The beauty of living in Houston is our rich diversity of cultures. Many years ago, my daughter Ajna befriended a little girl from Indonesia. Her mother, Nadine, brought a wonderful vegetable platter with peanut sauce called gado gado to a parents' pot-luck dinner. Instantly mesmerized, I started making my own at home.

Gado gado is supremely versatile so you can adapt it to whatever kind of vegetables or even fruits tickle your fancy. You can make the peanut sauce mild to very spicy. It is best served at room temperature and wonderful for a large group. Here is my current version; I use sambal oelek, a traditional Indonesian chile sauce, available in most grocery stores.

Gado Gado

Instructions: Separate the florets and stems of the broccoli and make thick sections of the stems. Set aside.

In a small stockpot, combine the purple potato with 2 to 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. During the last few minutes or cooking, add the celery stalks. Turn the heat off and let the potato and celery stalks rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain. Peel and slice the potatoes.

To make the peanut sauce, first grind the peanuts with the orange juice and ginger in a blender until smooth. Then, in a stockpot over high heat, combine the peanut orange mixture with soy sauce, sambal oelek, rice wine vinegar, clove, cinnamon and salt and bring to a boil. The sauce should thicken. Turn the heat off immediately. If the sauce is too thick, add more orange juice to thin it out.

Arrange the vegetables on a platter and serve with the peanut sauce.

Notes & variations

* To hard boil eggs, combine with water in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Lower and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the eggs rest in the hot water for another 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and crack open.

* Instead of using sambal oelek, use any hot sauce of your choice or substitute with 2 teaspoons of ground red chile.

* The peanut sauce can be adapted to your personal preference. Leave the sambal oelek out entirely for a non-hot version. Instead of rice wine or mirin, use lemon or lime juice.