Almond Hoisin Sauce

Summer time and the living is easy? Maybe. At least it is relaxed! I have noticed this summer how much time in the evening that Kirk and I spend in the backyard, something we didn’t do before. When we bought our house 8 years ago it had a set of pretty French doors going to the backyard, but that were not installed right. We rarely opened them, you had to unlock the deadbolt, and then the doors would flop open on their own! No bug screens either. It cut us off from our backyard. Part of the problem was our cat could rub against the unlocked door and push it open – and get out, so we had to keep it locked. Last year we had it replaced with a simple sliding door. When we went to purchase the door I got the feeling the salesperson at Home Depot wasn’t thrilled we were set on such a simple door. It was “why settle so low”. But it was what we needed. Easy to open, easy to use with a screen. We got it installed. Maybe sliding doors are not in vogue but with children they are prefect! Now we can keep the door open, letting in breeze, and we are inclined to go in and out. This has encouraged us to spend our evenings outside, with Walker running around and Alistaire on the grass. Alistaire turned 5 months old this past weekend!

My Stevia plant is in bloom still. I know I should dead head it but I love the flowers. I let my Sage and Rosemary plants bloom every year, they are too pretty and the bees love it.

My mint plants have all been doing great this year, I love walking by and gently touching the leaves. I have I think 4 types now growing.

Would love to know what is eating my Siam Basil plant. The squirrels? It is being decimated whatever is causing it.

We are maybe a week away from the big blueberries starting to ripen, the bushes are loaded. The tiny blueberries on my dwarf alpine plants though are ripening a couple every day. They are tiny, the size of a caper (sometimes even smaller) but intense in flavor. If I am lucky I get one before Walker picks the berries off with his little fingers.

A sauce? A dip? A stir-fry glaze? It can be all and it pulls together quickly. I adapted it out of the July 2012 issue of Sunset Magazine, on page 91. It dresses a quick stirfry of vegetables, served over baked brown rice. An easy dinner for a hot evening. Or use as a dipping sauce for springrolls.

Almond Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup raw crunchy almond butter
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp organic hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 lime, juiced (2 to 3 Tbsp)

Directions:

Whisk together, use as desired.

~Sarah