Hot and sour peanut sauce

Buckwheat noodles are my favorite food to serve with this pungent, spicy, rich-tasting sauce. It also goes well with any number of grains and with raw and cooked vegetables. 2 tablespoons crunchy unsalted, unsweetened peanut butter 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste) 1/4 cup rice vinegar or champagne vinegar 1 to 3 teaspoons hot red pepper oil (available in the Asian food section of most supermarkets) 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons canola oil 3 or 4 quarter-size slices fresh ginger, peeled 3 garlic cloves, skinned 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock, plus additional to taste 1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Thin out if desired with more stock. Taste and adjust seasoning. Yield: Makes 1 cup, serving four to six. Advance preparation: This sauce will keep for a week in the refrigerator. You may want to blend and thin out with a little more stock or with water. Nutritional information per serving (for six servings): 121 calories; 12 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 154 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 2 grams protein