Thai Peanut Sauce!

 A couple of days ago I saw that Jane and Ann Esselstyn had put up a new YouTube video.  It was about Thai Peanut Sauce I think from their new Warrior Women Cookbook. When I saw Thai Peanut Sauce in the notification I sat up and took notice.  I LOVE peanut sauce. And this one is easy and so good.

The way I heard them (I have not gotten the book yet, and frankly, I hope I don't...new year, new resolve to mind our bank account in a more serious way... because, well, I do have ENOUGH cookbooks.  Even enough vegan and vegetarian cookbooks!) this is the recipe. At least it is the way I made the recipe.

Thai Peanut Sauce

1 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy peanut butter since that is what Dear One likes)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup (the real thing!)
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon lime juice
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger (mine was from the freezer where I had stored some a good bit of ginger  chunks without peeling it--and I still did not peel it. I figured the peel was good for fiber...)
A tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup water

Put everything but the water into the food processor and let 'er rip for about 60 seconds then add the water and process again until all is combined.  Then pour it down the gullet in case you can't wait to get out some rice or vegetables or something else to pour it over.  

We had some leftover Mexican rice I had gooped up last week.  Dear One was eating it down happily but since I never mind gilding the lily I poured a little Thai Peanut Sauce over it.  So good. SO good.  Dear One asked what it was and when I told him he declined to eat any.  One day he will east some. I am confident but am NOT holding my breath!

Here is yet another unattractive photograph of food that we actually ate.  The globs on the side of the mason jar are little bits of fresh ginger.  I made this sauce in the Cuisinart food processor.  Next time I will use the high speed blender which will make the sauce smooth as ice.  Sometimes I actually do follow a recipe the way it is written but often only the first time.  Like today.  I am now thinking of making some fresh spring rolls to dip into this sauce!  Can you just imagine the culinary delight for your tongue from that combination!!!

Newsflash:  the only reason you are getting this recipe today is that I am writing it in the middle of the night...well, shortly after midnight.  When I made the sauce I happened to be barefoot, something I don't often do for the following reason:  when I brought the sauce to the table with the rest of the cullings from the refrigerator that were supper (we are going on vacation shortly and I want to leave the refrigerator empty, and maybe even clean...) I jammed my little toe into the chair leg.  I did not spill the sauce and even better, I did not curse!  (I asked Dear One if I cursed and he said not.  Thank goodness.  That is another one of my self-improvements hoped for for the new year.)

That is the same toe that I smashed into the door jamb when I was rushing out of my room at college at 602 North 1st West one day.  On that day I broke the toe.  Nothing to do about it but wear a tight shoe until the pain goes away.  I do believe I broke it again.  I had after the jamming episode put on my sneakers and thick socks which cushioned the toe but then was so unwise as to take off the shoes again while sitting in the tv room/Dear One's office before hobbling into our bedroom. When I rolled over in bed the sheets aggravated the poor little thing which woke me up, thus the writing which I remembered I had planned to do earlier today but did not get to. 

So the moral of the story is:  wear socks and shoes always. And BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU WALK!

Plus--make this sauce.  The cup of water makes it so you can feel a little better about the number of calories you are swilling down.  To make this sauce optimal, leave out the water and just dip things, like toast points or the aforementioned fresh spring rolls into the bowl of thick delectableness.

Happy New Year to All!

Food Friday: Sweet Corn Sauce on Steamed Kale-Delicious. Really!

A couple of days ago I was on a YouTube binge.  I went from watercolor painting to box making to card making to whole food plant based cooking and finally ended up at Jane and Ann Esselstyn's channel.  They are really fun to watch (mother and daughter in daughter's kitchen) and share some unusual and sometimes pretty good recipes.

The recipe they shared today, or which I watched on that particular day, was Sweet Corn Sauce.

This is the recipe as I made it:

Sweet Corn Sauce

16 ounces frozen sweet corn (or you could use 5 ears of fresh sweet corn)
1 medium or larger sweet onion
1 cup vegetable broth

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend, scraping down the sides as necessary, until it is sauce-like.  Move the sauce into a saucepan and cook until hot, slightly reduced, and the onion does not taste raw anymore.  Actually, I could not taste the onion.  It was very sweet and mild.

For the kale,  wash and dry the kale and strip leaves from the stems.  Tear into smallish pieces and put in a steamer.  Steam for about 8 minutes.  Less time might also work.  This is what I did on this occasion.

Put a serving of kale in a bowl and cover with sweet corn sauce.  You are in heaven.  Seriously.  So simple.  So good.  I gave Dear One a bowl of it and he ate it all!  With no comments!  He did not actually take a second serving, but that would be too much to ask.  Just eating that one bowl put me on cloud nine.

This was my bowl, half eaten!  Truly, this is wonderful.  How can you go wrong with vegetables?  I do recommend this if you are trying to get family members to eat more greens.  Perhaps spread the sauce totally over the kale covering it up...?

Anyway, I really loved this stuff.  I will make it again.  In fact, I have just realized that I really really like cooked kale.  Much better than raw kale.  I hope it is healthier to eat it cooked.  I will have to investigate that, though experience shows me that all the smart people have different ideas.  I like it cooked.  I will eat it cooked....

Munchie Monday: Sauce-Hummus-Dip? Actually, it's B-Sauce

Today here is the promised sauce recipe that I got from Monson Made This.  It is really so good that I don't believe I will ever spend another penny on store-bought sauce-hummus-dip.

Something I learned not so long ago is that there are more than salty, sweet, sour, and bitter tastes on our tongues.  There is now something called umami.  This "hummus" is filled with umami somehow.

Umami  "B" Sauce

1 can drained and rinsed chick peas/garbanzo beans
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 Tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2-4 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until entirely smooth.  Taste it then add a little salt and pepper if you want.  In you want to loosen it up, you can add a little water or even vegetable broth if you want, like 1-2 Tablespoons. I did not. I love it just the way it is.

This is the "B" sauce not well photographed.  Smooth and luscious.

We took a new batch of the brown rice and quinoa crackers plus this sauce to a vegan get-together.  They were both very popular.  Enough so that I left the remaining uneaten items for the hostess. After all, both are so easy to make that I can just make another batch.

About the crackers,  next time I make them I think I will cut them, place them on the Silpat sheet then use a rolling pin to see if I can get them thinner and smoother.

Mission: Quick (Ten Minutes or so) and Easy Cranberry Sauce

Jut found a recipe somewhere...I am embarrassed not to remember where...that I used as a foundation for making my own renovations.

Quick and Easy Cranberry Sauce

3 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground nutmeg
a smaller pinch of ground ginger

In a large saucepan (I used a 6-quart pot because that was all I had, not being in my own kitchen...) place the sugar and orange juice.  With a long-handled wooden spoon, stir until smooth.  Add the picked over cranberries and heat over medium to medium high heat, stirring almost constantly.

The cranberries just starting to cook.  Notice the nice tollhouse pie in the background.  NOT burned!!

After the berries come to a boil, don't stop stirring.  In less than ten minute the berries will be mostly popped open and the liquor will have thickened.  Remove from heat and let cool a little while then place in a clean glass jar and cover.  Let sit until cool then refrigerate until you want to eat it.

This stuff is so good that you will want to spend it on nice fat toasted whole wheat bread or Dakota bread or even waffles!  So good.  The first try was perfect. I am so glad since we are eating it at Thanksgiving dinner with the senior missionary couples who are available.

Cranberry sauce cooling--about 3 cups of it