mild bam! sauce

Would you like something like Tabasco sauce made with fresh green chiles, but even more flavorful?

If you don’t like a RAW onion and garlic flavor, this is the hot sauce for you!

• as many hot chilis as you want – jalapenos, tabascos, habaneros, just depends what you like – the original recipe called for 20 tabascos, which are teeny-tiny and mild, so make sure to use way less than 20 if using anything hotter than a jalapeno. I probably used about 5 jalapenos and 3 serranos, and it came out quite mild, so adjust to your liking.
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
• 3/4 teaspoons salt salt to taste (1/2t or less for my tastes, more if you plan to store it long-term)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups water (note: this will create a very watery hot sauce, so maybe start with a cup and add more if necessary)
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
  
  Combine the peppers, garlic, onions, salt and oil in a nonreactive saucepan over high heat. Saute for 3 minutes. Add the water and continue to cook, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep until mixture comes to room temperature. In a food processor, puree the mixture for 15 seconds, or until smooth. With the food processor running, pour the vinegar through the feed tube in a steady stream. Pour into a sterilized pint jar or bottle and secure with an airtight lid. Refrigerate. Let age at least two weeks before using. Can be stored in the refrigerator up to 6 months.

recipe adapted by friedsig, original recipe by Emeril

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I have posted hot sauce recipes before. My favorite hot sauce had always been a “throw whatever you have in the house” pick-and-mix. I’d throw in anything from leftover roasted carrots or butternut squash, to fruit (can’t beat fresh peaches), to sweet peppers. The past few years, I’ve been doing a simple pineapple hot sauce – just raw garlic and/or onion, a can of pineapple (in juice, not syrup – just a personal preference,) and a fistful of peppers. Sometimes I give it a “jerk seasoning” kick with some allspice and thyme. It doesn’t go with everything, but it’s perfect alongside some pastelles, callaloo, or soup joumou!

Although I’m addicted to sweet hot sauce, this stuff really surprised me. It’s not super complex, so it compliments a wider variety of foods. It’s surprisingly basic – just what you’d expect from a Cajun-style hot sauce – but a thousand times more delicious than Crystal and the other bottled hot sauces in Cajun country. Definitely my new go-to all-purpose hot sauce! I’ve made two batches in the past month…

This is the very first Emeril recipe ever posted here… a weird “first”. Bam? Well, it’s an obnoxious name, but I wanted to make sure not to confuse this simmered hot sauce with the everyday blended raw hot sauce. Benefits to cooking it include a longer shelf life (six months!), a more mild flavor (if that’s a benefit for you…), and also a smoother blended hot sauce if you have a cheap blender (I do!) that hates chopping raw garlic, haha. It’s a very Emeril recipe – a bit neutered if you’re used to the fiery heat of la jiao jiang (hot pepper oil), but surprisingly good for how easy it is.

Also, a FANTASTIC way to use your freezer full of frozen garden chilis from last August!

Batches #1 and #2 are really good. This recipe is also infinitely adaptable. Add sweet peppers to the mix, caramelized onions or roasted garlic, or even leftover roasted carrots! Let me know if you alter this in any way! A perfect first hot sauce if you’ve never tried to make it yourself before!

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persian chopped salad

Shirazi salad, also known as Persian chopped salad, is an amazing bright, fresh, and summery vegan treat. It doesn’t get much healthier than this raw crunchy salad.

The only necessary ingredients here are a veggie or two, lemon or lime juice, and something herby. It’s too early in the season here for fresh garden herbs, but dry mint was great in this!

Chop any combination of the following:
raw fresh cucumbers
raw fresh tomatoes
raw onion
raw garlic
fresh hot chili pepper
fresh herbs like mint, parsley, or cilantro

Add chickpeas if you like. (I do!)

Dress with lemon or lime juice, and any combination of salt and pepper, dry or fresh mint, dry or fresh dill, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

(If you’re leaving out the fresh herbs, make sure to add extra citrus, and some dried herbs like dill-and-garlic seasoning or capitol hill blend!

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recipe adapted from a variety of sources, including Persian mama and Cleveland clinic.

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Similar to a fattoush or “Israeli salad” – this infinitely adaptable salad goes with everything. I highly recommend the chickpeas. Chickpeas add an interesting texture, and lots of protein and fiber!

If you like spicy, Sichuan cucumber salad is your best bet. But what if you want something clean and fresh, not doused in spicy oil? The dry mint in this recipe makes it super refreshing.

This is basically a textbook example of a “detox meal” – something that makes you feel alive again after a winter of eating junk food like super-greasy crispy fried tofu. Easy to make low-sodium, great for a potluck, and a great way to use local veggies from your backyard garden or your farmers’ market.

It doesn’t get much healthier than this!

tarragon mustard citrus butter

Lots of tarragon in your garden? This takes less than five minutes to come together, with no cooking or blending required, and you’ll thank yourself for having this in the house.

Chop tarragon finely.
Add whole-grain or dijon mustard.
Add some lemon zest.
Add all ingredients to room-temperature butter.
Mix well – you can use a blender, but can be blended easily by hand.

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from tastemade

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I didn’t measure – used about 3 T of butter to about a half-teaspoon of mustard, the zest of about half a lemon, and a maybe a tablespoon of chopped tarragon. One of my favorite compound butters by far. Complicated flavor. I loved it with whole-grain horseradish mustard. Can’t wait to try this with chicken. I expect this to become one of my new favorites.

So far, it’s amazing:

– brushed onto corn
– fresh tomato and tarragon mustard butter sandwiches
– fresh radish and tarragon mustard butter sandwiches

I was always more into infused oils, like  la jiao jiang (hot pepper oil) – but this might be converting me to the world of compound butter. What is your favorite compound butter?

roasted cauliflower and carrot soup

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
1 large white onion, peeled and diced (2 cups)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 medium carrots (1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
3 tablespoons white miso (less for more powerful miso – i did about 2 T red miso)
1 small (or half of a large) head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
½ teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste

toast coriander seeds (dry pan, medium heat) 2-3 min. coarsely crush in mortar and pestle.
roast cauliflower and carrots on 425.
add oil to pan, caramelize onion, add garlic.
add veggies, coriander, salt, and 6 c water. simmer fifteen minutes.
remove soup from heat, blend, and stir in lemon zest and juice just before serving. top with cayenne or hot sauce, and maybe a little heavy cream.

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or (their version)

In a large, dry pot over medium heat, toast coriander seeds until fragrant and dark golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely crush.
Return the pot to medium heat. Add the oil and heat until warm. Stir in onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly colored, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.
Add carrots, crushed coriander, salt and 6 cups water to the pot. Stir in the miso until it dissolves. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in cauliflower and cook, covered, over medium-low heat until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. (Alternatively, you can let soup cool slightly then purée it in batches in a food processor or blender.) If necessary, return the puréed soup to the heat to warm through. Stir in the lemon zest and juice just before serving. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with chile, sea salt and cilantro leaves.

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modified from the new york times

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solidly decent soup. i have been on a curried red lentil, squash, and coconut soup kick lately, so this tastes surprisingly simple. i roasted the cauliflower and served it with a little hot sauce. i recommend it.

five-minute healthy cucumber, lime, and mint salad

this is my new favorite cucumber salad. it comes together in five minutes and makes a perfect quick lunch or side.

cut up one giant cucumber or several smaller cucumbers

– put the pieces in a bowl and coat them with olive oil, about a tablespoon.
– use an equivalent amount of rice wine vinegar. mix well.
– add the juice of half a lime, salt and pepper, tons of fresh mint minced up, and minced onions in your favorite style. (grill, roast, sear, or soak in saltwater if you hate raw onions.)
– if you like it hot, add a little minced fresh serrano, jalapeno, or whatever you have in the house.

mix it up:

– (opt.) add a few roasted peanuts, crunched-up, for texture and flavor!
– (opt.) you can also add a pinch of sugar, honey, or your favorite sweetener if you like it sweeter.
– (opt.) if you have homemade la jiao jiang, that’s always great in any cold salad.
– (opt.) add 2 drops of fish sauce if it feels like it’s missing something.
– (opt.) add whatever fresh herbs you have in the house, a few minced or chopped salad greens, a few chunks of tomato, or a few sliced radishes.

make it at least 15 minutes before you plan to eat it.

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recipe by friedsig

corn relish (fermented!)

I CAN’T WAIT to try this recipe from Sandy Katz!

4 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off of the cobs (or about 2 cups canned or frozen)
4 hot and/or sweet red peppers, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 pear, cored and chopped, or other seasonal fruit
2 teaspoons salt

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Use your hands to squeeze them with some force for a few minutes. This will bruise vegetables and release juices. Do this until the mix is moist enough that when you squeeze a handful liquid drips down, as with a saturated sponge. Taste and add salt as necessary.

2. Stuff vegetables into a wide-mouth quart jar or other vessel. Seal the jar loosely so carbon dioxide pressure that will build during fermentation can escape. Ferment about two days in a warm environment, three or four days in a cooler spot. Once fermented flavors have developed, move to refrigerator until ready to serve; if you let it continue fermenting, sweet flavors will disappear altogether and the relish will become extremely sour. If surface growth develops (unlikely in a mostly full jar), skim off, discard, and enjoy the relish beneath it, protected from the mold.

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recipe by Sandy Katz, published in the New York Times

perfectly roasted brussels sprouts

this comes out perfectly every time.

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slice in half. save the single leaves that fall off when you do this.

coat in a a generous amount of oil and add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime (or zest if you don’t have fresh – make it yourself next time you get limes or lemons!).

(optional) throw in cloves of garlic and onion chunks, or whatever you like roasted.

season well. seasoned salt, garlic salt, lemon salt, or whatever seasonings you can come up – it’s literally all good. you can’t go wrong here.

bake.
400F, by our oven and at our altitude, is perfect. oven temperatures vary. play with yours and see what works.

add the single leaves when the brussels sprouts are soft but not yet browned, and roast for an extra few minutes until the leaves become crunchy brussels sprouts chips and the sprouts themselves become brown, sticky-sweet, and caramelized.

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TROUBLESHOOTING:

they’re always crunchy in the middle and burnt outside!
turn down the temperature!

they’re soft and pale and mushy, but not caramelized and brown on the outside!
turn up the temperature!

they always stick to the baking sheet!
use more oil!

they have that “cruciferous” fart taste!
add an acid, like lime or lemon juice, or a little splash of cooking wine or apple cider vinegar!

my picky friends don’t eat vegetables!
get new friends! just kidding. bake as normal. five minutes before they’re done, add a maple syrup glaze (don’t get too much on the baking sheet itself, or it’ll burn).

i’m bored of regular roasted brussels sprouts
how about adding a seasoning to them that you’re not used to? make jerk brussels sprouts with jerk seasoning. or add mixed dried herbs. or bacon grease if you eat meat. or add chunks of other veggies, like carrots, sweet potatoes, or beets? or cook them au gratin with a parmesan and breadcrumbs crunchy top? or kick them into leftovers or the next meal you eat? they are wonderful in other recipes, like chili and cabbage kofta.

Apfelwein

in case you were wondering what i’m doing today:
detoxing from last night by drinking tea and eating locally grown fruit, picking up the prize for the writing contest i won, and spending the money on a carboy, airlock, and gallons of juice.

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EdWort’s Award Winning Apfelwein Recipe (German Hard Cider) Apple Wine Recipe

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Placed 1st in the Cider & Apple Wine category at the BJCP sanctioned Alamo Cerveza fest (out of 11 entries) and took 2nd place for Best of Show for the main category of Meads & Ciders (out of 50 entries).

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5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (no preservatives or additives)
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar)
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)
Carboy Cap or Stopper with Airlock
Funnel
Sanitizer

First sanitize the carboy, airlock, funnel, stopper or carboy cap.
Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the carboy using the funnel.
Open one bag of Dextrose and carefully add it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3, then go to step 5.
Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and Dextrose from both bottles into the carboy.
Add all but 1 quart of remaining 3 gallons of apple juice to the carboy.
Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel.
Use the remaining quart of juice to wash down any yeast that sticks. I am able to fit all but 3 ounces of apple juice into a 5 gallon Better Bottle. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
Put your stopper or carboy cap on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv.

There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles. I’m able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature.

It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary. It ferments out very dry (less than 0.999, see here)

Apfelwein really improves with age, so if you can please let it sit in a carboy for up to 3 months before bottling or kegging, then let it sit even longer.

Six months and it hits its stride. Eight months and it’ll blow your mind.

If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of corn sugar will work fine. Use as you would carbonate a batch of beer.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!

GENERAL QUESTIONS

How does it taste?
It ferments quite dry. Some people have tried different yeasts in order to achieve a sweeter taste. It may take you a few glasses to get a feel for the flavor. It is very reminiscent of a sort of apfelwein produced locally in Germany. There really is no comparable product in the United States. It’s drier and less sweet than commercial hard ciders. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out.

How do you sweeten it?
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any LHBS that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don’t have to make a whole “sweet” batch that way.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?
EdWort says, “Most ciders are a bit sweeter. Ciders and Apfelwein are about 6% abv, but I like the little boost I give it with 2 pounds of Dextrose. It adds no body or flavor and still tastes like Possmann’s Apfelwein, only it will kick your butt much quicker.”

Is this like Apfelmost / Apfel Korn?
No. Apfel Korn is a german liqeur made from wheat spirits. Apfelmost is spontaneously fermented with fresh-pressed apples or apple juice. It is probably similar, but the results may vary as a result of the spontaneous fermentation. Either way, Apfelmost is most certainly has a lower alcohol content since the initial gravity is not increased by the use of concentrate or corn sugar.

What’s the difference between apple juice and cider?
Cider is made by pressing apples. Juice is then filtered to remove all of the stuff that makes it cloudy.

Can I use apple cider instead?
Sure! You can use whatever you want. However, there is not enough information in this thread to give you any better details as to how it will turn out. I recommend starting a new thread or ask more experienced cider-makers.

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

How much will this recipe cost me?
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.

What else can you do with this recipe?
Makes a great Grog in the winter time. Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It’ll warm you right up.

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brew diary:

8/21

avocado, strawberry, and sorrel salad

not all shamrocks are clovers!

sorrel is one of my favorite foods. it is impossible not to smile while eating sour leaves. wood sorrels grow wild almost everywhere in the country. it bolts about this time of year, so try to pull leaves from plants that haven’t gone to seed yet for maximum sourness. learn which Oxalis grow near you and harvest some.

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just gather sorrel leaves and top with hunks of avocado and strawberry. the strawberries are from my local farmers’ market and the sorrel grows wild!

don’t forget the balsamic or lemon juice!

top with anything, like:
nuts or seeds of any kind
bitter greens
ricotta or goat cheese
fresh herbs

i like just sorrel, strawberry, avocado, balsamic, and fresh lemon juice.

diy icepops

ice lollies? popsicles? ice pops? whatever you call them, they couldn’t possibly be easier to make. it’s 90 today with 60% humidity, so i’m really glad i made a batch of these yesterday.

much cheaper and more delicious than their storebought counterparts!

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blackberry mint ice pops

pour orange juice, lemonade, or whatever you have around into ice trays, about halfway full. pop a frozen or fresh berry (i used frozen blackberries; it’s too early for fresh local blackberries) into each pop. top with a mint leaf from the garden. you can freeze them with toothpicks to make a stick, or just eat them with your hands like i do.

my go-to has been apple juice and blackberry and mint.

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“green juice” and (local, fresh) mulberry pops

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maple fro-yo – mix some homemade yogurt with maple syrup.

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berry fro-yo – try strawberry and cinnamon

the sour yogurt is a big shock – we’re used to sweet icepops around here! but it makes the flavor of the berry stand out a lot more than the pops with a juice base. surprising and weird and awesome. i want another one.

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failures:

kefir pops – freezing kefir emphasizes its goaty qualities. i definitely prefer sour yogurt to sour kefir – even sweetened with maple syrup.

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also just got an idea for date syrup mixed with sour yogurt and pomegranate seeds. someone try this and tell me how it is! i don’t have pomegranate seeds.