Homemade Ketsup

I have never made my own ketchup. I've made mayonnaise and many different salad dressings and sauces, but not ketchup. It's so easy just to buy it. Well, I have so many friends that are into fresh, clean, healthy and truly organic foods. They are into canning and preserving and putting up their own foods. I thought I'd give ketchup making a try. I researched a lot and found many recipes. This is what I came up with today.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

In a medium saucepan, combine the onion, carrot, celery, thyme, mustard, cayenne, cinnamon, tomato paste, honey and salt. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Add the crushed tomatoes and vinegar.

Simmer until the sauce is very thick and flavorful,

about 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool and place in a blender or

food processor and blend until smooth.

Strain to catch any chunks or un-processed pieces.

 Jar and process according to

canning instructions, or refrigerate.

The hubby says that it tastes like Heinz to him, but I plan on adjusting the seasonings to fit my taste. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 to 3 cups, so you can afford to make a couple of batches to make it what you want or like.

Roasted Pickled Garlic Aioli

Some of you may remember my post on Pickled Garlic. If not you can click on the link and review it. Well, I wanted to do a garlic mayo, so I decided to use my pickled garlic. What could be better?

5-6 large cloves of pickled garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil

2 egg yolks**
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup light olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place garlic cloves in an aluminum packet. Drizzle with oil. Place in the oven and roast for 25-35 minutes until the garlic is soft. 

They look like they are burnt,

but that is where the bruises were,

and they took on a burnt color.

Once cooked, pinch cooked garlic out of each clove.

Since mine was already peeled,

I ran it through my garlic press a few times.

That caught the tougher skin and ends.

In a food processor, place roasted garlic, egg yolks, and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth. Very slowly, drizzle oil into the processor with the motor running. To ensure proper emulsification, pour the oil in very, very slowly. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

The Aioli may be kept 5-7 days

in the refrigerator.

** If you are not sure of your eggs, or are cautions about using raw eggs. Coddle the eggs... Coddling Eggs

French Strawberry Pie

This homemade French Strawberry Pie was my Mama's favorite. Her sister's mother-in-law, Mrs. German, used to make it for her every time she came to visit. It should have more strawberries standing in it, but the strawberries available right now, weren't too good and I came up a little short. It didn't effect the taste any! I took the pie as a surprise for my step-daughter, her husband and son. I received this message from her this morning... "Jack and I ate the rest of the pie for breakfast. Jack kept saying "mum mum" when I would say "yum yum"!"

1 quart Strawberries, cleaned & stemmed

8 oz Cream Cheese, room temp

1 ¼ cups Sugar

3 T Cornstarch

1 T Lemon Juice

1 Pie Crust (9 inch) baked and cooled

Spread cream cheese over the bottom of the pie crust. Select half of the best strawberries and press firmly into the cheese with tips up. Mash remaining berries and strain. Add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups liquid. Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually stir in berries and juice. Cook over low heat until thick and clear (5 to 6 minutes). Add a little red food coloring. Cool and pour over berries. Chill about 3 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

Soups, Stews, Bread and Cornbreads... Oh My!

In this crazy Polar Vortex of a winter, I think we all need a little something to warm up our bones. Yesterday/last night, our temperatures dropped 34 degrees. Not dropped to 34 degrees, but the temp dropped BY 34 degrees back into the 20s. That's a shocker down in the deep South in March with "Spring" arriving in about 15 days! I've put together a group of my bone warming recipes in this post. Choose what looks good to you and click the link below the picture...

15 Beans Soup with Ham

Tuscan Soup with Italian Sausage

Baked Potato Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

 Beef Stew

Mama's Catfish Stew

Hush Puppies

 Vidalia Cornbread

Cornbread Recipes

Italian Herb and Cheddar Bread Loaf

Red Lobster Biscuits