Peanut Butter Cup Reverie

I remember when I was a young teen at summer camp, food was pretty regimented, with all campers and staff piling into the dining hall three times a day, every day, for communal meals. On top of that, there were afternoon snacks distributed in mass, ocassionally ice cream on sticks, but too often unpopular fruit.

The exception to this was the canteen, where we could buy junkfood. Only at certain times, and limited in amounts. The prices were less than in the real world, so they weren't doing this for a huge profit -- it was more to head off the 2ndary black market that would emerge when kids would get care packages from parents then distribute the junk food for cash and power.

My parents weren't big on the sending of junk food, so the canteen was where I got to indulge in a way in which my parents would not approve. One thing I loved were Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I just loved them. I loved them so much that when the camp took us on a day trip to the Hershey's Amusment Park in Hershey, PA, I went and got myself a Reese's t-shirt. So at every opportunity, I would purchase the cups at the canteen. The problem was, once I ate them, they were gone...

So I remember one summer I decided to save them. When I got back home, I would not have such easy and casual access to the peanut butter cups. I would not be able to eat them in the presence of my parents, would have to dispose of the wrappers carefully if I ate them at home. I remember that by the time the summer was over, I had horded about 20 packs of peanut butter cups -- that's 40 or so individual cups. Seeing them piled geometrically in my wooden cubby was a pleasure. But the summer was over, and here was my well-curated collection, a supply of pleasure defered, that if were to be greeted by my parents, would be at best doled out to me over time in limited quantities, and at worst confiscated and destroyed.

This only occurred to me the day we were being brought back to the real world to be reunited with our parents after the summer. On the 3-4 hour bus ride from the Poconos in PA to NYC, I ate the entire collection of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups right up, first quickly, them working through, a little bit slower. I was sitting next to a friend, and shared, but he could only get through 2 packs. I didn't eat breakfast that morning, because barfing would of been such a waste of cups. I remember feeling queasy getting off the bus but happy to be in my parent's warm and loving arms. I was proud of myself that I was able to ingest all my peanut butter cup freedom before coming back to my parent's control of my diet. It was a duality I never really resolved. I hope Edie never has these issues.

As I was struggling with tummy issues stemming from my peanut butter cup gorging in the morning, came upon this article in the NY Times. Food for thought, indeed.

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, organic cheerios with organic dead milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 10:30am, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
B took Edles this morning and met up with a gang of her gal friends for early afternoon alcohol while I made a matinee movie. I brought the bag of peanut butter cups and reverted to a 14 year old in the dark for a few hours.

PM SNACK: 2:15pm, watermelon, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8pm, Shrimp Scampi a la Noah over fresh spaghetti, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Sometimes when I wing it, it comes out the way I hope. Jumbo shrimp unfrozen, shelled and deveined. Salted water boiling, 1 serving of pasta in for 4 minutes. Fry pan heated, olive oil to 1/4 inch, minced shallot and shrimps in. Salt. 2 minutes, flip. Add a dash of Worcestershire, a dash of hot sauce, a pat of butter. With a minute left, crush 4 small cloves of garlic into it, turn it all together. Pasta drained, plated, pan of shrimp and sauce poured over, mixed. Freshly grate parm over.

The buttery garlicky scampy came out with just the right amount of subtle spicy kick, shrimpy in a fresh balanced way. Pat myself on the back. Now if a) I can figure out how to make pasta where it doesn't stick together then b) duplicate this for multiple people, I'll be in business.