The Nectar of the Gods

Danielle is out of town today, and she's asked me to fill in for her. I plan to revolutionize this blog with my single post! Observe, as I capitalize the title of my post! Cower, as I...

Okay, all I can really think to revolutionize is the capitalization of titles thing. I guess Danielle's blog is already pretty rad.

I want to talk to you about a special passion of mine. I learned a very important lesson at a very young age, one that I still hold as sacred truth today: There is just no substitute for pure maple syrup. If you are still putting some kind of syrup on your pancakes/waffles/french toast/whatever that is not pure maple syrup, you are making a major breakfast error. This is not just an opinion. Pure maple syrup is less processed than most other syrups. It's less processed than most other sweeteners, even. It's also more delicious. Okay, that last part may just be an opinion.

While there is no substitute for pure maple syrup, pure maple syrup can be a fantastic substitute for all sorts of other sweeteners. It brings a unique flavor all its own to anything you might otherwise flavor with sugar, honey, or agave nectar. Try it in your tea. Use it in your granola recipe. Put it on Danielle's french fries recipe from last week! Admittedly, my passion for maple syrup might run a little higher than yours.

Here's a favorite of mine, enhanced by the subtle deliciousness of maple syrup:

Peanut Maple Dipping Sauce (Or stir fry sauce)

This is ridiculously easy. We're really just going to take all the ingredients and mix them until the result is spectacular. Taste as you go. Quantities are approximated, and individual tastes should be catered to in terms of the sweetness, spiciness, and garlickyness. All of these are real words.

Mix the following in a bowl:

4 heaping tbsp of peanut butter (Preferably fresh ground, chunky, and unsweetened. You can get this in plastic tubs at most health food stores.)

2 tbsp pure maple syrup (The word pure is very important. If it doesn't say pure, it's probably not as delicious.)

2 tbsp hot sauce (I use Sriracha, but anything similar should be fine. If you've got a favorite, give it a shot.)

2 tbsp soy sauce (I don't really need to add a note here, but I have for every other ingredient, and I didn't want soy sauce to feel left out. Oh, I've got one! You can read about how soy sauce adds umami to a dish on Alex's bog here!)

2 cloves of garlic (I always just mix fresh garlic right into the sauce. You could cook it some, but that would make it both less delicious and less good for you. Garlic is really a miracle food.)

Now there's really just one more step. Add vegetable stock if you have it, or a little water if you don't, until the consistency is a little thinner. You could add a little sesame oil or something similar, but I usually don't. You want the end result to look something like this:

Now you've got a variety of options! You can dip things in it; I recommend dumplings, kebabs, or anything that typically comes on a stick. You could also make a stir fry with it, which is what I did. I was pretty happy with how this batch turned out, though I probably would have gone spicier. My friends will tell you that this is unsurprising. Some might even express their opinion that I cannot taste the things I make because I make them way too spicy. They are wrong about that.

If you try my dipping sauce and think of any fantastic ways to improve it, please let me know! Recipes should always be viewed as a work in progress.