With summer in full swing the thought of canning seems like a huge chore, not to mention, who wants to heat up jars in a hot kitchen? I have a solution that I’m quickly becoming obsessed with. Quick pickling! All the benefits of canning without using a stove for hours. Not only is it easy, but you get to take advantage of the fresh produce available you can’t get in the fall or winter. We have already pickled carrots, cipollini onions and are already planning much, much more! This week it’s peppers, celery and garlic scapes. Yum!
Wow! It’s the last hot sauce of our hot sauce mania month! We can’t believe it. So we accidentally took a couple weeks off and our month turned into six weeks. We are human and needed to rest and enjoy the summer. But now it is back to work. And without further ado I give you:
Our newest hot sauce is more of a salsa but not quite. We added tomatoes so you can really sink your chips into it.
Also we don’t put this one threw a sieve but if you want a smoother sauce than you can. With a heat most hot sauce lovers can handle this one will disappear fast!
Hot sauce of the week! We shared a new red pepper hot sauce last week and decided to feature a new one every week! We will start out with an easy one. It’s not spicy, link just smokey and delicious. Perfect for that person who can’t handle the heat but wants a great sauce for their tacos or eggs in the morning. Or if you just want to easy into the heat.
Soak dried peppers in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes.
Make sure peppers are completely submerged.
I use a heavier smaller blow for this
Or you can use a ziplock bag.
Just make sure it is on a flat surface and you flip it half way through .
Once peppers have soaked pull off stems and discard them.
Some seeds and veins will come with the stems and that's fine.
Not all your peppers will be completely soft, approved that is ok.
Take the chili's, more about garlic, vinegar and blend, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Once done put sauce through a sieve to remove excess solids
Take sauce and put in your favorite jar or container.
Discard leftover solids*
Notes
* if your anything like us chances are you don't like to waste things. As we kept making hot sauces, one thing was bothering us. What to do with the left over solids? We think we are coming up with some great ideas. And if you stay tuned we will share our discoveries.
It’s hot sauce mania here at The Lab. We have been obsessed you could say. It all started with Christmas and has spilled over. Our latest sauces have been gobbled up by everyone and it seems there is not stopping us or them. I can’t believe it started with just wanting to make something nice for Christmas that wouldn’t break my bank account. We are really honing our skills, patient and what we want out of the sauces. From mild and smokey, order to oh my god get me a bucket of water! Our latest is a smoked red pepper hot sauce that has that sweetness of peppers and heat from some red Jalapeño’s. It was inspired by a restaurant in LA that makes the most amazing yellow pepper dipping sauce. One day I will crack that recipe! Here is one of the new ones, enjoy! Oh and don’t forget the homemade corn chips!!!
This year we decided to make hot sauces for Christmas. To say it has been an experiment is a bit of an understatement. You’d think easy, hospital right? We’ll not so easy. It’s sort of like a martini. There may only be a couple ingredients, pilule but if they aren’t in the right proportions you’re screwed. Or like us, visit this site running out of the kitchen, opening all your windows and gasping for air. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! We practically drank a whole gallon of milk and consumed almost a whole bag of chips. But we kept going and I think we came up with some compelling sauces. Just don’t ask us to remake them! Of course we do have a couple that can be remade and here is one that is sure to please even the most sensitive pallet.
2 Pasilla dried peppers
2 Ancho dried peppers
1 Chipotle dried pepper
1 garlic clove
1 cup of vinegar
salt and pepper
Soak peppers in warm water till they are soft. Pull off stems and discard. Some of the inside guts will come with the stem, that’s fine. Save chile water. Put chiles in blender and add garlic, vinegar and a little salt and pepper. Blend till mixed. You can also use food processor. If you want a chunky sauce then you are done. If you want a thinner sauce, then use a sieve the get all the chunks out. If it is still too thick then add some of the chile water to get the consistency you want.
We began our adventure in a car we rented for the weekend, buy information pills driving 14 hours each way. I’m talking about our recent adventure to Tennessee, symptoms where we hoped to soak up nature and live as one with the land. As much as one can get staying in a cabin. Of course we were roughing it, so to speak. The shower was outdoors, the stove was of the a camping variety, our water came from large jugs, the bathroom was an out house, the light was kerosene lamps and it was heated by a wood burning stove. What else do you want from a cabin in the woods? As it turned out, nothing. It was perfect, peaceful and quiet. Mother Nature graced us with wonderful warm weather. It may have been November but it could easily had been late September. We walked the land, marveled at streams that when it rains become dangerous rivers, chopped wood, went to bed early and rose with the sunrise, saw old friends and made some new ones, all while preparing and eating some amazing food. We even drove into town to the local Piggly Wiggly to get supplies.
There’s something amazing about the mountains in Tennessee. I grew up in a few different environments, one of them was the mountains in California and to this day, I don’t get the same feeling of peace as I do when I’m here. It’s a place that you want to sit back take it slow do some chores and cook till you have filled your pantry with goodies and your belly with food. Lucky for us we arrived just in time for a late lunch and a stroll around the property. Our guide led us around and showed us some old homestead from early settlers and gave us a history lesson on who would have lived there before and what they would have farmed. To me seeing history is always more fascinating then reading it. When we were done getting the tour we took in the incredible sunset on top of the tool shed, and then it was back to the cabin to burn some wood and get cracking on dinner. Grilled corn with sausages and a warm salad with a honey vinegar dressing.
The next day we were left to our own devices. With our guide driving back to his home in Colorado we started the morning with breakfast and a leisurely stroll. We visited friends who lived nearby, catching up on their latest projects, chopped wood and traveled into town for more supplies. That night we slow cooked some beans on the wood stove, drank whiskey, listened to the radio and played cards. Not bad for a Saturday night!!
Our last day we started it off with left over beans and eggs steamed over grilled onions and of course bacon. After our hearty breakfast we took one last stroll said our goodbyes to the neighbors and headed back to NYC and our city lives.
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