glass of milk and that’s all you need.

is there a genesis to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich? oh, probably. perhaps it dates back to the ancient egyptians who used it initially as part of their embalming technique only to discover it made a great snack. or maybe it was found quite by accident because there was nothing left in the house besides a roll of stale crackers and moldy cheese. with that choice, i think i’d go for the sandwich too.

actually, the peanut butter sandwich dates back to the early 20th century in its widespread use. while bread and jelly have been around for hundreds of years, peanut butter didn’t become a real hit until the 1904 st. louis world’s fair. with the marketing of peter pan and skippy peanut butters in the 20s and 30s, pb&j became a lunch box staple. by world war II and the ensuing rations, peanut butter and jelly was a meal for many people tightening their belts. it was cheap and satisfying.

it’s the simple things that have the greatest longevity. peanut butter and jelly are the perfect combination. like romeo and juliet. milk and cookies. burgers and fries. apple pie and ice cream a la mode. oddly enough, it’s the most fattening foods that seem to be paired up. maybe that’s what broke romeo and juliet up. it wasn’t two warring families and a bottle of poison. juliet’s ass got too fat to fit in her jeans. must have been the pb&j…

fall finds

i went to the farmer’s market in the parking lot of the fairfield theatre company yesterday. it was chilly, more than a little overcast, and drizzly. i didn’t expect much on a day like that. i thought it might be slim pickings.

instead, i found a still-bountiful display of vegetables and other produce. i went home with my prizes: fresh artisanal bread, mesclun salad greens with edible flowers, fresh pea shoots, heirloom tomatoes.

(i kicked myself for not picking up the “hen of the woods” mushrooms. however, they were being sold for $18 a pound. another time—perhaps one not so economically tight.)

while at the market, i kept thinking of an excerpt from barbara kingsolver’s animal, vegetable, miracle. she had gone to the farmer’s market near her family’s farm in virginia. it was a windy, cold, drizzly november day without much promise for a farmer’s market. yet, she went anyway. when she got there, she didn’t find an abundance of produce. but, she did find fresh honey, fresh walnuts already shelled, and a host of other little morsels to take home and make a yummy meal. she had gone with an open mind and no expectation.

i went to the market yesterday with the same mindset. sometimes, life gives you little surprises. you just don’t know until you get there…