A Gift from Afar

No, there will be no Christmas card this year. And we won’t be able to attend any of your parties. But for those of you who like to cook (or might enjoy trying), we present this small gift: a really yummy peanut sauce recipe that we’ve already made several times since arriving in Cameroon. It’s not Cameroonian; it’s more Indonesian. But it’s a wonderful use for the abundant peanuts here, and although we usually serve it over roasted eggplant slices, it would probably be delicious with ‘most any vegetable or meat combination you can dream up. Or eaten straight off your finger from the pan.

It all started when Marie, the house help for the people we’ve been house-sitting for, bought some eggplants for us. Several of them. We’re not usually eggplant-eating types, and hadn’t asked her to buy any for us, but there they were, squat and purple in our frigo. When Chris declared his general dislike for eggplant, the obsessive non-waster in our family (that would be me) set out at once to find the tastiest possible way to consume lots of eggplant. I think I found it. We’ve even asked Marie for more eggplant since then. You go ahead and eat this with anything you like. Enjoy, and a wonderful holiday season to all of you from us in Cameroon.

Spicy Indonesian Peanut Sauce (for Two) modified from Epicurious.com

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

1” of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

Oil for sautéing (olive is good)

¼ c. ground roasted peanuts (use natural peanut butter, no additives)

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 c. water (approx)

Heat oil (one small pour, perhaps a few Tbsp.) in med-sized pan. Sauté garlic, onion, ginger, and red pepper flakes a few minutes ‘til softened. Add the peanut butter to sauté mixture, stir to combine for a minute or so. Then add soy sauce, sugar, and lemon (we usually combine these in a small bowl ahead of time) and stir. Add water (start with about ¾ c. and see if you like the texture; you can always add more) and let sauce bubble until slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste (may not be necessary) and serve with great joy! (Note: we don’t have red pepper flakes, so we use a small amount of piment, the wonderful local hot pepper sauce, and add it with the wet ingredients.)