Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa!

This salsa makes me angry. It makes me angry because I have been paying $4 for little jars of salsa for year and years, and now I find out that making your own big jar of salsa is not only delicious and easy, but it's also dirt cheap! Do you have access to some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and jalapeno peppers? Then you have the making of some great salsa on your hands.

This being me, I am also excited to have more control over the ingredients, and I can keep out nasty villains like corn syrup, excessive sodium, and preservatives, and risky chemicals like BPA or whatever else they use to line cans and jar lids. But that's just me and my ever lasting quest to get more healthy food into my family!

I have only made this one way, but I like to think that this is a good base recipe for making different flavors of sauce. Here are some suggestions for flavors:

Three Pepper: Add 3 cored bell peppers to roasting pan, in red, orange, and yellow
Garlic Chipotle: Replace jalapeno with 1 - 2 canned Chipotle peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) and 1 tsp adobo sauce. Increase garlic to 5-6 cloves
Pineapple: Add 2 thick slices cored fresh pineapple, or 1/2 a cup drained canned pineapple
Spicy Smoky Peach: Add 1 fresh peach, slices in half and pit removed, and replace jalapeno with 1/2 a chipotle pepper + adobo (or more if you like it hot!)
Double Chipotle: Add 1 - 2 canned chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon smoke chipotle chili powder

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa Recipe
adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011

Ingredients
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced in half, and seeds removed
2-4 jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, and seeds removed (use your discretion here - if you like your salsa mild, use one pepper with the seeds removed. It you like it really spicy, do 4 peppers with the seeds still in, since that's the spiciest part.
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)
lime juice
sea salt
cracked black pepper
additional pepper if desired, such as cayenne or chipotle

1. Turn on oven broiler. A gas stove is best, since you will get that awesome flame kissed flavor, but an electric stove will work too. Place tomatoes and onion cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet, along with garlic and jalapenos. broil 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are softened and charred (if garlic begins to burn, remove it early). Remove from boiler, and let cool to handle.

2. Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, and peel garlic. Place in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons), sea salt, pepper, and chili (if using), and pulse until incorporated. Taste, and correct seasoning. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container, and refridgerate up to 4 days (or, you could can it and stock your pantry!) enjoy!

Crisper than a Klausen's! Crisp Refreshing Homemade Fermented Kosher Dill "Half Sour" Pickles

Last summer I totally fell in love with the idea of making my own pickles. Full of optimism, I bought 5 pounds of the most gorgeous Persian cucumbers, and spent hours slicing cukes, simmering vinegar, perfecting seasonings, canning and processing. And oh my, those pickles were gorgeous: they looked like jewels in their shining glass jars. We waited in anticipation for the jars to cool, the pickles to pickle, the spices to infuse, and when we opened the first jar, pulled out the first emerald spears, we closed our eyes, took a bite and...

mush.

Absolute mush.




So soft and mushy that the pickles disintegrated in their pretty jars until they looked like jars of sad pea green soup. We threw them all away.

It was such a bitter and total epic FAIL, that I couldn't even blog about it. That's how disappointed I was (according to my husband, I do not deal well with disappointment or frustration. Go figure.) In typical fashion, I vowed that one day, I would indeed conquer the pickle, once and for all!




That day is today. It turns out I did a few things wrong last year. First, I used the wrong kind of cucumbers. Slicing cucumbers, the sort of cukes usually found in big chain grocery stores, tend to be soft and watery, perfect for salads and cucumber sandwiches, but far too soft for pickles. Those Persian cucumbers were so soft and bendy I was doomed from the start. What you want are pickling cucumbers, which are crisp enough to stay crunchy for the long haul. Second, the brine/hot pack waterbath process also had me doomed, because the heat that sterilizes the brine also cooks the cucumbers, making them that much softer.

The secret to getting really crisp, really deliciously cool pickles is to skip the "quick-pickle" method and do it the old fashioned way: fermentation. This is the way pickles have traditionally been made throughout history, and they are incredibly delicious. And not only do they taste better than their shelf-stable vinegared cousins, but they are better for you. Fermented pickles are "pickled" by friendly lactic acid bacteria. This fermentation renders foods easier to digest, introduces "good" probiotic bacteria into the gut (much like yogurt or kefir), and lastly, offers an alkaline balance to acidic foods, like meat. Also, they taste better. What's not to love?





"Half Sour" Kosher Dill Pickles
probably the hardest thing about this recipe is finding the right kind of cucumbers to pickle. This summer, I grew my own organic pickling cucumbers in my back yard, but you can also also find pickling cucumbers at farmer's markets and specialty stores. I think you can probably use Persian or kirby cucumbers in this recipe, but I can't guarantee how crisp the results will be.

It is VERY important that the brine is made exactly as the recipe indicates, with the exact same ratio of water to salt. Fermentation pickling works by allowing the lactic bacteria, naturally present on the surface of all vegetables, to flourish and ferment the cucumbers. The salt brine inhibits the growth of other bacteria, so it's important to be at the right strength. Too little salt, and bad bacteria may grow in your pickles. Too much salt, and the pickles are too salty to eat without soaking first.

This recipe is for "half sours," or pickles that are half-fermented and finished off with a splash of vinegar. They take about 2 days to ferment, give or take depending on the weather. You can flavor your pickles with whatever spices and herbs you like, through fresh dill and mustard seeds are traditional and a good place to start. Or you can get creative, adding minced fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, red peppers, etc.

Ingredients
small firm cucumbers, such as pickling, kirby, or persian cucumbers
pure filtered water
kosher salt or sea salt (no iodine)
fresh dill
mustard seeds
optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic, black pepper, etc.

1. Scrub cucumbers well, and cut of flower end, as it contains enzymes which can soften the cucumber. If desired, slice cucumbers into spears or slices. Rinse any herbs you will be using as well.

2. Pack cucumbers into a large food-grade crock or jar, leaving at least 1" of head space at the top. I have been making mine in large French style mason jars, but you can make them in almost anything. Pack cracks with sprigs of fresh dill and sprinkle with mustard seeds or other spices.

3. Make brine: mix together salt and water, with 1/4 cup salt to every 4 cups water. Mix together thoroughly, until brine is clear. Pour over packed cucumbers.

4. Cover pickles with a lid or cheesecloth, and let ferment. Depending on how warm or cool your home is, this process can take anywhere from 2 - 7 days. When small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pickles and dill, you pickles are done. You can continue to let them ferment as long as you wish: they will not go bad, they will simply continue to intensify in acidic flavor. When your pickles are at the desired sourness, pour off the 1" of brine head space, and add a splash of vinegar. Store in the fridge, which will slow fermentation. Enjoy!

Steel-Cut Maple Nut Toasted Irish Oatmeal

People, my HOUSE flooded. Flooded! We had a wonderfully wet week here in Southern California, and speaking as a resident of a drought-ridden land, we enjoyed every minute of it. There was much curling up with mugs of hot tea, lots of warm soups and stews, and there may even have been some wearing of warm socks and sweaters. It was deliciously wonderful. Until, of course, my house flooded. That was NOT wonderful. Not at ALL.

I live in an older home that was built in the 1930's, and in that time the house seems to have sunk into the ground a bit. And by a bit, I mean about 3 feet. So we live at the bottom of a charming little hill, a fact to which I never paid a second thought. After all, it only really rains about every 5 years here. Of course, we happened to have that once-in-five-years rainstorm this week, complete with lightning, thunder, hail, tornadoes, and of course, flooding. Because when the rain really started picking up one afternoon, I noticed a rather large puddle forming at the bottom of that charming hill, right before my front door. And as it continued to thunder down, that puddle began to grow at an alarming rate, until it came right up to the front door. And then to my horror, it started gushing under the front door, and the next think I knew the carpet was sopping wet from one end of the room to another. I was left helplessly trying to soak up the mess with towels while frantically texting Nate to GET THE HECK HOME RIGHT NOW and oh, BRING SANDBAGS.

So the rest of the week was spent sandbagging the front door, moving furniture around (and of course the most heavily laden bookcases would be in the flood zone, of course!), pulling up the carpet, drying said carpet with very powerful fans, and all the other boring details of flood damage recovery. And once the furniture was moved and the carpet was already up, it seemed like as good a time as any to paint the living room, so that's exactly what I did.

What does this have to do with oatmeal you ask? Exactly nothing. But it does explain the lack of posting, and if you have been wondering where I have been all week, well, that's it! And of course, there is nothing like a warm, hearty bowl of oatmeal to get you going on a cold wet morning, particularly if your house happens to have flooded recently, and you need an extra cup of comfort to help you cope with the hideous muddy mess. And also, can we keep this a secret between you and me? Pretty please? This oatmeal is ridiculously good for you. It's so healthy that it really ought to taste awful, but actually? It's delicious.





Toasted Maple Nut Steel-Cut Irish Oatmeal
• gluten-free • soy-free • casein-free • vegan
• Serves 1 - 2

This is one of those recipes that was created out of necessity (hello gluten-free casein-free soy-free vegan baby!), but then turned out tasting SO good that now it's our go-to recipe. I love this oatmeal so much that I have been eating it every single day for weeks now. It's nutty, rich, and delicious. And may I point out just how GOOD it is for you?

First, you have the whole grain goodness of steel-cut oats, with a wonderful chewy texture and none of that rolled oat mushiness. Whole grains have tons of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, and can help reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, etc. Then you have coconut oil which is wonderfully healthy for your heart, cholesterol, immunity, hair, skin, and nails, etc. (seriously, google it). Top that with almonds (rich source of vitamin E and cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats), pepitas (pumpkin seeds, which have iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, and zinc), and walnuts (also great for your heart, with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, folate, and vitamin E). Also? Tastes really good. REALLY. I promise.

This recipe is for one large serving, but I find that I have quite a bit more appetite for oatmeal than my husband does. So if you like a small serving of oatmeal, you may want to halve this or serve it for two. And if you are going to feed a crowd, double and triple to your heart's content!

Ingredients
1/2 cup steel-cut Irish oatmeal
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or regular milk, or soy-milk)
1/2 cup water
1 tbs virgin coconut oil (or butter)
1 tbs grade A maple syrup + more to taste
1 tbs oat bran (or other type of bran such as wheat)
1 tbs raw almonds
1 tbs raw pepitas
1 tbs walnuts





Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil.




Add 1/2 cup steel cut Irish oatmeal and...




...toast oats, stirring occasionally, 4 - 5 minutes.




Add 1/2 cup water (stand back! It will sizzle!) and...




...1/2 cup almond milk.




Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal is thick and grains are soft (the liquid tends to rise to the top, and the bottom can burn if you don't give it a stir now and then).




Remove oatmeal from heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon oat bran...




... and 1 tablespoon grade A maple syrup. Stir well, until completely incorporated.




In a coffee grinder or mini food processor (or just eat them whole - I just love the taste and texture when they are ground up), grind 1 tablespoon almonds, 1 tablespoon pepitas, and 1 tablespoon walnuts.




Believe me, it's pretty fun. And it tastes good. Really, really good. I promise.




So tasty, in fact, it's hard to believe it's so good for you. Don't tell anyone. They'll never believe you.




Spoon oatmeal into serving bowl. Top with maple syrup to taste (I like about 1 glug, which I have very scientifically estimated to probably be about 1 tablespoon. Because I am precise like that). Top with nutty ground goodness. Enjoy!