Dehydrated Citrus Ideas and a Menu Plan

I love citrus fruit. Oranges, clementines, limes, lemons, grapefruit - I love it all! And the best thing about winter time is that citrus is in season. Since it keeps fairly well for a fruit, I tend to load up when a good sale hits. A few times this year I bought a 4 pound bad of oranges for $1.49 (maybe even a few cents less). A couple bags of oranges, a bag of limes (from Sam's), and a box or two of clementines, as good as they are, don't get eaten in lightening fast speed. So I decided to do some preserving.

The first thing I tried to make was a citrus marmalade. I follow the recipe exactly, and it turned out incredibly bitter. Bummer. Maybe next year I'll try a different method - we'll see.

I then went to my dehydrator, but if you don't have one you could easily use your oven to dehydrate citrus. I dehydrated limes and oranges. To do this I cut them thinly into rounds - about 1/8 inch or less in thickness. They took about 16 hours to dehydrate to the dry, brittle place I wanted them to be. The limes did turn dark - not sure what's up with that. They taste fine, however!

So what do you do with dehydrated citrus? Well, that's a great question! So far I've ground up the oranges and added the powder to a simple Chinese stirfry and made orange beef. That was pretty awesome. Tonight I made a rub with the limes and some other seasonings and used it as a fajita seasoning packet.

Fajita Seasoning Mix (note these amounts are approximate to what I made)

4 slices dehydrated limes, ground in a coffee grinder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4-1 tsp cayenne powder (just depends on how spicy you like it!)

Cut meat (I used beef) into strips. Toss with seasoning mix (the above recipe will make enough for about 2 pounds of meat). Allow to sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

Saute your onions and peppers in a canola oil. Remove from the pan when softened. To the pan add extra canola oil (like 1 tablespoon) and then saute your meat over high heat. Add back the onions and peppers. Serve with the toppings of your choice on a small flour tortilla. I like pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.

This weeks menu plan:

Monday: Beef Fajitas, Zesty Black Beans, Chips and Pico De Gallo
Tuesday: Harvest Pork Stew and Salad
Wednesday: Chicken and Olive Bake and Salad
Thursday: Chicken, Mushroom, and Brown Rice Soup
Friday: Shepherds Pie and Salad

Versatile Homemade Granola

Granola. The very word alone brings to mind Birkenstock footwear and hemp necklaces. Or maybe for you, it is hiking boots and a forest trail. Whatever conjures in your mind at the sound of this word, it probably has something to do with nature or being natural.

And, in essence, granola is very unrefined. What is it? Some whole grains, a sweetener and maybe some dried fruit or perhaps even some nuts all mixed together. There are recipes for stove top granola and oven baked granola. I bet there is even a recipe for a crock pot granola! Maybe a dehydrator recipe? Yep, I can see it happening. I've tried both stove top and oven recipes and I by far prefer the oven recipe so that's what I'm going to share with you here.

But the nice thing about granola is that it can easily be personalized. You can add what you like. Some people dig raisins and others dried cranberries. How about dried apricots, bananas, currants or cherries? Some people like almonds or sunflower seeds but why not pumpkin seeds? Or coconut? I like to use honey as the sweetener but brown sugar could also be used - maybe even maple syrup (now I've got another idea....)

So switch it up - here's a basic starter recipe - make it your own by filling in the gaps:

Basic Granola

3-4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped nuts (you pick)
1 cup dried fruit (you pick)
1/2 cup sweetener (honey is great, or brown sugar)
1/2 cup butter (some recipes even use canola oil)
1-3 tsp flavor additive (think vanilla extract, lemon extract, almond extract or even a citrus zested plus some of the juice!)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine oats, nuts and fruit. On a stove top (or even in a microwave!), heat butter and sweetener together until butter is melted and it is well combined. Take off the heat and stir in the "flavor additive." Pour the butter mixture over the oat mixture and stir until all is equally wet. Spread out wet granola on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 - 10 minutes. Take out and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container in the pantry.

So with this recipe, I made lemon cranberry granola with sunflower seeds and almonds. But before I've made vanilla coconut date granola. And before that I made raisin cinnamon granola. The possibilities are really endless! Make what your family likes and enjoy it.

Embracing Your Inner Granola

The title of this post is what I did yesterday. Now, it may have something to do with Mike fixing the breaks on the van. Which he did a great job on, by the way, even despite running into a few problems (which we think caused them to need to be fixed....). Anyway, Mike was running around town most of the day looking for bolts and parts and what not and I was home with the kids - without a vehicle.

First, thing that happened is I realized we were totally out of bread for sandwiches. Thankfully, I noticed this early on and had time to make bread. Of course, I was nearly out of all my whole wheat and bread flours but I did find some rye flour in the pantry. So I made rye bread, or made up my own recipe for it, since I figured I also use up the white whole wheat and the bread flours too. Abby helped and she has informed me that it is the best bread. Frankly, I think she's a little biased and she also liked the idea of of the cocoa powder we added to give it a darker color.

Then, I realized we were pretty much out of snacks. Are you sensing a theme here? So I decided to make some granola. Why? Cause it is cheap, easy, and the kids like it on yogurt. I'll get to the yogurt part soon enough. So I made some cranberry lemon flavored granola.

Now, having been inspired by several blog posts on making homemade ricotta cheese, I had picked up a gallon of full fat milk (we usually drink one percent here) last week during my weekly shopping trip. Yesterday was the "best by" date so I figured I better use it up. But what I didn't realize is that I didn't really need a full gallon of milk to make the ricotta so I also decided to make yogurt in the crockpot. Also something I hadn't done before.

Making the ricotta cheese was so fun!!! And easy! Here's what I did:

1/2 gallon (8 cups) full fat milk
1/3 cup of white distilled vinegar
1 tsp of kosher salt (I might even add more if I knew the ricotta was bound for a savory dish)

Heat the milk on the stove top in a non-reactive pot. Heat to about 180 degrees over medium heat. If you don't have a thermometer then heat it just to the point where it starts to simmer. From what I've read though, anywhere from 165 to 185 degrees is just fine. You may want to stir as it is heating if you don't have solidly built pans as you do not want the milk to scorch! Turn off the heat, gently stir in the vinegar. Stir for about a minute. You'll see curds start to form right away. Use a slotted spoon or I have a small enough wire mesh colander that I simply used that to scoop the curds out of the whey. Have a colander lined with paper towels over another bowl, and place the curds on the paper towels to drain. Oila! Ricotta cheese! It tastes whey, I mean way, better than the stuff from the store. Refrigerate and use in the next 7 days. Save the whey, there are lots of uses for that nutritional liquid (including using it like buttermilk in recipes!).

So, after making the cheese, I still had another half gallon of milk so I started making yogurt. I have no fancy yogurt machine and frankly, bacteria, for the most part scare me. But after reading this blog post, I decided I had to give it a try. It was very simple. I let it drain again in paper towel line colander in the fridge (so I have more whey!) and gave some to the kids today for a snack. I served it with homemade strawberry/rhubarb jam, topped with homemade granola. I'm feeling my "inner granola" big time. :)

Venison Empandas

For this year's Wild Game Feast, I made some venison empanadas. If you are looking for some game day food, then I would suggest these. In fact, I think you can make almost anything into an empanada and come out with some yummy food - isn't everything better when wrapped in pie dough?

The original recipe came from this site here. I made it as directed the first time but felt some changes were needed - just my preference - feel free to work off of my variation of this recipe too. Cooking is all about what YOU like to eat.

One recipe for pie dough (two 9 inch pie circles worth). I used this recipe here and really liked it for this dish. One, because it was super easy. Two, because of the protein from the egg, it had a stronger structure to the dough - good for when you need to fold the dough in half. It is not so fun to have your pie dough cracking! Of course, you can always buy refrigerated pie dough at your local grocery store and it will certainly save you time (but it will increase the over all cost of the dish). *Note that the above linked recipe will give you enough for one and a half need for the filling recipe (or just make a cream pie to go along with the meal) ;)

Venison Filling :

1 lb ground vension
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
1 Tablespoon paprika (I actually got a "Spanish" one from the bulk section of Hy-Vee super cheap)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup Spanish olives, chopped (you know, the green ones stuffed with pimentos?)
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (I actually think it is okay if you omit this - try it and see)
Salt and pepper to taste


In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium/high heat. Add the venison and brown well. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened. Add the chili powder and garlic powder cook to start waking up their flavors (about a minute). Add the olives, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes on low/medium heat.

Roll out your pie dough to a usual pie dough thickness. For the WGF, I cut 3 1/2 inch circles. Why? Because I had some tubberware that size - lol. Most recipes call for 5 inch circles, a little too big for sample size BUT the bigger you make them the faster the process will go. Now, for the smaller size that I made I suggest filling them like this (listen up because it took me some trial and error). Hold the pie dough round in your hand, slightly cup it so it looks like a "taco." Scoop in your filling - about a tablespoon's worth, then starting at one end, start pressing the edge together. If the filling starts coming out a little, just use a finger to press it back in and maybe adjust your filling amount for the next empanada.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Now, some prepping tips, you can make the pie dough in advance. You can make the filling at least a day in advance. In fact, I found it easier to use cooled filling - no melting of the pie dough! You can assemble the empandas a day in advance and then store covered in the refrigerator. Bake as previously noted. AND I haven't tried it but I do think you can make and then freeze these. I think allowing to thaw in a single layer in the fridge and then reheated in a 350 degree oven would be your best bet.

Enjoy!

Microwave Popcorn - Why did no one tell me?

No, this isn't a rant about the ills of microwave popcorn. This post is meant to inform you and to help you save some money and time. Now, get this:

I'm reading in a cookbook (Mark Bittman's Food Matters, actually) and I see a recipe for popcorn. Who needs a recipe for that? We usually make it on the stovetop and an indeed that's what Bittman recommends but he says you can also make it in the microwave. Oh really?

So I did what he suggested:

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 brown paper (or whatever color you got) lunch bag
Melted butter
Seasonings

Take the popcorn and salt and put them in the opened bag. Fold the top down several times (like an inch each time). Place in microwave, let it go for 2 to 3 minutes (listen for the popping to slow to an almost stop just like you always do when making popcorn). Take out, open being careful of the steam! Pour into a bowl and toss with butter (if you like) and seasonings of your choice. We usually go for just salt but we tried Old Bay seasoning and that was a hit.

Easy peasey lemon squeezey - as my daughter would say.

A Chicken Lasagna

Yes, I made a chicken lasagna and here's warning - if you don't do "scratch" cooking then this one is not for you. :)

I've been working on clearing out some of the recesses of our freezers (yes, plural), because soon we'll be gifted with some organic, grass-fed beef from my parents. Yay! In the upstairs freezer, I found a well wrapped package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Late summer I bought a big package of chicken thighs and "processed" them myself. I'm not sure I saved too much money but I felt like I did.

So, what to do with these chicken thighs? I decided to make Italian sausage with them and then to put the sausage into a lasagna. Here's how I did it. I ground them with my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment (works great!). You could probably also pulse them in a food processor. I would not recommend a blender.

To the ground chicken (roughly 1 1/3 pounds), I added:

1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp crushed red pepper (I made my own this year!) - you can use more if you like it spicier.
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp of brown sugar (I like the bit of sweetness it added along with the browner color it gave the browned chicken)

Then, I browned the chicken sausage up real well. Added some basil garlic tomato sauce (canned from this year's garden) - I'd say use your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce. Simmer for at least 10 minutes. This was the red sauce for the lasagna. Now, I didn't have any ricotta so I decided to make a Mornay (a bechamel sauce with cheese) sauce. Here's how I did that:

2 tablespoons butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
roughly 2 1/2 cups milk
2 slices provolone cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, stir in the garlic and onion powders. Add the flour and cook for couple of minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, adjust how much milk you use according to how thick or thin you want your sauce. Stir in the cheeses - season with salt and pepper to your tastes.

Now, assemble your lasagna! I really like those no bake Barilla lasagna sheets. I used six of them (about half a package). In an 9x9 pan, put a dollop of red sauce on the bottom, then two lasagna sheets, then a third of the red sauce, 1 third of the Mornay sauce, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Repeat. Save just enough red sauce and white sauce to keep the top of the last sheets, well covered. The pile on the mozzarella and add a little grated Romano too.

Bake in a 375 degree oven, covered tightly with aluminum foil for 45 minutes. Uncover, and let cook another 10 minutes to give the top a little color. Allow to cool down for about 10 minutes, cut and serve! This is a great sized lasagna for our family and the kids all loved it!

This one is truly from scratch. My husband says I spoil him and I guess I probably do! Please give making your own bulk sausage a try - it is so easy, you probably have many of the spices already on hand and you'll avoid the addition of many additives (i.e. msg). Google what ever sausage you want to make along with the terms "spice" and "recipes" and you'll be well on you way.

Cheese & Herb Biscuits

I love going to Red Lobster. We don't often go though. And I'm not really a HUGE seafood fan, although I do like it. But I do love those Cheddar Bay Biscuits. They do rock, don't they? And every once in a while I get a hankering to have some at home. This is my latest attempt. They probably are not as good as Red Lobster but a whole lot cheaper!

Here is my inspiration recipe. I took this and ran with it.

Cheese & Herb Biscuits

2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
1 Tbl chopped chives
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk
1 Tbl red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and the seasonings. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Throw the flour-butter mixture into a bowl and toss in cheese and chives. Stir in milk and vinegar until all is just moistened.

Knead the dough on a well floured surface for about a minute. Pat out until about an inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch round, or do as I do and use a kid's cup. Makes about 10 biscuits.

Coconut Ice Cream

I've been having lots of fun dreaming up ice cream flavors to make in our new ice cream maker (recently purchased off of Craigslist). While eating a sundae of caramel ice cream topped with Girl Scout Caramel deLites, I decided that a coconut ice cream was the way to go. I looked on-line to find recipes but didn't find one that suited my pantry list. So, I decided to make up my own (boy, am I brave!) coconut ice cream recipe. Let me tell you, it was da bomb! Yea baby! I highly recommend using that chocolate magic shell topping - it would be like eating a frozen Mounds ice cream bar...mmmmmm.

Coconut Ice Cream

1 can coconut milk
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir these ingredients together and pour into your ice cream maker (per manufactur's instructions).

Toast 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes (you must toast them, it really brings out the nutty sweet flavor of them). Add to the ice cream mixture 10 minutes after it has begun.

When the ice cream maker is finished, spoon the ice cream into an air tight container and store in the freezer. It is good to let this set-up a little more, so try to give it at least 4 hours in the freezer before you dig in. Enjoy!

Tartar Sauce

Here is my tartar sauce recipe.

Tartar Sauce
1/3 cup mayo
1 Tablespoon dill relish (heaping)
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 dash of cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix well. Can be stored in the fridge for a week (or more but shhhh, don't tell anyone).

Feta Apple Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This one is a winner! Even if you think you only like iceberg salads with ranch, you will enjoy this salad. I promise ;)

Poppy Seed Dressing (from Comfort and Joy Goose Berry Patch Cookbook)

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. vinegar

1 t. salt

4 T. poppy seeds

1 T. dry mustard

1 T. onion, grated

1 c. oil (I used Canola)

Blend all ingredients and refrigerate. Shake well before using. Makes 2 cups.

Dice up half an apple (any type will work). Sprinkle feta cheese on a bed of baby spinach. Add the apple. Drizzle on the poppy seed dressing and enjoy!

Our Daily Bread Recipe

Yesterday, I made some bread. I bake bread about once a week - that equals two loaves of bread per week for our family of 5. I'm sure you've all been annoyed at the price of bread in the stores. I was! So much so that I've taken to making our own. Not a foreign idea to me since homemade bread was all I grew up with but still it was a change from what we had been doing - buying 2 loaves of bread for about 5 dollars at most stores- which is a very good price for the brand of bread we bought! A friend stopped by while I was kneading away and I told her I figured it cost me about 80 cents to bake the two loaves. Today, stricken with the possibility of having misrepresented the cost, I decided to figure out how much it indeed did cost in the way of materials (I did not figure in the cost of running the oven at 350 for 30 minutes) to be sure I was honest.

My Bread Recipe (adapted from many recipes)

1/4 cup Warm Water (~115 degrees F) - Free
1/2 teaspoon Sugar - I'm calling this one a gimme - Free
1 Tbl instant yeast - 6 cents (I buy yeast in 2 lb packages at Sam's - very cheap)
1 cup whole wheat flour - 16 cents
1/2 oatmeal - 5 cents
1/2 wheat germ - 4 cents (I buy it in the bulk bins - WAY cheaper)
2 cups warm water - Free
1/3 cup brown sugar - 9 cents
1/3 cup canola oil - 15 cents
3-4 cups all purpose flour - 30-40 cents (cheaper if I can get it less than 1.88 a 5 lb package)

Proof the yeast by mixing together the water, sugar and yeast in a bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to sit for 5 mintues. Dump in the whole wheat flour, wheat germ, oatmeal, 2 cups warm water, brown sugar, and oil and stir together using a dough hook on your mixer. Add all purpose flour 1 cup at a time until a loose ball forms. On a well floured surface, dump out the dough. Knead, adding extra flour, until just slightly sticky. Usually about 5 mintues. Divide dough in two pieces and shape into loaf looking pieces. Place in small loaf pans that have been prepared by spraying or brushing the sides with olive oil. Cover with a damp towel and allow to raise in a warm spot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The upper dough should be higher than the rim of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Now, if you use regular active dry yeast, then you have to add another step and let rise in an oiled bowl for an hour, then push down and divide and place into bread pans and allow to raise again. The instant yeast allows you to skip this step so I highly recommend it!

So the grand total? 87-97 cents for two loaves. So my rough estimate wasn't too far off. That's a saving of over 4 dollars every week. Take that times 52 weeks and you get 208 dollars a year. Now, one can always buy cheaper bread. But I would argue that my bread is probably healthier due mainly to the fact there is no high fructose corn syrup in it. Now, lately I've been adding a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten which has slightly improved the texture of the bread but it is not necessary. In case you are wondering though, I buy it at Walmart for 1.79 a box and I figure I get about 17 tablespoons out of it. It does add another 11 cents to the bill but again, still a huge savings in the long run.

Whole Wheat Bagel Recipe - First Attempt

I decided that it was time to make my own bagels. I can get these yummy whipped cream cheeses at Aldi at a great price so I wanted some whole wheat bagels to go with them. I tried the bagels from Aldi and I did NOT like them. So off to the internet to find a recipe. I found this one from RecipeSource.com and decided to give it a whirl. In addition, I added 1/2 cup wheat bran. I thought that would make them all over healthier without making them them too "grainy."

Whole Wheat Bagels

       2 pk Dry yeast
     2 c  Warm water (105-115 degrees)
     2 tb Honey
     2 c  Whole wheat flour
 1 1/2 ts Salt
     3 c  All-purpose flour, divided
 3 1/2 qt Water
     1 ts Salt
          Sesame seeds

 Recipe by: Southern Living
 Preparation Time: 0:45
 Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5
 minutes.  Add honey, stirring well.  Stir in 2 cups whole
 wheat flour and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; mix well.  Gradually
 stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Turn
 dough out onto a heavily floured surface (dough will be
 sticky), and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10
 minutes). Place dough in a well-greased bowl, turning to
 grease top. Cover dough, and let rise in a warm place (85
 degrees), free from drafts, 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in
 bulk.

 Punch dough down, and divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
 Roll each into a smooth ball.  Cut with 1-inch cutter or
 punch a hole in the center of each ball with a floured
 finger.  Gently pull dough away from center to make a 1- to
 1-1/2-inch hole.  Place shaped bagels on lightly greased
 baking sheets.  Cover and let rise 15 minutes.  Broil
 bagels 5 inches from heat 2 minutes on each side or until
 lightly browned. Bring water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil
 in a large Dutch oven.  Reduce heat, and simmer bagels 3
 minutes on each side. Place bagels on lightly greased
 baking sheets.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds; lightly press
 seeds into bagels.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25
 minutes or until golden brown.  Yield:  1 dozen.

Here you can see them ready to be formed into the classic "bagel" shape. To do this gently poke a finger through the middle and then add another finger and gently widen the whole until it is about 1-2 inches across.


Then there is one extra step between bagels and a regular bread recipe and that is the boiling. I was totally stoked to have a reason to use one of the newest tools in my kitchen - the spider. The spider is a Chinese tool that is usually used when frying in a wok. But it works incredibly well for any kind of deep frying or in this case "boiling" because it strains as you take it out of the hot liquid. Because the main part of it is made from metal but the handel is made from wood (or in the case of mine, bamboo), then you don't need to worry about anything melting or any heat being transfered up the handel.

The bagels looked pretty cool boiling away. I did 2 minutes on one side, then flipped them and did another two on the other.

And here was the final result. I liked them. My husband said they were a little too heavy for his taste but aren't bagels supposed to be "heavy"? The inside was chewy and the outside had that hard bite to it. Something to sink your teeth into - what's the word I'm looking for?.... I will make these again but I do think that I will mess with the recipe a little, maybe omitting the wheat bran I added...

Tasty Mounds Candy

Cheaper By The (Half) Dozen has requested Tasty Recipes this Tuesday so I thought I'd share this one. My wonderful husband claims I could sell these for two dollars a piece. Lucrative business opportunity? Maybe?

MOUNDS CANDY

2 lbs. powdered sugar
1/2 lb. butter
1 can Eagle Brand milk
14 oz. coconut

Mix together and make into small balls; set in freezer.

2 (12 oz.) and 1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips (I used chocolate almond bark)

Dip coconut balls into melted chocolate. This recipe makes a lot but they are delicious.

I quartered the recipe and got twenty-five. They were good sized too. Sorry I don't have a photo!

Hot Sauce!

I love it when the garden and the kitchen collide. And this is the season when there is one collision after another. I've made pickles, salsa, tomato juice, peach butter and so on. Now I have three hot pepper plants loaded with peppers. So what's a girl to do? I was planning on pickling them (and I still may do that) but after watching Rick Bayless's "Mexico One Plate At A Time" I decided to make some hot sauce. I followed the recipe exactly as listed on his Frontera Kitchen website and have included it here. I guess the only difference is that I used a different hot pepper entitled "Little Boy" pepper (I've come to realize the joke intended by my darling husband's grandfather).

Habanero Hot Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

---

Ingredients

5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
½ cup peeled, roughly chopped carrot (you’ll need 1 medium carrot)
½ cup roughly chopped white onion (you’ll need about half of a small onion)
12 medium (about 5 ounces) orange habanero chiles, stemmed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
About 2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon sugar

---

Directions

Roast the garlic in a skillet over medium heat, turning regularly until soft and blackened in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and peel. In a small saucepan, combine the carrot, onion and habanero chiles with the vinegar and 1 cup water. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are thoroughly tender, about 10 minutes. Pour into a blender jar, add the roasted garlic, salt and sugar. Blend until smooth. Thin with a little additional water if you think your hot sauce is too thick. Taste and season with additional salt if you think necessary. Pour into jars or bottles and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to add some dazzle to a dish.

Here is the lovely results and it is quite tasty. If you like that super hot punch-in-the-mouth type of flavor (which I do!).



As you can see, I did not purchase this bottle especially for this little project. I've been saving olive oil bottles, soy sauce bottles... you know the little bottles with the plastic regulator on top for items just as this. It is recycling at it's best in my book!

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

I LOVE Mexican food. Literally, I could eat it every day and never get tired of it. I'm a lot like Rick Bayless in that manner I would suppose. I mean, we are both as "gringo" as can be when it comes to our physical appearance and probably our heritage. But we both have fallen in love with the culture and cuisine that is all Mexican. Thus, with the rising cost of whole wheat tortillas (bought not for their authenticity but for their health benefits) I thought I would give my hand at trying to make some at home.

Here is the recipe I went off of to get an idea of what to do. Then, I futzed and came up with my own variation.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup boiling hot water

Mix together flours and salt. Add oil and mix until the oil is equally mixed throughout the flour. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the hot water. Mix together until a soft dough is formed. If dough is sticky then add a little flour until it is not. Likewise, if dough is too dry and will not pull together, add water teaspoons at a time until the right consistency is reached.

Roll into small balls. This picture is after they have rested for an hour covered.


Roll into tortillas between two sheets of parchment paper.


Or instead of rolling them out, purchase a Tortilla Press and use that. I thought I would be brilliant and use my cast iron skillet to press out the tortillas (very Alton Brown, I would say).



Well, if I had wanted my tortillas to be a 1/4 inch thick than that would have been a great solution. I did use the cast iron skillet to start out my flat disk and then I used a rolling pin to do the rest of the work. So, the result was not perfect round tortillas but maybe that will come with practice. Oh, and at first I tried to use wax paper and found out that it does not hold up very long and it is best to use parchment paper. Then you need to cook the tortillas. Everywhere I have read it seems you need to have one skillet at medium-high and another at high heat. So that's what I did. The pressed tortilla goes first onto the medium-high skillet for about 30 seconds and then onto the high heat to finish cooking.



Store these in an air tight container. I happen to be keeping mine in the fridge. You do need to warm them up to make them pliable again but hey, you need to do that with the store bought ones too! The kids loved them slathered with butter, cinnamon and sugar then rolled into little cigars. They made a good snack! All in all, I would say they were a success. However, I think they would be even better made with lard. I am going to get some masa mix at Aldi's and try that next time to make fresh corn tortillas. I'll report back with the findings.