THE DISH
Celery with homemade sunflower butter and golden raisins (recipe here)

THE INSPIRATION
So, the Beach Boys’ Smile came out last week… Kind of a big deal! (I recommend reading this if you don’t know the story behind it.) There’s a fun little song on there called “Vege-Tables,” and — a little bit of trivia — some of the “percussion” in it is made by Paul McCartney chewing celery. So, I made one of my childhood favorites (OK, I still pack this in my lunch sometimes), the delightful snack known as ants on a log: celery sticks for the same crunch in the song, topped with sunflower butter and sweet golden raisins for the Beach Boys’ infamous California harmonies.

I couldn’t find the version of “Vege-Tables” from The Smile Sessions, but you should be able to listen to it on Spotify here.

THE RECIPE
Sunflower butter from Prudent Baby. Makes about 1 cup (a great substitute for peanut butter if you have nut allergies!).

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sunflower seeds**
About 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar (I’d actually recommend adding a little bit more than this)
1/2 tsp honey
2-3 tsp olive oil
Celery sticks
Golden raisins

** Ideally you should use raw, shelled sunflower seeds with no salt. I had salted sunflower seeds that were probably already toasted and they worked just fine.

Directions:

• Toast sunflower seeds in a pan for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

• Pour seeds into your food processor with about 1/2 tsp salt (less if the seeds were already salted). Run the processor for about 30-45 seconds, until the seeds turn into a fine powder.

• Keep it running for about 5 to 6 minutes, scraping the sides with a spatula as needed (maybe about every 30 seconds for me) until it becomes a thick, grainy-looking paste.

• Add the honey and keep processing; it will become sort of a big blob in the food processor.

• While it’s running, add the olive oil, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. I used 2 teaspoons and it’s fine, but I think I should have added a little bit more.

• Spread on celery sticks and top with raisins.