Fermented Hot Sauce

Last week I participated in a fermentation workshop with my daughter about food preservation through fermentation. Here's what we did...

At the workshop we were given sterilized jars and a variety of peppers to choose from. I used jalapeños, scotch bonnet and yellow bell peppers. Oh, and when handling hot peppers don't forget to wear gloves or you'll have hot hands for days!

Ingredients:

Hot peppers of your choice, ideally organic
garlic cloves
spices of your choice

cold filtered water (or boiled and cooled tap water)
2% table salt
2% sugar


Fill mason jars 3/4 full with roughly chopped hot peppers and crushed garlic to taste. I used one clove per jar.

Interesting fact I learned...it's the white membrane that holds the seeds and not the seeds themselves that is the hottest part of the pepper! 

They had the brine prepared for us but here's how to do it. 
Weigh the pepper-filled jar, then add the water until peppers are covered and weigh the jar again and subtract the weight of the jar without water. That is your mass of water.
Drain the water out of the jar into another container. To calculate the amount of salt and sugar needed multiply 0.02 by the water mass. So for example if you have 500g of water 0.02 X 500g = 10g salt, 10g sugar. Dissolve the salt and sugar well in the water. (PS: I hate math!)

Add brine back to the jar. Now this part was interesting as well! Because you don't want mold to form on the top of the peppers they must be completely submerged but sometimes they like to float up. If you have a small jar that will fit inside, sterilize it and sit it on top of the peppers (make sure you can close the pepper jar). Or you could fill a ziplock bag with some water, seal it and place it on top of the peppers. 
But once I got home with my jars of peppers from the workshop I used a piece of plastic wrap and pressed it down over the surface of the water to keep the peppers from being exposed to air.

Lids on, but not too tight. Keep in a dark place at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. I kept them on the kitchen counter with a dish towel over them. Some recipes say to not open the jars for the entire fermenting period, others say open a little each day. I loosened the top every morning to let any excess gas out. Didn't want to take a chance of the jars exploding all over the kitchen!

After 1 week the brine became cloudy and had an acidic smell, that's good . I didn't want to wait the second week so I processed the peppers after 1 week.

Again have sterilized jars and lids ready. I pour boiling hot water into the jars, that does the trick.

Here's where you can get creative. Use spices you like. I made 4 different sauces. Strain the brine into a bowl.

With one jar of green jalapeño and garlic I added
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
about 1/2 inch fresh ginger

Process the peppers and garlic in a food processor with your seasonings adding some brine until you get the consistency you want.

What a messy production!

For one of my jars (the round one in the finished picture)
I strained the processed peppers out keeping only the liquid something like a tabasco sauce.

For the other jar of jalapeños and garlic (with a little scotch bonnet) I added
1 tsp pickling spice
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the yellow bell pepper/scotch bonnets and garlic
pinch red pepper flakes (which could also be fermented)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the yellow bell pepper/scotch bonnets and garlic
pinch black pepper corns
pinch anise
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

The apple cider vinegar is not necessary I just happened to use it in each. And the amount of spices I used was small because these were very small batches of peppers.

Fill the sterilized jars, seal and refrigerate for up to 6 months.

The presenters at the Spice Up Your Life - Season Jars workshop peaked my interest in fermentation. I may try cabbage or cauliflower sometime! 

Pasta Salad Coleslaw

This was awesome with BBQ chicken but would do just as well on it's own or you could even add chickpeas or kidney beans to make it a meal in itself!

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
2 cups chopped miscellaneous veggies (ie: kale, sweet pepper, green onion, radishes, carrots, zucchini)
2 cups coleslaw mix

Salad dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed

Cook the macaroni then rinse with cold water and drain. Chop the kale and dice the rest of the vegetables. You can use pretty much any veg you like but these worked really well together! Mix them all with the cooked macaroni.

Combine all the salad dressing ingredients and toss with the veg/mac mix.

Chill and serve. 

Serves 6-8 as a side.

Newfoundland Lassy Buns

A cross between a simple tea biscuit and a molasses (lassy) cookie. Have this traditional Newfoundland bun for breakfast, bedtime snack or anytime in between.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1  1/2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup butter, cut in chunks
1/2 cup milk

1 egg 
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Take all the dry ingredients and mix together in a large bowl. Then mix the molasses, chunks of butter and milk together. 

Microwave for 40 seconds, then 10 seconds at a time afterwards, until the butter starts to melt. Stir until it melts into the liquid and let cool. Then add the egg and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet into the dry to form a dough. Fold in the dried fruit. I divided the dough in half, 1/4 cup raisins in one, 1/4 cup dried cranberries in the other. The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup total in raisins but I think I'd go for a little more next time.

The dough can now be rolled out to 1" thickness and cut into circles, but feeling lazy I placed each half of the batter in a 7" round container to form a large circle.

Turned it over onto a parchment lined baking sheet, pressed out a little to make it 1" thick and cut into wedges. I cut into 6 each but could've gone for 8. 

Create a little space between each bun.

Bake at 400 F for 12-15 minutes for rounds or 15-18 for wedges.

Store in an airtight container.

Adapted from: Rockrecipes.com

Pasta with Kidney Beans and Roasted Vegetables

Eat your colours to be your healthiest!

This is a great meat free dinner and bonus if you have leftovers for lunch!

Ingredients:
454 g box penne
1 - 540 ml can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 or 2 cups (previously) roasted mixed vegetables
2 tbsps tomato sauce or diced canned tomatoes
1 cup chopped kale
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 tbsps freshly chopped parsley
additional olive oil

For the roasted mixed vegetables I used carrots, sweet potato, onion and sweet pepper but you can really change it up depending on what's in your fridge.

Cut carrots in sticks and sweet potatoes in cubes, slice onions and sweet peppers. Try to group veggies that will take about the same amount of time to cook.

Toss with a couple of tbsps avocado or vegetable oil. Place on parchment lined baking sheets.

Place pans in a 425 F oven.  Just 15 minutes for the carrots/sweet potatoes (check for tenderness) and 25-30 minutes for the onions/sweet peppers.

Remove from oven and add a little sea salt and  a drizzle of olive oil. I had these made the day before. If you make enough you can have the mixed veggies as a side and still have a couple of cups leftover for this recipe!

Cook the penne and drain.

While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet heat olive oil and butter. Add the minced garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. 
Add the kale and tomatoes, cook 1 minute.

Add the roasted veggies , pasta and kidney beans. Salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat. You may want to add a little more olive oil. Toss with parmesan or serve it on the side. Add some fresh parsley and you are good to go!

Adapted from: nourishingmomsmtl.com Buddha Bowl

Avocado and Zucchini Lasagna

Light and healthy sauce-drenched zucchini with a creamy avocado filling.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chopped kale

2 avocados
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1-2 tbsps fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

3 small zucchini, thinly sliced
3 cups shredded mozzarella 
4 cups of your favourite tomato sauce
parmesan cheese

Slice the zucchini thinly, easiest using a mandolin but by hand works as well. Lay the slices out on paper towels and lightly salt.

Wait 10 minutes and pat dry with another paper towel. Below you can see how much moisture came out of the zucchini.

In a medium skillet heat oil and add the onion and garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes then add the kale and remove from heat.

Mash the avocados with a fork and add the egg, 1/2 cup mozzarella, parsley, salt and pepper.

Spread about 1/3 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13 X 9" baking dish. Then layer zucchini, mozzarella, kale, zucchini,

avocado filling, mozzarella, sauce, zucchini, kale, sauce, mozzarella and finally end with a good sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 
This is the way I layered, but you could layer in probably any order you like as long as you start with sauce and end with sauce then cheese.

Cover the dish with foil and bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is golden. You could even broil 3 or 4 minutes if you like.

Remove from oven and let the lasagna rest 20 minutes before cutting.

Serves 8

Chickpea Linguini

Quick and healthy sauce made from the humble chickpea.

Ingredients:

1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tsp salt

1 garlic clove

2 tbsps tahini

4 tbsps olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, slivered

1  1/2 cups chopped kale or spinach (some fresh parsley)

2/3 cup pasta water (or a little more)

200 g linguini, cooked and drained

Place the chickpeas, salt, garlic, tahini, 4 tbsps olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon in a food processor. Process until smooth and set aside.

Cook the linguini and reserve the pasta water.

In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp butter, jalapeno, mushrooms, red onion and garlic. Sauté 4-5 minutes.

Add the sundried tomatoes and greens, toss together.

Take the chickpea mix and stir it into the veggies along with the pasta water. I used 2/3 cup but you could add a little more depending on your preference for the thickness of the sauce.

Add the cooked linguini to the pan, stir to coat and heat through.

Serve alongside a fresh salad.

Serves 2-3

Veggie Stuffed Chicken Breasts

So much flavour, lots of colour, some work but well worth it!

Ingredients:

3 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup small broccoli florets 
1/2 cup sweet potato, cut in small cubes
1/4 cup finely diced red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1  1/2 tsps garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
3/4 cup cheese, I used Monterey Jack
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Place broccoli in a bowl with 1 tbsp water. Microwave 30 seconds on high. In another bowl microwave the sweet potato cubes in a couple tbsps of water for 1 - 1  1/2 minutes. Drain off any remaining water.

With a sharp knife slice chicken breasts down the middle lengthwise, but not all the way through, forming a pocket.

Season inside and out with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and paprika. Mix together the cheese, mayo, 1 tsp garlic powder, broccoli, sweet potato and red pepper.

Fill the chicken pockets with the veggie/cheese mixture and hold together with toothpicks or wooden skewers. 

Not going to lie...this was not too easy!

You can sprinkle on a little more seasoning if you like.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in an oven-safe skillet.

Sear chicken 3 minutes on each side, then de-glaze the pan with 2-3 tbsps of water, broth or wine.

Cover skillet and bake in a 425 F oven for 15-18 minutes.

Let rest 5 minutes and serve with rice (and more veggies!)

Beef, Carrot and Sweet Potato Stir Fry

Yummy isn't always pretty.

Ingredients:

3/4 lb round steak, cut in thin strips
1/2 - 1 jalapeno, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps olive oil, divided

2 or 3 carrots, sliced
1 small sweet potato, thinly sliced
1 inch fresh ginger, shredded or minced
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup kale, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Mix jalapeno, garlic and 1 tbsp olive oil and massage into beef strips. Marinate 1 hour in fridge.

In a large skillet or wok heat 1 tbsp olive oil and add the meat. Toss until no pink remains then remove to a plate.

To the same pan add the sweet potato, carrots and green onions and cook 5-7 minutes.

Return the meat to the pan and add everything else. 
Heat through for 2-3 minutes and serve.

Makes 4 servings