My Everyday Curry Spice Blend

When I say this is my everyday curry spice blend, I don’t mean the one I use regularly, I mean I use it just about EVERYDAY. In soup mostly because I make soup for lunch everyday. And you know what? I still get excited to eat my curried soup everyday so I know I am doing something right.

I have been making a version of this curry spice over the years but have added more and more spices to the mix. Sometimes I might even add a few more but these are the ones that always make the cut and that I pretty much buy in large quantity bulk. (Especially cumin. I buy in a pound container just about every 2 months) The only missing spice that I usually put in here is fenugreek but for some reason the two places that sell bulk spices are not carrying it currently so I don’t have it.

Anyway, this is my blend. I Iove it and you probably will too because it is good! And yeah, it makes a good cup or so of spice but that is not a lot when you use it everyday and use like 2 tablespoons at a time.

I really really like my spices.

Now to the everyday curry spice!

The stuff. Cumin, ginger, turmeric, oregano, peppercorns, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, brown mustard seeds, cayenne powder, paprika, and cinnamon.

Basically take any of the whole spices and blend them up into powder or as close to powder as you like. I actually like some whole seeds and such in my powders because a whole peppercorn or fennel seed once in a while is pretty tasty.

Dump the blended spiced with the rest of the already powdered spices and mix together .

Dump into a airtight jar and use in soups and curries and vegetable dishes and casseroles.. Everyday.

-C

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My Everyday Curry Spice Blend

makes about a cup of spice blend

• 3 tablespoons cumin

• 2 tablespoons ground ginger

• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric

• 2 teaspoon ground chili powder or red pepper flakes (you less for less heat)

• 1 tablespoon oregano

• 2 teaspoon fennels seeds

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds

• 2 teaspoons black peppercorns

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons mustard seed pods

Place all the spices that are not already ground into a spice mill or mortar and grind until well, ground. Add to the rest of the spices and mix together well.

Transfer to a airtight jar. Use everyday on anything

Blend will last a good few months when stored properly.

Black Olive Tapenade

A few weeks ago I bought a tub of hummus that came with a few toppings that you add in yourself. I don’t normally buy that kind of stuff but it was on sale and you know, had to try it. Turns out the hummus was good on it’s own so the toppings never got mixed in. They did get eaten though, just as sandwich spreads. One of the toppings that it came with was olive tapenade and let me tell you, the mr ate the shit out of it. Yes we love olives in this house (I hated olives unit one magical day a few years ago and now I freaking love them) but it has been so long since I have done much more then throw a few on a pizza or into a salad or just eat then straight. Now, well now we have to have olive tapenade on hand at all times. Spreadable, blop-able olives. Good on us.

This olive tapenade is the simplest as simple can get. Basic canned black olives, a little garlic, a splash of oil to make it a little more spreadable, and some lemon juice. I know that some tapenades call for fresh herbs, maybe nuts, or some other stuff, and by all means that is good too, but there is no shade in going simple. Simple taste damn good.

Now to the olive tapenade.

The stuff. A can of pitted black olives, a couple cloves of garlic (raw or roasted) a little olive oi, and a lemon.

Place olives (make sure there are no surprise pits), chopped up garlic, about half a lemons worth or juice, and oil into a food processor or a jar (if using a hand blender) and blend until combined. Keep as chunky or go as smooth as you like. We like smooth with a few little chunks.

And that is it. You now eat it, any way you want. The mr really likes his olive bread toast situations, as for me, I like it on salads, used as veggie dip, or eaten straight from jar with a finger. Just living my truth.

-C

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Black Olive Tapenade

makes a hefty cup of tapenade

• 1 can pitted black olives

• 2 cloves garlic (raw or roasted)

• 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon olive oil

• a lemon (optional)

Stain olives from liquid, check for any stray pits, and place in a food processor or jar (if using a hand blender) along with the garlic, the lesser amount of oil, and a squeeze of lemon. Pulse or blend until spreadable and leave as chunky or go as smooth as you would like. Taste and add more lemon juice and or olive oil to your liking.

Eat it up with chips, bread, on salads or pastas. And yea spoonfuls to the mouth. Any left over store in a airtight jar in fridge for a week or so.

Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce

It’s that time of year again. Time to make the hot sauce!

This year I wanted to do a little twist on my usual plain old jalapeño hot sauce. And to be honest, I wanted to use up the pineapple juice that I had stashed away in the pantry that I was using to make popsicles for the littles all summer. But mostly it’s because pineapple and jalapeño are a fantastic flavoring pairing and I knew that adding the pineapple to the hot sauce would only be a great idea.

A great idea it was.

This hot sauce is basic. Hot peppers, vinegar, and a little onion, garlic, and salt. The pineapple juice adds more body, some sweetness, and just a nice undertone of pineappleiness that you didn’t know you really wanted. It is really really good. And about the jalapeños. They are one of those peppers that can be pretty mild but also can get pretty dang hot. I am not sure of the variety that I have been picking at that farm for the past few years (that is where I get my peppers), but they are always on the pretty dang hot side so my hot sauces always have a good amount of kick to them. If you find your peppers to be a little too mild for you, well go ahead and add a few habaneros to the mix.

Now to the hot sauce!

The stuff. Jalapeños of course (green, red, or both. I picked both), an onion, a couple cloves garlic, pineapple juice, white vinegar, and salt.

Chop onion and garlic up into chunks on the small side.

Jalapeños. Chop them up. You want to get rid of the stems and depending on how hot you want your sauce, you might want to remove the seeds and ribs. I don’t bother because we like it hot, but also it’s annoying. HA.

Note. When dealing with any hot peppers, make sure to not touch your face during or after. You will feel it. They are hot.

Toss it all into a pot. Sprinkle with salt and add a splash of water. Place on stove on medium heat to give the peppers and onion a little head start on cooking.

After softening the peppers and onions for about 10 minutes, add the liquid.

Partially cover with a lid and simmer the peppers until they are fall apart tender. Probably about 35-40 minute.

Peppers so soft, ready to go.

Let it cool a few minutes then dump it all Into a blender. Blend until completely blended.

Smooth as smooth can be.

Taste it (like dip a carrot of a piece of bread into it) and add more salt if nessacery. Also, if it is too thick for your liking, add a little water to thin it out.

Now bottle it up!

Hot hot hot sauce for the taking.

And look here, enough for you and maybe even a friend or two… Holidays are coming!

Enjoy the sauce!

-C

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Pineapple Jalapeño Hot Sauce

makes between 5-6 cups

• 25-30 good sized jalapeños (green or red or both)

• 2-3 cloves garlic

• 1 medium yellow or white onion

• 2 cups pineapple juice or puree

• 2 cups white vinegar

• 2 teaspoons salt

• water

Cut the onion into small chunks and roughly mince the garlic. Grab jalapeños and remove stems. Remove seeds and ribs if you want less heat in the sauce, then chop into small pieces. Place the onion, garlic, and peppers into a big pot with a splash of water. Sprinkle with salt and stick on stove on medium heat and cook for 5-10 minutes or until you can smell the onion and peppers starting to cook.

Dump in the pineapple juice and 1/2 the vinegar. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, partially cover then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until peppers are very tender.

NOTE.. Have a window open or exhaust fan going.. the fumes are spicy!

Once peppers have soften, remove form heat and let cool a few minutes. Dump or scoop the contents of pot into a blender. Add in the remaining vinegar and blend until very smooth. Once blended, taste and season with more salt if needed. Also if the consistency is to thick for your liking, add in a little water to thin out.

And then bottle it. Whatever sized jars you like, just make sure the lids are not metal if you can avoid it. The acidity of the vinegar will corrode the metal.

Add a label, stick in fridge, and eat on whoever the heck you want! (Also makes a great gift and there is defiantly enough here to give some away!)

Note. It only gets better with age!

Fire Cider

Just the other day I was at the gym talking to someone when all of a sudden, she coughed into my face, like full fledge hacking. This and then she continued to tell me that she has been sick for like weeks and blah blah blah. After that all I was thinking was, Oh Fuck, she just gave me her ick….GET AWAY FAST!!!!

So it’s that time of year. Everyone all sick and shit. And that means getting my stash of stuff made, my feel better, don’t get sick stuff. The tonics and elixirs and hocus pocus things that I use all year long, but mostly during the winter months when everyone starts getting sick.

One of the things I make is fire cider. First off, let me tell you I am no doctor, just in case you thought I might be. But I l am a strong believer in food as medicine. So the fire cider is a heath tonic of sorts, made with all sorts of yummy and highly potent things like fresh grated horseradish, hot peppers, garlic, and so forth. All things that are good for your health in many ways, but also taste really good. And let me tell you, if you are into the healing powers or not, a swing of this infused cider tonic will surely open up your sinus cavity like whoa.

And now before you get super excited about going and making yourself this fantastic health tonic/salad dressing/drink mixer, and thinking it will be ready and done as soon as you do a little grating, well hold up. You can throw it together super fast, but it does take a good 4-6 weeks of chilling and infusing before you really want to get into it. But don’t let that stop you, it is 100% worth all the waiting. And wouldn’t you know, the holidays are about 4-6 weeks away and I was just thinking after I made a batch for myself how I should make another big batch and give away in little jars for Christmas this year. Now there is a good idea. (Might not be a doctor, but I sure am a smarty pants…HAHAHA)

Now to the Fire cider!

Garlic, onion and hot peppers, chopped into bits. Place it all into a clean 32oz jar.

Grated horseradish, turmeric, and ginger. Into jar it goes. And watch out, freshly grated horseradish can be a little intense.

Sliced lemon. Into said jar along with thyme, oregano, and peppercorns.

Packed and filled with raw apple cider vinegar.

Now a lid and some time in a cool dark place and you got yourself some liquid gold.

Remember, I am not a doctor so yeah, but this cider helps me feel better when I need it to and I think you will find it will help you too. And it tastes freaking awesome on food so theres that!

-C

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Fire Cider

makes 16-20 oz

• 1/3 cup fresh grated horseradish

• 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger root

• 1/4 cup fresh grated tumeric

• 1 chopped onion

• 3-5 heads of garlic chopped

• 2—4 hot peppers (depending on the type you use and the heat level you want) chopped

• 1 lemon sliced

• 1 teaspoon peppercorns

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• Raw apple Cider Vinegar

• Honey or maple syrup (optional)

Note. Feel free to change the amounts of all of the ingredients. Want to use less horseradish, then do so. No hot peppers, then don’t add them. Leave out the oregano and thyme and add dill or rosemary. You can be creative with your own flavors.

Now to make fire cider.

Place all ingredients besides vinegar into a 32 oz jar. Pack down with a wooden spoon then fill jar with apple cider vinegar.(Make sure all the stuff is submerged in the vinegar.) Place a lid on jar. If using a metal lid, line top with wax paper first or just use a plastic lid if you have one. Place jar in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks, giving it a shake every day.

After at least 4 weeks, remove lid of the jar, strain the liquid from the solids through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, squeezing out as much as the liquid as you can. You can discard the solids or make something tasty with them (sautéed with potatoes?). Then taste the liquid. Add sweetener if you want, maybe a few tablespoons to start and go from there.

And thats it. Store the cider a lidded jar in a cool dark place. Or in the fridge if you want it cold.

To use, just take a swig when feeling crappy, stuffy, cold, or just want a tasty little pick me up. Or use as condiment on food, like in a salad or wherever.

Enjoy!

Fresh And Chunky Cherry Tomato Peach Salsa

There are a million things you can, and should, do with tomatoes. Salsa is one of those things. Especially with the super fresh and ripe summertime tomatoes that may or may not be overflowing every empty surface of your kitchen (my current predicament). And peaches. Now is the time friends to eat your peaches. In season and oh so tasty. Do it now before it’s too late and those oh so deliciously ripe and sweet peaches are gone and all that is left are mealy, gross, supermarket fakes. Only eat in season peaches. That is a life lesson everyone should know.

This salsa is perfect. Super fresh, sweet and slightly spicy, with a hint of tangy goodness and just, you, really freaking perfect. A salsa that hits all the right notes with out being overly anything and underly nothing if you know what I mean. All the tastes of summertime. A darn good salsa. Darn good.

This salsa also makes me a winner at the game I am playing with myself called “Get the mr to eat tomatoes and like it"“. The game started when he told me he was sick of tomatoes and he didn't want to eat anymore. I made the salsa (which also made me a winner in the other game I play called “Get the mr to eat fruit in his savory dishes”, because he also tells me how much he hates fruit in savory), he tried the salsa, raved about the salsa, and then went and ate the rest of the salsa with his rice and beans. .

I win again! Haha

Anyway, super fast, super fresh, super super. A great way to use up a any of your shit load of tomatoes you might have laying around and to get in a few more of those summertime peaches before they are gone again for the year.

Now to the salsa.

The stuff. Cherry tomatoes, peaches, an onion, a jalapeño, a lime, a bunch of cilantro, salt and pepper, and a little vinegar.

Start by cutting up the tomatoes into quarters. Do this carefully or else you will have tomatoes rolling around everywhere. Place chopped tomatoes into a bowl.

Then dice up those peaches into small little pieces and toss into bowl with tomatoes.

Onion gets diced up too and placed into bowl.

Jalapeno, seeds removed, diced up nice and small. Get it into the bowl.

And cilantro. Give it a rough chop and into the bowl it goes.

A sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper (to taste of course), the juice of the lime, and a splash of vinegar. Mix it all up and there you have it.

Into a jar (or you can just keep it in the bowl if you want), and it’s ready for eating. Chips, tacos, to top a salad… This salsa does it all. Heck, just eat it with a spoon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

-C

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Fresh And Chunky Cherry Tomato Peach Salsa

Makes about 32 oz of the good stuff

• 1 overflowing pint cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, sun gold or a mix of any)

• 2 ripe but firm peaches

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 1-2 jalapeños (depending on how hot you want it)

• 1 small red or white onion

• a lime

• salt and pepper

• splash red or white wine vinegar

Grab the tomatoes and carefully, so they don’t roll away, cut each one into quarters. Place in a big bowl. Cut peaches in half, remove pit, and dice the flesh into very small little piece and toss into bowl. Now onion, dice that into small little pieces, along with the jalapeño and toss into bowl. Cilantro gets a rough chop then into the bowl it goes. Now sprinkle in a little salt and lots of black pepper. Add the juice of the lime and a splash of the vinegar and toss it all around. Let sit for a few minutes, taste, then season with more salt and pepper if needed. Can add more vinegar for more acid if needed too.

This salsa only gets better with a little age so you can definitely make it a day or two ahead of time.

Store in a bowl to serve or a jar for longer storage. Use within a 4-5 days of making it.