From the age of five until I got married my family lived in a second storey small apartment in the busiest section of Budapest; in the VIIth District near the Keleti Railway Terminal. My father worked, ate and slept in that apartment. He had a tiny dental lab partitioned off our kitchen and worked day and night seldom going out. Those few occasions that he would leave to visit a friend or run a work related errand, he never came home empty handed. We looked forward to the little brown bag he would bring us from the cukorbolt [candy store]. Sometimes there were shelled hazelnuts, or chestnuts and once in a while he brought home some peanuts. I liked the peanuts, but I never took to peanut butter. Then last year I discovered Adams 100% Natural Peanut Butter. It has no added sugar, no stabilizer, no preservatives, no added shortening, less than 1% salt and best of all; it actually tastes like roasted peanuts, because essentially that is what Adams Peanut Butter is; mashed up roasted peanuts. I will never be a peanut butter fan, but I can take a little Adam’s now and then. The taste reminds me of Apa and those little brown bags.
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My parents in the "new" lab a decade later
If you think this one was small you should have seen the old one
NO BAKE CHOCOLATE NUT BARS
1/2 cup 100% natural peanut butter, smooth
1/2 cup organic tahini
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
4 cups lightly crushed corn flakes
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped almonds
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
1 cup pure chocolate chips
• Line a 13X9 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Place the corn flakes, 1 cup of chopped almonds and the coconut in a large bowl.
• Next combine the peanut butter, tahini, brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in a saucepan.
• On medium heat bring the mixture to a slow simmer and simmer for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it.
• Remove from the heat and stir into the corn flake mixture.
• When well combined, spread the mixture into the prepared pan, smoothing the top and pressing down. [I used a potato masher]
• Partially melt the chocolate chips in a microwave, and stir it smooth.
• Spread the top of the bar with the melted chocolate.
• While still hot, sprinkle the remaining almonds on the top.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firmly set.
• Use a sharp knife to cut into bars.
