Peanut Butter Pilgrims

First, apologies for no posts yesterday, and more for the lame recipe today.  I had a big project due this morning, and while I think (I hope!) I did well on it, I just didn't have time to make something yesterday... and today, I'm just plain tired.  But I will get to all the recipes, I promise.

Anyway.  Today's sandwich is an excuse to write about Peanut Butter Pilgrims, a Pee Wee Scouts book by Judy Delton.  As a kid, I was a huge fan of the Pee Wee Scouts.  The series (there are 40 books, written for ages 4-8) stars Molly Duff, a little girl who is a proud member of the Pee Wee Scouts, which is a co-ed scout troop akin to the Boy or Girl Scouts - they do good deeds, earn merit badges, and get through everyday life with humor.  The books are illustrated by Alan Tiegreen, who also illustrated Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, which is a great bonus.  I always loved his work.

In this particular story, Molly and the Scouts make baskets to fill with canned food for a food drive - Molly's basket is way too tight, and she has to re-do it, but she gets her Basket-Weaving Merit Badge in the end.  Then they all go to a turkey farm, and get to meet and pet turkeys; Scout Sonny falls in love with a turkey with two black tail feathers and somehow manages to get his mother to allow him to adopt the bird, who he names Tiger. Tiger, by the way, gets treated like a dog throughout the book; he's led around on a leash, and Sonny earns a merit badge by building him an enormous birdhouse.

The book progresses through some other fall-time fun before it's announced that the Scouts will be presenting a Thanksgiving play.. in front of the whole town!  The mayor will be there!!  That. Is. Huge.  Molly is terrified!  She's going to forget all her lines, and everyone will laugh!  The mayor himself will laugh at her!!  This is a very big deal. 

Of course, everything works out in the end... Molly is a big hit and the mayor himself congratulates her on her fine performance.  But, because of the visit to the turkey farm, and because Tiger was in the play with her- she's spent so much time with him! - she just can't bring herself to eat turkey.  So, she has a peanut butter sandwich.  And mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and stuffing.

Peanut Butter Pilgrim Sandwich
2 slices of your favorite bread
Peanut butter of your choice

1. Spread the peanut butter evenly on one slice of bread, then cover with the other slice of bread.  Cut into pieces and enjoy.

Yes, yes.  This is easy.  But allow me to add an insight that I find to be fascinating.  Alton Brown says that "squishable spreads go on squishable breads."  I put my peanut butter on hard or soft bread, but I take it the other way around - crunchy peanut butter goes best on toasted breads.  And peanut butter sandwiches are always always always better when cut on the diagonal.