January 05

George Washington Carver Day
 
In 1945 the United States Congress designated January 5th as George Washington Carver Day, a unique tribute to the son of slave parents who, as a child, was kidnapped and ransomed for a horse. Carver's accomplishments as the head of the Tuskegee Institute Agricultural Department were impressive.

Carver taught former slaves farming techniques by designing  a mobile school. He introduced the soybean as an American agricultural crop and increased the popularity of the sweet potato and peanut, primarily by developing marketable by-products from them and creating recipes to demonstrate their versatility.

In 1921, Carver spoke in favor of a peanut tariff before the House Ways and Means Committee. With the intense racial discrimination of the time, it was unusual for an African-American to be called as an expert. Carver's well-received testimony earned him national attention and captured the public's imagination and resulted in his epithet as the "Peanut Man." 		 

George Washington Carver

Carver once demonstrated the versatility of the peanut as a food product to a group of Alabama businessmen by serving them a meal with every item made from peanuts. The menu included peanut soup, mock chicken steak made from ground peanuts, peanut· butter rolls, gingered peanuts as a vegetable, peanut-oil margarine, a salad with peanut-oil dressing, peanut ice cream, peanut butter cookies, peanut fudge, and peanut "coffee". Peanut coffee subsequently became a coffee substitute during the Second World War.

Here are recipes for several of the dishes that Carver prepared for his famous peanut dinner

Peanut Soup

Ingredients
 
3 TB butter
3 TB flour
3 leeks, whites only, washed and minced
5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup plain peanut butter
 

2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
peanuts or collard greens for garnish

 
Instructions
 
  1. Melt butter in soup kettle. Add leeks and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 2 additional minutes, stirring constantly.
  2. Stir in chicken broth . Bring to a boil. Add peanut butter. Stir in well.
  3. Mix 1-1/2 cups sour cream and wine in a bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup of hot soup. Then whisk in cream-wine mixture into soup. Heat, but do not boil.
  4. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream sprinkled with a few ground peanuts, or a some cooked collard greens.

Serves 6
 

Peanut Butter Rolls
 
Ingredients
 

1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup plain peanut butter
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour

 

1/4 cup melted shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
butter for greasing muffin sheet
 

 
Instructions
 
  1. Sprinkle yeast over water in mixing bowl. Allow to set for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add milk, sugar, salt, shortening, eggs, peanut butter and nutmeg. Mix well. Add enough flour to make a dough stiff enough to be kneaded.
  2. Knead dough on a floured bread board until smooth. Put in a greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm place for about 1 hour until double in bulk.
  3. Press dough down. Form into rolls. Place in buttered muffin tins. Cover and place in warm place for about 1-1/2 hours until about triple in size.
  4. Preheat over to 375ºF .
  5. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until done.
     

Peanut Butter Fudge
 

Ingredients
 

1 cup sugar
2 TB butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 lb chunky peanut butter

 

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chopped marshmallows
dash salt

 
Instructions
 
  1. Cook sugar, butter, milk and salt to soft ball stage (234º F-238º F). Add marshmallows and peanut butter and remove from heat immediately. Do not stir. Cool to room temperature.
  2. Add vanilla. Beat until creamy and thick. Pour into buttered shallow pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  3. Cut into squares and serve.
     

Peanut Ice Cream
 
Ingredients
 

 
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk 		1&1/3 cups whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
chocolate sauce for topping

Instructions
 
  1. Combine the peanut butter and sugar in  a mixer bowl and beat a low speed  for about one minutes
    Add the milk. Blend on low speed until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and the vanilla and blend for a few seconds.
  2. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
  3. Freeze in an ice cream maker 20-30 minutes until frozen