“A lemon press?…haha, of course you have this.”

This is what a friend of mine told me this weekend. And it’s true, I do have a lot of random kitchen gadgets. Just a few examples? – immersion blender, wine foil cutter, grapefruit knife, mandolin slicer, giant Oreo cookie mold, cupcake corer, and a bamboo steamer. I actually do a pretty good job of using these gadgets on the regular, but until this past week, I had never used the bamboo steamer! Terrible, I know. (Sorry, Mom!)

After a trip to the Chinese market, that involved me excitedly “Ooooo!!!”-ing right and left, I am now the proud owner of Sriracha, five spice, and dried shiitakes. I also made my very own chili flakes from peppers from the garden!

Shiitakes and steamer in hand, I made my way up to Elizabeth’s beautiful new digs in Mt Pleasant for a little dinner date! Elizabeth and I decided to make a veggie bowl with a spicy curry peanut sauce.

We, of course, started with red wine :) Then we got to chopping up our broccoli, carrots, and kale and rehydrating our shiitakes. All of that stacked up beautifully in my bamboo steamer!

Then we started on the star of the show, the sauce! The key ingredients here are peanut butter, coconut milk, red curry paste, and apple cider vinegar. They all come together in a creamy, spicy, slightly tangy & sweet dream. It brings the veggies and quinoa together to make a beautiful dish. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top and you’re in business!

Here’s what we did!

Spicy Curry Peanut Sauce

Put all the ingredients in a medium pot, whisk them together, bring to a gentle boil, and then let it simmer for 3-5 minutes more.

-One 13.5-ounce can of coconut milk
– 1/4 cup of curry paste (we used Maesri)
-3/4 cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
-1/2 tablespoon salt
-1/4 cup sugar
-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not substitute)
-1/2 cup of the reserved liquid from rehydrating the shiitake mushrooms or water

Once that all comes together, you’re ready to pour it over any number of things! We made quinoa for a base, topped that with veggies that we steamed for 10 minutes, and topped it with the sauce and sesame seeds. You could also use it as a dip for grilled shrimp, a sauce over a grilled chicken sandwich, or cooled, a dressing on a salad.

Enjoy!

**French phrase for fun

Regardez! Elle a un cuiseur vapeur! Quels autres gadgets a-t-elle?!

Look! She has a steamer! What other gadgets does she have?!