Life in the time of coronavirus means that my relatively new boyfriend and I have been living together and sharing all our groceries and meals. Which has been great—but definitely an adjustment. I remember now just how different shopping and cooking for one is from shopping and cooking for two. Case in point: the peanut butter.
A jar of peanut butter that used to last at least a month in my single life now disappears in just one week. This man of mine loves peanut butter. I don't ever want to be the kind of partner who hides the peanut butter jar. Instead, I'm finding ways to make sure every last drop of peanut butter goes a little further. Like making peanut butter sauce with the teeny bit left in the bottom of each jar.
Here's the trick: You can turn peanut butter, and any other kind of nut or seed butter, into a sauce simply by whisking water into it, right in the jar. (I like to use my favorite mini whisk, but a fork will work in a pinch. You can also transfer it all to a bowl for easier whisking, but you get the dregs out better if you start in the jar.) Warm water is best because it helps to loosen the nut butter more quickly, and generally equal parts nut butter to liquid is the best ratio.
Start with a little less than equal parts warm water to nut butter and add more water as needed, until the sauce is your desired consistency. You'll want it thinner for drizzling, and thicker for dipping. Two tablespoons of nut butter becomes a quarter cup of sauce (enough for two servings at least) without needing to buy any additional ingredients. A pinch of salt is enough to wake up your sauce, and you may not even need that, depending on your peanut butter—be sure to taste it before you season it.
Honestly, it's really quite good without adding anything else to your sauce. But it doesn't have to be just water and nut butter if you want to rummage around your pantry. To make your sauce more tangy, replace some of the water with vinegar: apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar are especially well suited for this, or try lemon or lime juice instead. To make it more savory and umami-rich, replace some of the water with soy sauce or tamari. To make it spicier, try adding some hot sauce. (This version is especially great as a dressing for an easy bowl of peanut noodles.)
To make your sauce sweeter, add some honey or maple syrup, and maybe a pinch of cinnamon or a splash of vanilla extract. Almond butter sauce with maple syrup and vanilla sounds lovely to dip some apple slices in, doesn't it? Or how about a cashew butter sauce with lime juice and turmeric to drizzle over grilled chicken? Or add pinches of whatever dried spice you want—start with small pinches, taste, and keep adding until the sauce is where you want it.
Today at lunchtime I pulled a jar of peanut butter off the shelf, and of course there were just a few tablespoons-worth left in there. I added warm water, splash by splash, and whisked it together until a smooth sauce formed, pushing the peanut butter down off the sides of the jar as I went. I threw in some crushed red pepper flakes and a splash of rice vinegar and then drizzled it over two bowls of crisped up leftover white rice and thinly sliced cucumber and celery. I added a fried egg on top of each, and some kimchi for good measure. It was an excellent 10-minute lunch. And luckily, now I've learned to always have a backup jar of peanut butter in the house.
