Home Economics

The garlic harvest.

Now that canning season is upon us, it’s time to check out the condiment library.  I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to this type of food.  I always want to have enough ketchup, hot sauce, chutney and jam.  And I do – well, I always run out of jam.  But I have enough other stuff that I can actually give jars away before I start compulsively canning again.  And before the collection ages out in a dusty ugly mess.  There are some pickles down in the basement that should be forgotten, not opened.

I didn't feed Francis tonight and won't for two weeks. He's hiking and canoeing in the Adirondacks!

Dinner tonight was a great use of the hot pepper sauce I love to make.  I discovered it when Andrew got a surfeit of serranos from the Philadelphia floating market’s compost.  He brought them home, and doled them out to his pepper loving friends.  I hunted out a recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and modified it slightly.  Singapore Chili Sauce is here, but I use cider vinegar instead of white, and flame raisins, which are very big.  I think I amp up the garlic and ginger a tad, too.

Pupusas with Francis at the Kensington Market in Toronto.

Now here’s what to do with it once you make it.  Pan fry or grill a steak.  Go for a good cut or marinate something thrifty, like Jack did today.  He put a London broil in some great mixture of vinegar, garlic, cracked coriander seeds, soy sauce and olive oil.

I cooked some kale and garlic, and made a little cucumber Shiso salad.  (Shiso is a Japanese herb we grew once, and now it is all over the yard, coming up in the sidewalk even.)  I mixed all of this with brown rice and the spectacular hot sauce, and boy, is it a dinner.  Will make lunch for tomorrow too.

Francis and a car full of vegetables in Toronto.

This is a variation on the Thai steak salads I used to get in Seattle.  Red onions would not hurt it one bit, and if you have lettuce instead of kale, that is tasty too.