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Cranberry Sauce with a little zing~
Have fun with the upcoming holidays!
Have your kids get involved- let them hollow out pumpkins to be used for decorating your holiday serving table-
Serve this tasty Cranberry Sauce in a little pumpkin! Thank you Jane St. Clair @ Savor California!
I need a Sous Chef…
Do you ever find yourself with too much to do & too little time to do it in?
That’s me! I need a sous chef!
In the meantime, this came to mind, LISTEN UP!
Talley Winery, Arroyo Grande
Talley Vineyards is where you’ll find my dear friend & artist extraordinaire, Lorri Trogden’s lovely “Salute to Talley” show of her works. The show will be displayed through October 31, 2011.
My mother, daughter & I were asked to display Ojai Jalapeño Jelly & Ojai Habanero Jelly too, which was fun!
We spent the day sampling Talley’s flavorful wines- I particularly liked Bishop’s Peak Pinot.
Ben told a few Mexican fish tales- Ray chased after the local beauties, & the day vanished before we knew it!
Thank you to all of you that joined us in Arroyo Grande! We met some really nice people- especially the sweet couple from Rhode Island!
Savor California Article
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly was recently showcased on the Savor California website. Read the article, shop for artisan foods, and find gourmet recipes at SavorCalifornia.com
I love Valley Lahvosh crackers with Ojai Jelly!
♥ Valley Lahvosh Crackers
Cowboy Relish aka Cowboy Candy
3 pounds fresh, firm Peppers (assorted colored Bell Peppers, Jalapeño’s Peppers, & Habanero Peppers)
2 c. apple cider vinegar
6 c. sugar
1 t. tumeric
1 1/2 t. celery seed
4 t. fresh garlic, chopped
1 1/2 t. cayenne pepper
Warning: You may want to wear gloves…
Remove all stems. Wash Peppers with a vegie wash, rinse well and let drain well.
Slice the Peppers into somewhat uniform 1/4 inch pieces, set aside.
In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, and all spices to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the Peppers and simmer for 5 more minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the Peppers into properly prepared sterilized jars. Fill up to 1/4″ of the jar rim. Once all the Pepper bits are removed from the pot and placed in jars, turn up the heat and bring the remaining liquid to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 7 minutes.
Use a ladle to pour the sugar syrup into the jars over the Peppers. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp towel, then apply the 2 piece lids.
Save all left over syrup- it is so flavorful in Martini’s, marinate, etc.
I recommend you do a hot water bath to properly and esthetically seal in flavor and out germs.
If you use this right away, you can be more casual about the process by refrigerating the jars of Cowboy Relish.
enjoy!
Rosemary Butter
This is a kitchen staple for me-
I grow a lot of rosemary, so it’s easy to have a reserve of rosemary butter around to
help boost the flavor of most every dinner.
Paint it on your garlic bread, baste your turkey as it roasts, make gravy with it-
Everything tastes better with herb butter added-
I know a lot of people need to be mindful of their salt in-take, so try this but know you don’t need a lot to appreciate the great flavor. It’s just not the same if you use sweet butter.
The herb infusion with the butter is far superior with salted butter.
I cube of salted butter
Melt it either in a small pot or a small frying pan-
Add the fresh rosemary & cook over low heat- the kitchen smells great as it cooks.
Once it turns a golden brown, drain off the butter & stash it for cooking- I keep it in the refrigerator.
I throw out the leftover rosemary.
Enjoy!
The Power of Peppers
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly is a mild & friendly product!
However, if you are cutting up Peppers to prepare for a cocktail or generally have a Pepper accident; rub your eye or eat too many hot Peppers, try these tips:
1. Drink at least 1/2 cup of COLD milk. The protein in the milk (casein), acts as a detergent and will neutralize the capsicum from the peppers.
2. Drink sugar water; add at least 1 Tablespoon or more sugar to 1 cup of COLD water and continue rinsing the area.
3. Drink alcohol, a beer or a shot. Capsicum is soluble in alcohol which is a solvent not a neutralizer. Don’t drink & drive! EVER!
4. Rinse your mouth with oil (olive or vegetable) if nothing listed above is available. Oil will help some, it’s better than nothing.
Drinking water is tempting, naturally it’s the first thing most people reach for, but it won’t help much in relieving the overwhelming sensations from the heat of the peppers.
Valley Vegetarian
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly was recently featured in a blog post by Randy Graham of The Valley Vegetarian. To read the article click here!
THANKS RANDY!
Valentines Day Dinner Ideas
Dessert is always the easiest part of the meal to sort out for me-
Red Velvet Cake with Beet-Red Frosting &/OR
Coeur de la Créme with fresh organic raspberry Sauce.
Salad: Organic Arugula & Butter-Leaf Salad with thin sliced gold & red beets, candied Organic Ojai Walnuts,
adorned with Shaved Parmesan Cheese & fresh cracked pepper.
Soup: Red Baked Potato Soup with fresh purple onion & Sharp Cheddar Cheese on top. &/OR
Ojai Valley Inn Resort Tortilla Soup garnished with Red tortilla chips & avocado.
Main: Chicken Picatta with Capers, White Wine & Myers Lemon Sauce
If you need help with the particulars, blog me!
Smoked Turkey Club Sandwich
Bread of choice (I like sourdough or rye)
Safflower mayonnaise
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly
Smoked Turkey- sliced very thin
Apple-Smoked Bacon- crispy
Provolone Cheese
Avocado
salt & pepper to taste
Coat one side of the bread with safflower mayonnaise & the other with Ojai Jalapeño Jelly & build your sandwich.
enjoy!
Cranberry Sauce with a Zing
1 bag fresh Organic Cranberries, washed & drained
Fresh Organic Orange Juice or Ojai Pixie Tangerine Juice- enough to cover the cranberries in a pot
1 c. Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 whole cloves
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly
Put the cranberries in the pot, cover with juice, add sugar, cloves & cinnamon stick. Over medium heat, bring to a slow boil- listen for the cranberries to ‘pop’- lower the heat a little, then once you’ve heard lots of cranberries ‘pop’, remove from heat, let cool. Set aside the cooked cloves.
You can add a few tablespoons of Ojai Jalapeño Jelly for some zing~ it tastes wonderful as a garnish with Roasted Turkey.
This cranberry sauce is festive served in a small, hollowed-out pumpkin & garnished with the cinnamon stick.
DON’T forget to save the ‘left over’ liquid for future holiday martinis- it has such a great flavor! I toss the leftover cloves in the mix for added flavor.
enjoy!
Savory Egg Salad Sandwich
Savory Egg Salad Sandwich
Do this first step ahead of time:
12 hard boiled eggs –
We get our eggs fresh from the chicken coop, wash them, set in cool water then boil them, shell them, then soak them in dill pickle juice for about one week or more in the refrigerator-
For the sandwich we use 10 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1/2 c. safflower mayonnaise (or your favorite)
1/4 c. dill pickles, minced
1/4 c. purple onion, minced
1/4 c. celery, minced
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. mustard (Dijon or American)
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of paprika (I occasionally use curry or cumin)
lettuce
tomato
avocado
Ojai Jalapeño Jelly
12 slices of sourdough or rye bread, lightly toasted (helps keep sandwich from falling apart)
In a large bowl mash the eggs with a fork or a pasty blender. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and spices.
Lay out 6 slices of toasted bread. Slather with Ojai Jalapeño Jelly. Divide the egg salad evenly between the slices. Add a lettuce leaf, tomato slice &/or avocado if desired.
Eat open-faced or coat other slice of bread with Ojai Jalapeño Jelly and top the sandwich.
I put a decorative toothpick in each half to help hold it together, slice diagonally and eat~
I garnish the plate with a dill pickle and a pepporchini
enjoy!
Mediterranean Apricot Jalapeño Relish
Some people think that ALL PEPPERS are too spicy. Many Peppers are too hot, but not these. Try this & see if you like it…
I love APRICOTS-especially Mediterranean Dried Apricots. They’re not all dry & hard like most dried apricots~ they’re moist & supple.
The other night I was craving something sweet. I was rummaging through the pantry only to discover we’d eaten all of the dark chocolate. That’s when I found the delicious treats. I diced a handful of Mediterranean Apricots and added them to about 4 ounces of Ojai Organic Jalapeño Jelly & it was fantastic! Try this with turkey, chicken, pork, PB&J’s, or with cream cheese on crackers.1/2 c. Mediterranean Apricots, diced
4-6 ounces Ojai Organic Jalapeño Jelly
enjoy!
