HOT PEPPER RELISH TUTORIAL 12/16/2009
 This is how my hot pepper relish looks after I have processed my peppers. The trick to getting good relish is HOW you process the peppers. First, you have to pick nice peppers. No blemishes, or wrinkled skin, and they need to be real clean.  As you can see...I have picked a variety of colors and degrees of sweetness and hot. What you need at the end is 4 cups of processed peppers per batch of relish. These are clean. I have my Grandma's turkey roaster pan holding these. That is lots of peppers. I would say about 10 pounds.  Then I sit down at my work station. First I cut off one end....  ...then I cut off the other end.  Then slice it down the side and open up That is when I cut it in chunks, take out the seeds, and take out the ribs. This is important because it is a more porous part of the pepper and will float to the top (and look ugly). To do a good job on the ribs (and the seeds in some of the peppers) I like to use a melon baller.  The baller has two sizes. I use the big side on the bigger peppers and the small on the small peppers. It just fits better. The round edge of the baller digs a little deeper and gets more of the rib out.  This piece is nice and clean...no white ribs.  Here is the top piece. See what it looks like?  This is what it looks like when you clean it good. No White stuff.  When I get to the hot peppers...I am a wuss...I put on gloves! I cut the stem end off and cut them in half. Then I scoop out the seeds and ribs.  This is not a perfect example...but it is still good. To be efficient I clean the sweet peppers first, put on gloves, cut the hot peppers and then seed them. It just goes faster to use one tool and then the other. Once they are clean...I run them through my old fashioned meat grinder. The kind with a crank handle. I have seen them at Wal Mart. I like this to chop up the peppers...it makes the texture nice. I use a hand grinder for most of my jams and relishes. Once it is ground up I strain it a little.  Then I drain off the juice. I think I started this to keep the sauce of the relish more clear. I put ALL the peppers in a bowl and stir them real well. You need to mix the hot and sweet Peppers so they are evenly distributed. At this point I sometimes measure out 4 cups per batch and store them in plastic bags. Not more than till the next morning...we want them fresh. Then it is made like the recipe on the pectin box. It doesn't set...it just gets thick. This is how I prep my peppah relish! This stuff is great. Or at least I hope you think so. Sweet Potato Pudding 12/09/2009
 This is an old recipe that I think BFF gave me. I just love the crunchy top. So let's get started.  Here is what you need... 4 cups peeled and shredded sweet potatoes 4 beaten eggs 1/3 cup of orange juice 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp salt 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Mix eggs....  with 1/3 cup of orange juice...  and 1/2 cup melted butter. Sometimes I only use 1/4 cup butter....just cause I can.  Mix into the egg mixture, brown sugar and the spices.  Mix in 4 cups of shredded sweet potatoes. Put in greased casserole dish. Put pecans on top. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 1 hour.  Here it is ready for the oven.  Here is the loving spoonful! I like to make this to go with a ham...or at Thanksgiving with turkey. I also like to put crushed pineapple in here instead of the orange juice...same amounts. I would like to encourage you to play with your foods. What is the worst that could happen? You might have to throw it out...or you could start a new tradition. Be brave. Blew it! 12/08/2009
I just posted stuffed mushrooms on my NEWS page...what is up with that? Anyway go check it out. It is a good recipe. CARNITAS 12/01/2009
Tomorrow I am making tamales. This is a typical meal Hispanic women make at Christmas time. They usually make it as a group of woman and make some savory and some sweet. Since this is my first time...I am following the directions on the back of the Masa. Just so you know...you can buy already prepared masa. One step cut out. I just thought for this time I would make it myself. Yesterday I cooked a pork shoulder roast and forgot to take pictures...It is my BIL carnitas recipe....TWEEKED a little. Here it is anyway.....tomorrow is tamales...yummy! CARNITAS ONE PORK SHOULDER ROAST 2-3 POUNDS ( A BIGGER ROAST WILL TAKE A LITTLE LONGER) 1 LARGE ONION CUT IN 1/8ths 4 CLOVES OF GARLIC ,PEELED 1 BIG HANDFUL OF CUMIN 2 JALEPENOS SLICED 1 BUNCH OF CILANTRO CHOPPED, JUST LEAVES ENOUGH WATER TO ALMOST COVER MEAT BAKE UNCOVERED IN 375 DEGREE OVEN FOR 2-3 HOURS. MEAT MUST BE FALLING OFF OF BONE. COOL. PICK FAT AND BONES OUT OF MEAT. SHRED. RESERVE COOKING BROTH. I USUALLY STRAIN OUT VEGGIES. PUT MEAT AND SOME BROTH BACK IN PAN AND COOK TILL BROWN. CAN BE FROZEN AT THIS POINT FOR FUTURE MEALS. THIS MIXTURE IS GOOD IN BURRITOS, TACOS, AND TAMALES. IT IS NICE TO HAVE ON HAND FOR QUICK MEALS SO PICK A BIG ROAST. CREAMED CORN CASSEROLE 11/28/2009
 1 CAN CREAMED CORN 1/2 CUP CHEDDAR CHEESE 2 EGGS 1/2 CUP EVAPORATED MILK 2 TAB BUTTER MELTED 1/4 CUP CRACKER CRUMBS 3 TAB PIMENTO SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE  BEAT EGGS. ADD CREAMED CORN, CHEESE, EVAPORATED MILK, PIMENTO, SALT AND PEPPER.  STIR TOGETHER AND POUR INTO AN 8"x8" PAN, COATED IN COOKING SPRAY.   NOW IS WHEN I COVERED THIS AND PUT IT IN THE FRIDGE TILL THE NEXT DAY. IF YOU WANT TO COOK RIGHT AWAY, HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES. TAKE CRACKERS AND BUTTER, MIX AND PUT ON TOP OF CORN MIXTURE. BAKE FOR 35 MINUTES. THIS RECIPE IS EASY TO DOUBLE. I WOULD BAKE IN A REGULAR CAKE PAN SO YOU GET MORE CRISPY EDGES. ZUCCHINI SOUP 11/27/2009
 Here is 2 pounds of zucchini that I washed and cut both the ends off.  Then I whacked them into about 1 inch chunks....  ...and dumped them into a Dutch oven/pot.  Now I add enough homemade broth to almost cover the chopped zucchini.  Then I cook for about 10 minutes...until the zucchini becomes tender.  Once the zucchini is tender I put half of it in a blender with the broth.  Put the lid on and cover with a hot-pot-holder and blend on high till smooth. Return to pot.  Peel and chop up a raw medium onion and put into blender with the rest of the zucchini and broth. Blend till smooth. Return to pot.   That is when you add the cream. This recipe calls for a pint. Add salt and pepper to taste.  See how pale and delicate this looks. Heat till warm. Do not boil. It could make it curdle.  Here is some in a bowl. I think it needs something crunchy.  So I like to put croûtons on top. Now, if you would like to do a fat free soup...take cauliflower and some broth...cook it up like you did the zucchini and add it to the zucchini/broth mixture. It makes it creamy. You can also cook up some bacon crispy and put it on for garnish for added flavor. I think you could also treat it like French onion soup and put some crusty bread and cheese on top and broil it till cheese is melted. Zucchini Soup 2 pounds zucchini 2 cans of chicken broth or equivalent 1 medium onion, peeled and cut in 1/8th's 1 pint of cream salt and pepper to taste Clean zucchini and cut into 1 inch chunks. Put in pot with broth. Cook till tender. Blend till smooth. Return to pot. Add cream and heat slowly. Serve with croutons. BROTH 11/10/2009
 Here is the beginnings of broth. I put this pan of "discards" in the oven for about 3 hours to slow roast. Brown food tastes good is what I hear...so I put these in the oven till it got brown. Then I put it in a pot with water and simmered it for another couple hours. Then I strain out all the chunks so it is just broth. Now would be when to make gravy or to add to soup. You can also put it in ice cube trays...freeze...pop out of the trays and put in zip lock baggies to store. That way when you want a little broth to flavor something you can pull out just what you need. Now this is time consuming...but not hard. I did it when I was making ribs which takes a while in the oven. Two birds...one stone. These scraps are from my freezer.  You can see it has asparagus ends, onion skins, and celery. There were even a few ends of jalapeños. I also put in a whole onion cut in small sections and garlic bulbs cut in half. For added flavor I put in a smoked turkey wing. If you are a vegetarian...leave it out. It is not a specific recipe...but it is way better than other broths and way cheaper. It is made from stuff you might have other wise thrown away. If that grosses you out...take a couple of large onions, chopped, peeled or not, 2 heads of garlic, cut in half, chopped carrots, 2 stalks of celery, and use that instead. You want to chop them up cause the more surface area of the veggies, the more area to brown which gives more flavor, which is what we want. SQUASH 11/09/2009
 This is a contractors wheel barrow. Not a small one either! Also...it is packed with pumpkin and squash.  These are the squash that didn't fit in the cart...the little one weighed 14 pounds. Now these weren't all the squash I grew..it is just what is left over. Since I am still learning and sometimes forgetful, I don't have all the pictures I would like to have to illustrate what I did...but I think we can get the idea anyway.  You can see that I whacked off the ends of this squash...which was no easy feat. The mallet was there to smack the knife.  Once I got it cut in half I scraped out the seeds and strings. First with my hands and then with a big serving spoon. Take your time and do a good job.  As you can see...I cut the squash into slices and put them in a big cake pan. I then put them in a 325 degree oven and baked for 3 hours. You want the squash to be fork tender. That is when you let them cool so you can handle them. I then take that serving spoon and scrape out the flesh. This is easy to do because it is so soft. I put my rinds in my compost heap. Now is where the photos are lacking. I took the flesh and put it in my food processor till it was smooth. THEN I put it in my food mill to make sure there were no strings or bits of rind left in it. That is when I put it into a stock pot with some broth I made to thin it out. I also put a little cream in it to give it that extra smoothness. Tomorrow I will show about the broth cause that is where the seasonings came from (mostly). Hope you like it! Compound Butters 11/04/2009
Today I want to talk about compound butter. What it is is softened butter with other herbs and or spices mixed in. You can use them for special breads or to put on meat like chicken or fish and then bake them. I even put it on my veggies, like asparagus, broccoli, or brussel sprouts. BFF and I went to San Diego recently and had some with our bread basket at dinner. It was so yummy! Especially the basil butter.  Here are the ingredients: 4 Tab. of butter 1 Tab. of Poultry Grill and Broil 3-4 Tab. of Parmesan cheese 2 chicken breasts Cooking spray  Take the seasoning and pour it on top of the butter.  Take the herbs and smash them into the butter with a fork.  I grated up some Peccorino Romano cheese to add in too...just cause I had some. The tool there is a micro plane. It shreds up hard cheese to light and fluffy, easily meltable yumminess. You can also use it on lemons to zest them...which would be good in here too. I just didn't have any at this time.  After you spray the pan with some non-stick spray, put the meat (I did chicken this time) on the rack. I then picked up the skin and put the compound butter under it and replaced the skin. After which, I spread it on the skin too so it would crisp up while I baked it. 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. Use a meat thermometer to check for sure.  Here is the crispy yumminess fresh out of the oven. Like all meat...let it rest for a few minutes to get the juices to redistribute back into the meat. What I want to do is to spark your imaginations to try this with whatever you have. Like...a big handful of fresh basil with a stick butter. Use a food processor or blender to mix it thoroughly. Put the compound butter on a big piece of plastic wrap, fold it in half and roll it back and forth till it looks like a log. Twist both ends of wrap to condense it and put it in the freezer. Then open up the wrap and cut off slices to use on whatever you are cooking. You can keep several types of compound butter to mix and match on meat or veggies. Try it! You'll like it! Worms 10/30/2009
Today I want to talk about worms. They really are a wonderful source of readily accessible nitrogen for plants. The worms eat leftovers and turn them into nitrogen...I just love that.  Here is my worm bin. I keep it in my garage. Right under that yellow dot is a spigot. That is for draining the 'worm tea' off so it can be used for fertilizer. It is all the fluids created by the fresh scraps you feed the worms. I have coconut coir in here for bedding for the worms. I comes in a brick which you soak in water so it breaks apart easily. Then you drain off the excess. Worms eat scraps. No meat, fish, grease, or meat by-products like pet food. If you chop the feed into small pieces the worms can eat it faster. They like egg shells and coffee grounds..egg shells help with the ph balance in your bin.  As you can see here, there is a shoot coming out of the newspaper. On closer examination, I found out it can from a potato peel. NOT from an eye, from the peel. So I would guess that the growing medium must be pretty good to get a shoot out of a thin piece of peel.  It amazes me how nature can take a little bit of skin and make a plant under the right conditions. It is the best fertilizer...it is made from scraps, and your plants can eat it right away. Plus...it is definitely organic...good for OUR Mother..Mother earth. I just love her! |