Posts Tagged ‘In the kitchen’
In the kitchen: How do you ketchup?
Last night the oven fries were already in the hot box blissfully baking away before I realized that we were fresh out of America’s favorite condiment: ketchup. What to do? We were out of BBQ sauce and the HP Sauce was nearing the bottom of the bottle. Normally, I’d just whip up a batch of homemade ranch sauce but I figured that I might as well try to make a quick batch of ketchup.
To the laptop I leapt and once again Google saved the day. I looked through a couple of different recipes, got the gist of the ratios and went to the kitchen to create my own quick recipe. 5 minutes later (like, literally) I had a nice substitute that might just have been a little bit better than the stuff we buy in plastic containers.
It was simple enough:
- 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 heaping tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1/4 cup of sugar (I used white, but I bet brown would be better)
- 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of each: garlic powder, onion powder and salt.
Toss all the ingredients in a bowl, whisk ‘em up and as they say “BAM!”, you’ve got yourself a pretty tasty homemade version of ketchup. Now, I will have to revisit this again, I’d like to make a fresh version using fresh tomatoes, garlic and onions and maybe tweak the ratios a bit but this filled the condiment void for last night.
Do you keep your ketchup in the refrigerator? Or are you a room temperature storer?
In the kitchen: Edamame ginger dip
I so wish we could take credit for this recipe, it is so good. While it may look a little like guacamole or…uh…something else I can assure you that it is quite delectable.
It’s quickly become an appetizer staple whenever we make something of Asian influence.
In the Kitchen – Roasted tomato and chipotle salsa roja
This is a personal favorite of mine.
It’s great with some fresh tortilla chips or as a condiment on pretty much any dish that beckons heat.
In the kitchen – Jalapeño Poppers
– Out of the garden and into the kitchen, here is another recipe from TREASURED VALLEY reader Eric Nielsen.
The Jalapeños have been coming in strong and will be for awhile. They are a surprisingly cold hardy plant that will last through a mild frost or two and produce peppers well into October. We have a few recipes for them, but today we’re making poppers.
The first step is to prepare the peppers. No blistering or peeling just cut the stem end off, slice the pepper in half, clean out the seeds and fill with cheese. The cheese filling is 2/3 grated Colby jack mixed with 1/3 cream cheese. No measuring required, just make a little more than you’ll need if you have snackers lingering near by.
In the kitchen – Baba ganoush w/ cucumber relish
Eggplants are definitely in season, and when I’m not thinking eggplant Parmesan, I’m thinkin’ Baba ganoush.
All the veggies (except the pepperoncinis) and herbs used in this dish either came from our garden, a friends garden or the Nampa Farmer’s Market — think and cook local.
This ended up being one of two dishes we took to a locavore dinner out at Morning Owl Farms (can you say AMAZING quiche!) this past Sunday.
Recipe down below.
In the kitchen – Chili Rellenos
– Recipe and pictures come from Treasured Valley reader Eric Nielsen.
Easy Chili Rellenos
I developed this recipe after observing how it’s done in a variety of restaurants. A nice part of my job in Point of Sale equipment is all the kitchens I get to see. I’ll put this recipe up against any in the valley, and it’s so easy I don’t even write it down. Do it once and you’ll never forget.
Step one is to blister the Poblanos. Some people like to fire grill them but gas grills don’t really add any flavor and starting a charcoal or wood fire just isn’t practical for the few minutes it takes. I blister them in the deep fryer.
Click below for the full recipe.
In the kitchen – 10 pepper relish
Surprisingly, this has been a hit of recent.
I originally thought it’d make a great (hot) condiment for a nacho bar at a party we went to, but it kinda morphed into something great to just scoop up with a chip. It does require a significant investment of time, in both gathering of the ingredients and preparation, but worth every bite.
All the peppers I used either came from my garden or Wissel Farm’s down the street — except for the habaneros, they came from Albertson’s.
