Musings from Graceland

PEANUT STEW...Really.

My friend Allene Vinzant lived much of her growing up years in Sierra Leone, Africa, as a missionary kid. Years later, she and her husband were members of our church cell group. She introduced me to a recipe her mom had learned to cook during those African years. Our family was hooked immediately. It's a favorite for us...even my kids like it. I don't have an exact recipe as it was given to me verbally as Allene showed me how to cook it, but here's my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants recipe for some truly delicious eating:

PEANUT STEW

In a big pot, add however much chicken meat you want to cook. For my family, I usually do 3 boneless chicken breasts. If you want to use cheaper parts of the chicken, such as thighs, cook them and then debone before continuing with the recipe.

Okay, so back to the first part. Put the chicken in a pot. Cover it with water. You should have enough water to make about 2 to 3 cups of broth. Add some salt, pepper, and chopped onion (anywhere from 1/4 to a cup according to how much you like onion). Boil til chicken is done.

Remove chicken from broth and cut up into bite-sized and smaller pieces. Return to broth.

Reduce heat to medium. Add to this 3 small cans of tomato paste (the 6 oz size) and a jar of peanut butter (I use smooth, all-natural but use whatever you want. If you use the kind with sugar and salt added, you'll not need to add additional salt and sweetening). If you are using all-natural p.b. add a few squirts of ketchup, a bit of stevia, or a little bit of honey. You want a bit of sweetener to cut the acidic taste of the tomato paste just like most folks do with spaghetti sauce.

Stir often until pb is melted and its well blended. Lower heat---you do NOT want the pb to burn!
Add a bit of ground red pepper to the stew, stir, and serve over rice.

If you've used smooth peanut butter, offer chopped peanuts (or other nut of your choice, even sunflower seeds) to sprinkle on top before eating. The crunch adds a nice touch.

I also like my peanut stew HOT and SPICY so I add hot sauce on my serving before eating.

The meal that my friend always served included these items---

*Peanut Stew
*White bread w/butter and jelly
*Fruit salad made of chopped bananas, oranges, and pineapple

There is something about the combination of these foods that really works well together. I don't do sliced white bread but I do white yeast rolls. In most parts of Africa, white bread is considered fancy and is preferred over brown or whole wheat bread.