From Scratch Hot Sauce

Getting used to having a "real job" is weird. I've been so used to being able to pull either 12 hour days working on websites, this blog and taking courses, or just vedging out that getting used to have to be doing a certain task 5 days a week that isn't working towards total independence is just odd.

BUT I havent wavered on my true passion, I've found that even after an 8 hour day of training on the phone and on the computer, I still look forward to making dinner. It's one of the bestparts of my day (although the dishes are a whole other story!) 

Making things like hot sauce and salsa from scratch is something that I picked up in Costa Rica, mostly because the ones available there we're both very expensive AND full of nasties. I've found that although I have a serious Sriracha food fetish, making my own hot sauce is just too awesome to stop doing.

I made two versions so far, one with jalapeños and one with habanero peppers, but in this recipe you can use whatever hot pepper you want or have access to. Don't be shy to whip out those scotch bonnets if you love heat!

I've found that hot sauce is one of those things that people LOVE and put on everything (me!) or something that is occasional or avoided at all costs. I made 2 liters of this stuff one week and it lasted about 2 weeks. I think we may have an addiction...

Use the freshest produce available to get the best results. You can also change up the vinegars you use. I only had access to regular white vinegar, but to make this even healthier you could use apple cider vinegar instead.

Basic Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 lb hot peppers of choice

- 1 large roasted tomato

- 3 large roasted red peppers

- 1 cup vinegar

- 1 tsp salt

To mellow the sauce a little, or create a more smokey flavor, you can roast the peppers. I roasted them for both the recipes pictured (jalapeño and habanero). Stem and seed them, unless you want an extra hot sauce in which case keep the seeds.

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. 

Can be used right away but it gets even better overnight.

Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo Menu

To me, the best part about any celebration is the food. It's what brings people together. My family always tends to hang out in the kitchen anyways, so having some great food to celebrate coming together is a must.

Cinco de Mayo brings visions of Mexican food, both traditional and fusion. It's an easy celebration to make plant-strong and healthy too! Here are my choices for the day:

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Mexican Lasagna

Black Bean Tacos

Fiesta Burrito Bowls

Chili Cheese fries with extra Guac and Chips

Melon Lime Slushies

Starfruit Limeade

Black Bean Brownies with added Cayenne

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Experiencing the rainy season here is interesting. Some days it threatens to rain all day, but not a drop. Other days it's bright and sunny in the morning, then turns dark and gloomy pretty quick. Today is one of those days. Planning hikes and fruitlucks isn't obvious at this point, but we are risking a beach day on Saturday to hangout with a few fruities in the area. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be sunny!

Being here has really taught me to be much more self sufficient when it comes to food. In Canada we are so used to things like salsa and hot sauce being both easily accessible and reasonably priced. Here they are usually expensive or full of preservatives and msg or salt. So I've got into the habit of making them myself so thatI can control the ingredients and lower my sodium intake drastically. Not to mention I get to actually pile it on instead of rationing those tiny jars they sell.

Something that may seem like alot of work is actually pretty simple and not too time consuming when you roast the majority of the ingredients. We are salsa obsessed around here, so we go through a large batch a week. No need to can it.

I'm sure it would be pretty simple to can though, I'm just no expert and prefer making batches that will last us a week at most. There are endless variations you can make to this salsa to change up the flavors. This is a basic roasted tomato recipe that is a great place to start from.

To serve with our salsa, I just toasted up some corn tortillas to dip in. We also use it to top our evening meals like rice and potatoes.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients:

- 5 lbs of tomatoes

- 4 medium/large onions

- 3 large red bell peppers

- 1 tbsp cumin

- 2 tbsp hot sauce of choice or roasted hot peppers

- 1/2 cup lime juice

- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (opt, not shown)

- S/P

Heat Oven to 400F

On a large deep baking sheet line up the tomatoes, onions (skin on) and red bell peppers. Roast for 35-40 minutes then let cool until they can be easily handled by hand.

Skin and core the tomatoes, and skin and de-seed the peppers.

In a large bowl, dump all the tomatoes and squish then with your hands until they reach the texture that you desire. You can also use a food processor for this step if you aren't the hands on type. Drain about half the water, depending on how thick you like your salsa (My partner like to drink the juice, it's quite good!)

Chop the pepper and onions to desired size and add into the bowl. 

Add in the spices, cilantro and lime juice. Give it all a good stir and let sit in the fridge in a tightly covered bowl until ready to serve. It tastes even better the next day!

Vegan MoFo 2013: Web Wednesday's: Spicy Peanut Sauce

Words for today's Web Wednesday's were peanut butter and broccoli. Mainly because the broccoli was needing to be used and I had a random craving for peanut butter, although I never usually buy the stuff I found an awesome new one at Veg Fest that I felt the need to test out. I might talk a bit more about when I've used it more.

Now broccolli and peanutd together automatically got me thinking something spicy and asian. So of course the simplest recipe came to mind, spicy peanut sauce served over broccoli and rice noodles. Off to the kitchen I went and with a few simple steps and less than 30 minutes, diner was served!

Quick and easy meals are somewhat of an essential in the society that we live in and making sure that they are healthy, plant based and whole really isn't complicated. Following KISS(keep is simple sweetheart) is a core foundation of how I eat and cook on a daily basis. I do love making a complex meal, but realistically it;s something thats done once in a while. I want good tasting nutritious awesome food without to much effort and within budget. Most of the recipes I post are exactly that!

Onto the sauce...

Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

- 1 cup peanut butter.
- 1-2 cups water
- 1/3 cup tamari
- 1-3 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1tbsp minced ginger

In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients together. You want the consistency to be much more liquid han you want the final product to be, I used about 2 cups of water total.  Transfer to a pot or pan and heat on medium until thickened and ginger is fragrant, about 5-6 minutes.

Serve over steamed veggies and rice noodles or rice.

Enjoy!

"Sorta Kinda Like Mom's" Spaghetti Sauce

Growing up, spaghetti sauce in our house was always vegetarian. Even though my brothers often asked my Mom to add in some meat, she very rarely relented and just stuck to her veggie filled recipe. Although once or twice she accidentally added way too much spice in the form of new hot sauces from New Orleans, or a loosely tightened cover dropping far too much cayenne. Those dinners were filled with tons of water and bread!

Her recipe was filled with specific veggies, spices and canned tomato sauce. It was delicious and quite labour intensive as I remember. She still makes it to this day and I look forward to enjoying it when I visit. However, in my own house, I neither have the slow cooker or all the spices and I try to avoid canned anything these days. Since we buy our produce in bulk and in season, I also find myself making variations of this sauce every time I make it. I also like to rotate my spices and herbs so that I actually use them, I've been lagging on that as of late so I have some that really need to be used up so I can have an excuse to buy new ones.

Simply put, my recipe tastes similar in many ways, but is different every time. I love variety and being resourceful with what I have in the fridge. This time around we found amazing local heirloom tomatoes for $15.00 a case, and while we tried to et them fresh, there was just too many which is exactly why I chose to make me some sauce. Going from there, I had red onion, zucchini, carrots and red peppers, and into the pot they went!

Simple comfort food at it's best, pre-made sauce just cannot hold up to this. This is also a quick prep recipe, although it takes a few hours to cook, it only requires minimal attention.

Just Like Mom's Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

- 20-35 medium Tomatoes, ripe. 

- 2 large zucchini, roughly chopped.

- 3 large red bell peppers, diced.

- 2 medium onions, diced.

- 5-6 medium carrots, sliced. 

- White and Black pepper

- Hot sauce of choice

- Herbs of choice (I used basil this time) 

- 3-5 large medjool dates, pitted.

- 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Core and roughly squeeze out seeds from all the tomatoes, place in blender with dates and sun-dried tomatoes if using and blend until smooth. This may have to be done in several batches, my tomatoes gave me about 5 liters after being blended. Pour into a large pot.

Bring to a boil then simmer for about 30-45 minutes, depending on what consistency you are looking to get in the end. I prefer a thicker sauce so I cook it a little longer, depending on the tomatoes that I use.

Add all the veggies and spices and stir to combine, bring back to a simmer and stir about every 10-15 minutes until the veggies are throughfully cooked. Taste to adjust seasonings. 

This makes a pretty huge batch of sauce, perfect for family's or anyone who like to have some on hand. 

Enjoy over your favorite pasta... or even over any starch. I love it with potatoes or rice! I served it over organic rice/corn penne with a dash of nutritional yeast to add that cheesy flavor. 

Have fun with this recipe, add any veggies you love. I often add mushrooms, other peppers, spinach, etc. Its a great low fat and high nutrient sauce that everyone will enjoy. It also keeps in the fridge for a while, although around here it never really lasts more than a few days! It freezes well, a perfect back up meal so make sure to make a huge batch if you like having quick and easy healthy solutions on hand.