Homemade Ketchup

I made homemade ketchup today! I didn't realize how many spices go into ketchup. They aren't all pictured here because I used up the anaheim chili and the last of my chili flakes. I also somehow misplaced my allspice and celery seed. I wonder if I absentmindedly stuck it in the freezer?? More than likely the girls carted them off when I wasn't looking. We went to the store this morning and I let them hold the spices while we shopped. I think they thought they were theirs to play with.

I got the ketchup recipe from www.kissmyspatula.com. You start with 2 lbs of tomatoes and end up with about two cups of ketchup. It's sweet, tangy and a bit spicy!
-Amanda

Homemade Ketchup
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp whole allspice
2 pounds tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
5 tbsp brown sugar (since I used my homemade brown sugar, it was extra sweet, next time I'll use less!)
1 onion, chopped
1 anaheim chile, chopped
1 clove garlic

   1. Wrap cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, celery seeds, red pepper flakes, and allspice in a layer of cheesecloth; tie into a bundle and put into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat along with tomatoes, salt, vinegar, sugar, onion, and chile; smash and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until onions and chiles are very soft, 40 minutes.
   2. Remove spice bundle; purée sauce in a blender until smooth. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer into a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 30 minutes. Add more salt, sugar, or vinegar, if you like.
   3. Transfer ketchup to a glass jar. Set aside; let cool. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

UPDATE I need to rewrite this recipe and one day I will. Changes... instead of brown sugar I used backstrap molasses and instead of white vinegar I used Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. This last time, I blended really well with the stick blender and then I didn't strain the ketchup. It was a bit thicker but no one seemed to mind. Plus that keeps all the fiber of the vegetables in the ketchup, making it that much healthier!

After bottling, I added about 1/4 cup of whey and let sit on the counter for 1-2 days to lacto-ferment. Then refrigerate. Fermenting the ketchup will keep it safe to eat in the refrigerator for 6-8 months instead of a few weeks and it adds probiotics (like yogurt!) If you don't want to ferment it, freezing half or more of the recipe in ice cube trays and pulling out what you  need in smaller batches keeps it longer. After they freeze put them in a freezer zip bag. That way you can pull out as little or as much as you need.

Kofte and Yogurt Carrot Salad Part 2 of 2

Köfte are a Turkish dish, a kind of a mix between meatballs and hamburgers. Every region has their own specialty which usually include slight different spices and shapes. Some are flat and round like hamburgers (but smaller) some are shaped like sausages, some are skewered and grilled. They are very tasty and quick. With these köftes I veered off the traditional recipe because I was trying to make it lighter but keep the savory flavor.

-Jules

Köfte—Light

1 half pound of lean ground beef
5 carrots shredded (should be just about the same volume as the beef)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 handful of parsley chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The shredded carrots should be about the same volume as the meat. You may have to adjust based on the size of your carrots. Chop everything finely and kneed together (like meat loaf.) I recommend then putting it in the fridge for an hour. The tastes develop more if you let everything mingle and get friendly. Then shape meat mix into small patties about the size of silver dollars and fairly thin. Pre heat a non stick skillet—you want a little char. If they stick use a little olive oil on the pan. Cook up as many as you would like. Serve with salad and bread.

Brown Sugar

Did you know that brown sugar is super easy to make? And apparently it's cheaper too. I ran out of brown sugar the other day trying to make some homemade oatmeal raisin cookies so I looked it up and found out that brown sugar is basically 1 cup of white sugar mixed thoroughly with 2 tbsp of molasses. I went ahead and made a big batch of it. Also worth mentioning, if you want to keep your brown sugar soft, place a piece of terracotta in the jar. Any clean, unglazed will do. They sell decorative ones, but if you have a clean terracotta pot that broke into shards, a piece of that will do nicely!
-Amanda

Avocado Black Bean Veggie Wrap

Last night my mom and I went to a presentation put on by Dee McCaffrey at a Sprouts Market. I heard about the class from the Dallas Morning News Moms Blog. The topic was "How to eat Organic on a Budget." Dee is also a proponent of getting all processed foods out of your diet, including white flour and white sugar. She lost 100lbs this way and has kept it off for 17 years. And when she said that you should eat some avocado everyday, she had my attention! She did a demo of this recipe and it was really great! I did not buy her Plan-D Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas, but I did make my own from scratch using The Homesick Texan's recipe. Currently I am using 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white but in the future I want to play around with a "white" wheat that Dee McCaffrey told me about; she said it was good for baked goods.
-Amanda

Avocado Black Bean Veggie Wrap 

1 1/2 cups black beans (about 1 15oz can, drained and rinsed)
1 large, ripe avocado
1/2 cup shredded or crumbled cheese
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 cup shredded red cabbage (I used green, since it is what I had on hand)
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup cucumber, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup salsa
4  whole wheat tortillas*

Mash the beans adn avocado in a bowl with a potato masher or fork. Add in the cheese, minced onion and salsa. (I also added the juice of one lime.) Stir to mix.

Warm tortillas by placing on a hot griddle on high heat. Spread about 1/2 cup of the avocado-bean mixture onto one of the tortillas. Top with cucumber, carrot and cabbage. Roll up and serve. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and ingredients.

*Homemade Tortillas, courtesy of The Homesick Texan
(adapted from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison)
Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil**
3/4 cups of warm milk

**UPDATE: I don't use processed vegetable oils any more. I now would make this with coconut oil**
Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.
Slowly add the warm milk.
Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.
Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)
After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.
Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.
Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.
Makes eight tortillas.

Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Nectarines

I needed a quick and easy dinner to prepare tonight. This fit the bill and was delicious to boot! I also had to make some more rice pilaf again because it was so good the a few nights ago. This time around I ended up breaking spaghetti noodles into tiny pieces since I was out of orzo pasta and I used cremini mushrooms instead of button. It's all about flexibility in the kitchen! I used nectarines in this dish, but peaches would work just as well, the nectarines were on sale today. This would be even better if I had marinated the chicken in the balsamic and a boned in chicken breast would add even more flavor (not that it needed it, just thinking ahead to next time I make the dish!)
-Amanda

Balsamic Roasted Chicken and Nectarines

4 chicken breasts
4-6 nectarines (or peaches)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cut your nectarines in quarters and place in the bottom of a deep casserole dish. I used a stoneware dish. Lay the rosemary sprigs across the fruit. Place chicken breasts on top of the rosemary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top of everything. Place in the middle of the oven and bake uncovered about 20 minutes (longer if using boned in chicken breast.) I used a meat thermometer that beeps when my chicken reaches 165 degrees internal temperature so I don't dry it out at that high oven temp. When serving, drizzle the pan drippings over chicken.

Omelet Braid

I made this by using a Pampered Chef recipe from the "All the Best" cookbook as my launching point. I changed the croissant dough for homemade pizza dough and I just made a simple egg/bacon/cheese stuffing. I brought it to a kid friendly brunch this morning and it was a hit for the grown-ups and kids alike.
-Amanda

Omelet Braid

Basic Pizza Dough (or crescent dough package)
8 eggs
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt or cream cheese
8 strips of bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1 tbsp flour

Cook your bacon using your favorite method. (I laid it out on my Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan and baked at 400 for 20 minutes, then chopped it.) While bacon is cooking, in a big bowl crack 7 eggs and the yolk of the 8th egg. Reserve the 1 egg white for later. Add yogurt to the eggs. Whisk to mix together. Add salt and pepper and 1 tbsp of flour. Last mix in chopped bacon. Roll pizza dough into a large rectangle. Every 1.5 inches cut a slice in the dough to almost the middle.

Lay egg mixture down the center of the dough. Then bring each section together over the egg mixture, twisting the sides together and laying it down over the eggs. Work your way down the length of the dough. Pinch off any dough that is too thick and discard. Brush the dough with the egg white. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Rice Pilaf

This is a very tasty and easy side dish. Side benefit? It hid a bunch of vegetables and my twins at it right up! I used it as a side dish with a fish packet. The sauce on the plate is from the juices in the fish packet, not the rice. To really hide the zucchini, peel it first, but a lot of the nutrients are found in the skin.
-Amanda

Rice Pilaf

1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup white rice
1 zucchini, grated
8-10 button mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
3 3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and olive oil in a medium pot. Add rice and orzo, stiring to coat and slightly brown. Add grated zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, salt & pepper. Cover with chicken stock and stir. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a lid and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until rice is tender.