Cultured Salsa

When I think of salsa, I think of this...

Not to be confused with this...

(photo credit)

Which is just down-right dangerous in my book. Unless you think this is me in the picture, in which case, it was easy. Because I'm a pro.

Did you buy it?

I tried.

If you haven't made homemade salsa, you're missing out on a something special. Lacto-fermented salsa is not heated or water-bathed canned, so it tastes fresh up to 6 months after it's made. I make several batches every year and hide store them in the back of our spare fridge. Of course, the salsa never sees the arrival of Autumn, so it lasting a full 6 months is just an assumption on my part.

That, and I read it on other blogs, so it must be true.

Apparently, they don't like salsa as much as we do.

The key to lacto-fermenting salsa is the sea salt and whey. I have seen other recipes that do not use the whey, but use up to 4 Tb. of sea salt instead. I tried that my first year and it was way too salty for our tastes. Remember to taste test and adjust accordingly.

~Lacto-Fermented Salsa~

4 lbs. organic tomatoes (I used a variety of heirloom tomatoes.)

2 medium sweet onions, like Walla Walla or Vidalia

1 large, organic sweet red pepper, seeded and rough-chopped

**2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and rough chopped**

1 bunch cilantro, leaves only

Optional: 2-4 cloves garlic, minced

juice from 2 lemons or limes

1-2 Tb. sea salt

4 Tb. whey (from drained yogurt)

Peel tomatoes by placing in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then immediately dumping into icy water. The skin will come off easily.

I guess mine would too.

Core the tomatoes, then place in food processor. Pulse until tomatoes are chopped up, but not liquefied. (Unless that is your preference.) Pour tomatoes into large bowl.

Place onions, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro leaves in food processor and pulse until chopped fine. (If using garlic, add this too.) Add this mixture to the tomatoes.

Add lemon or lime juice, whey, and sea salt. Stir will. Taste to check flavor and heat; adjust as necessary.

Pour salsa into wide-mouthed jars (I ended up with 1/2 gallon + 1 quart). Wipe top of jar and place screw-top lid on. Leave on counter for 2 days; then place in the refrigerator.

Then send the kids to Gramma's house and enjoy!

Oh wait, the kids saw me making this...darn.☺

**Remember to use gloves when cutting hot peppers! The "heat" doesn't wash off with soap and water, and can bring new meaning to the song, "Come On Baby Light My Fire"...

...just sayin'.☺

This post is linked to Simple Lives Thursday.

Coconut Curry Peanut Sauce

Warning: If you suffer from a peanut allergy, please avert your eyes now. I cannot be held responsible for any computer screen licking that may come from continuing with this post. Of course, I wouldn't blame you if you did.

Of all the flavors in the world, or at least in my neck of the world, peanut is my favorite. And chocolate. Especially chocolate and peanut butter together. And coconut. And lime. Oh, and I can't leave out blueberries. Okay, maybe I should begin again....

Peanuts, coconut milk, lime, and curry equals the state of eternal happiness, otherwise known as nirvana. (I'm not Buddhist, I looked it up.) It also equals low carb, so there is no guilt. Unless of course you add chocolate and blueberries, but that would just be weird. For 1/4 cup serving, there are only 6 carbs. And even though most of my favorite flavors are in this sauce, I didn't use an entire 1/4 cup. I showed great restraint with my meal.

I used a scant 1/4 cup.

I have absolutely no idea where this recipe originally came from, but I know that it was quickly jotted down in one of my trusty notebooks by yours truly. I'm currently on my fourth notebook of miscellaneous recipes.

At some point, my organizational skills are going to have to be reevaluated.

For now though, I'm going to have some more peanut sauce and dream about chocolate-covered blueberries.☺

~Coconut Curry Peanut Sauce~

(A Low Carb Recipe)

~The Players~

3 Tb. coconut oil

2 Tb. Red Thai Curry Paste (found in the Asian section of the grocery store)

1/2 t. ground coriander

1/2 t. ground cumin

3/4 cup skinless, unsalted peanuts

1 can coconut milk (not light!)

1 packet of stevia or the equivalent of liquid stevia

Juice and zest of 1 lime

3/4 t. sea salt

Grind peanuts in a food processor until dry and crumbly, but not a peanut butter consistency. Set aside.

Heat coconut oil in skillet; add curry paste and fry on medium heat until fragrant, but do not let it burn.

After about 30 seconds, add the spices and cook briefly to release flavor. Add coconut milk, peanuts, and stevia and whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook a few minutes until slightly thickened.

Season with lime juice, zest and sea salt.

Drizzle over chicken, serve as a dipping sauce, or serve it over rice.

Enjoy!

Salmon Patties

Back in September, my Mister and I bought a rather large amount of fresh salmon at a very reasonable price. We froze some of it in fillets and roasts, and canned the rest, to be enjoyed throughout the winter.

Not to say that fresh salmon isn't welcome, but there's just something about having a salmon meal in the dead of winter, when it's not fishing season, that just tickles me to death. It almost feels like we're getting away with something.

That appeals to the rebel in me. Or, actually the wanna-be rebel in me.

One of our favorite meals are these salmon patties. I found the original recipe in a cookbook called, "Whole Foods for the Whole Family", by the La Leche league. (In case you don't know who they are, they are the breastfeeding experts.) Over the years, this recipe has been tweaked several times, but it has stayed pretty close to the original.

Like I said, a wanna-be rebel.

When making these, I always double the recipe so that we can enjoy salmon burgers for lunch the following day. With some homemade tartar sauce, this is one of those comfort meals that always finds its way onto our table several times a month.

Salmon Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce

~The Players~

1 lb. canned salmon with liquid (1 pint home-canned or the equivalent of store-bought)

1/3 C. whole wheat flour (use fresh-ground if you can)

1/4 C. cornmeal (again, fresh ground is best)

1/4 C raw wheat germ

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 large onion, chopped (sweet is best, but yellow is fine too.)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (You can use green, yellow or orange if you prefer.)

Zest and juice from 1 large lemon (I used Meyer lemons)

1 t. sea salt

1/4 t. fresh ground pepper

oil for browning (I used Red Palm oil, but expeller pressed coconut oil works too.)

Dump the salmon into a large bowl, using a fork to break apart. Don't worry if there are bones in there, they are soft and break into the mixture well. You won't even know that they are there.

Add the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, wheat germ, salt, and pepper. Slightly mix in.

In a separate, small bowl, lightly beat eggs.

But first marvel at the ridiculous size of eggs that some of your chickens might be laying. You may want to congratulate them.





Into the salmon mixture, mix in the eggs, lemon zest and juice; stir well. Add in in the onions and peppers.

You mixture should look something like this.

Unless you used green, yellow or orange peppers.

In a large cast iron pan, heat oil until very hot, but not smoking. You only want about 1/4 inch of oil in the pan, anymore than that and we'll have to rename the art of frying to the art of swimming.

I get my Red Palm oil here, but you can find it at most whole food/health stores.



Don't be alarmed ,Red Palm oil is supposed to be...well, red!



Make patties in the palm of your hand, and using a pancake turner, very carefully place in the hot oil. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip over (again, very carefully!) and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes more. Remove cooked patties from oil and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve with Homemade Tartar Sauce! (Recipe follows)

Kim's Tartar Sauce

1-1/2 C. mayonnaise (The best that you can buy or make)

1 large dill pickle, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1/2 t. dry mustard

1 t. dried parsley

1/8 t. paprika

1/2-1 t. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve with Salmon Patties, homemade fish & chips, or your favorite seafood.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to Fight Back Fridays over at the Food Renegade! 

Tangy Barbeque Sauce

Last fall, we bought a "hamburger" cow to fill our freezer with. I figured that we could always use hamburger. While that part of the figuring was right, figuring out what to do with it has been uninspired.

Figures.

Beef. It's what's for dinner.

Last week, we had barbecued meatballs on the menu. I haven't bought barbecue sauce from the grocery store for some time. The ingredients are a little scary. And mostly unpronounceable. One word that I do recognize however is high-fructose corn syrup. Followed by corn syrup. I guess that just means it's regular. (?????)

Since my family really wanted barbecued meatballs, I decided to make my own sauce. The thought of going with a different meal altogether wasn't even considered. My children are like rabid dogs when there's beef on the menu. Have you ever tried to take a bone from a dog's mouth? Kids are even more frightening.

Especially the girls.

Here's my healthier recipe for barbecue sauce. It's more tangy that store-bought, but it could be altered by leaving out some of the lemon juice and adding more molasses. Something that I've recently learned from the new TV show, "Worst Cooks in America", is to taste, taste, taste.

Yes. I have that part down.

1 medium roasted red pepper, peeled and chopped fine

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. apple cider vinegar (the good stuff)

3 Tb. fresh lemon juice (I used 4, it was a little too tangy!)

2 Tb. sucanat (or brown sugar)

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

1 cup organic ketchup (organic doesn't have corn syrup)

2 Tb. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. dry mustard powder

1/2 t. sea salt

1 cup water

2 Tb. molasses (not blackstrap)

2 Tb. bacon fat (trust me, this is important for flavor)

Roast red pepper in oven until skin starts to turn black. Let cool. Peel pepper and chop into very small pieces. Set aside. Saute onions in butter until opaque. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. In a medium size saucepan, mix all ingredients together. On medium-high heat, bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Paint barbecue sauce onto uncooked meatballs. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Turn meatballs over, apply more barbecue sauce and return to oven for approximately 15 minutes more. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the meatballs.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so this is a picture of my plate before I dug in!
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Making pesto sauce

My family and I spent yesterday visiting our local farmer's market and taking a trip to a "semi" local farm, where the honored guest seemed to be pumpkins. I love this time of year, passing all of the fields and seeing the beautiful orange globes lying everywhere. Mixed into the lush green landscape, this is art at its best. Pumpkins are not the only produce to be admired though. Now is the time to pick up great deals on apples, pears, winter squashes, potatoes, tomatoes and basil.

I have a difficult time growing basil at my house. If I start too early, the wet weather rots my plants. In the summer, it's too hot...or maybe I forget to water them...! When using the greenhouse, I have to worry about rodents. (This is where I *shudder*!) I've just never had too much luck with basil, but my family LOVES it! I usually buy a tray of organic basil each week and keep it on the counter, in a jar (or cute coffee mug) of water, as a reminder of the delicious meals it is going to end up in. The smell of this pungent herb, follows me, just begging for a dish that is as worthy as thee. Too dramatic? Basil is worth the extra drama...trust me. If you haven't used fresh basil before, here is an easy sauce to prepare.

Homemade Basil Pesto Sauce

1 bunch basil leaves, no stems (approx. 1/2 -3/4 cup

4-6 cloves of garlic (we use 6, but our neighbors don't live too close!

1/4 cup pine nuts (in a pinch, I've also used walnuts)

2-3 Tbl. grated Parmesan (not the canned stuff)

olive oil (I haven't measured this, but start with 1/3 cup)

Place basil, garlic and pine nuts in food processor. While running on low speed, gradually start adding olive oil. Add until the consistency is a semi-thick liquid. Add the cheese and just pulse to blend. (You do not have to heat this up, the heat from the pasta will heat it up for you.)

Mix with your favorite pasta and be the superstar of the meal!