Let green chiles ripen to deep red color and roast in the oven on high heat until charred skins. Cover and let rest. The steam will continue to soften the skins so that they will peel off much easier.
The flavor of New Mexico, a traditional chile sauce.
This is a red chile sauce (otherwise known as chile itself) and is different from chili, as in chili beans, which is typically prepared with the addition of tomatoes and such.
It goes well over New Mexico Style Chile Rellenos, be sure to check out my recipe. It’s great in enchilada, over tacos/taco salad, over breakfast eggs, beans, sopaipillas, with tortillas, or even on its own, especially if you fry a little bit of pork cubes to go in it.
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
NEW MEXICO STYLE RED CHILE:
1 cup diced pork (optional)
Drizzle vegetable oil, if not using pork fat
2-4 tablespoons flour
2-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
12 dried New Mexico red chile pods, soaked in water overnight, drain, reserving water, then blend in blender until a smooth consistency (use some remaining reserved water to achieve a smooth texture)
Salt to taste
Dried oregano (optional)
Directions
NEW MEXICO STYLE RED CHILE:
Cook pork over medium heat, drain, and set aside.
Heat a couple teaspoons of pork fat or drizzle oil and stir in garlic
Add flour, constantly stirring until a roux is formed, may add reserved chile water if needed
Add blended red chile, may continue to add reserved water and cook down to desired consistently.
Lavender. I love it. Here is a caramel syrup that’s great on ice cream and other desserts. It’s light and not soapy. I used lavender grown from my garden and was so excited to use it in a recipe!
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
LAVENDER CARAMEL:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2-3 sprigs of lavender
Directions
LAVENDER CARAMEL:
Heat butter and sugar to a boil on med-high heat, stirring constantly and continue to boil for about 2-3 minutes, just until sugar is slightly dissolved.
Stir in salt, cream, and lavender and continue to boil mixture for another 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
Removed from heat and drizzle over ice cream, pastries, or any dessert of choice.
Garden fresh tomato sauce for pizza or over any type of pasta!
My garden is looking good! Lots of tomatoes, especially the Roma and Husky cherry variety.
Having so many ripe, juicy, flavorful tomatoes reminds me of the times my grandma would make homemade tomato sauce for her oh-so delicious spaghetti sauce. She would make tons of it, freeze it in jars, ready for any occasion. It was so tasty and special when she would make her special spaghetti with it.
She would also say “it’s easy” but I have never attempted to make it homemade myself until this week. So here is my version and like hers’ it only fresh tomatoes, nothing from the can, which is what many recipes call for when making it “homemade.” A lot of recipes call for added tomato paste or canned tomatoes, which is ok, except when you want to make it garden fresh like my grandmother.
I found that roasting the tomatoes at two different stages in addition to a portion of fresh helps to give the sauce additional depth of flavor and a nice texture that can be adjusted for use as a pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce.
You can choose to leave it chunky or smooth, thin, or thick, sweet or less sweet.
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
GARDEN FRESH TOMATO SAUCE FROM SCRATCH:
4-6 pounds vine ripened tomatoes, quartered with seeds and cores removed, Roma variety is best, but you can use any variety/combination, divided into thirds (light roast, heavily roasted, and fresh)
Drizzle olive oil
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)
1/4 to 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1-2 teaspoons oregano or Italian seasoning
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Ground hamburger meat, cooked beforehand and set aside is also an option for spaghetti sauce
Directions
GARDEN FRESH TOMATO SAUCE FROM SCRATCH:
Roast about 1/2 to 3/4 of the tomatoes in 400 degrees F (204 C) oven in two separate stages (15-20 minutes): lightly roasted and soft, the other with darkened skins.
Puree fresh tomatoes and set aside. If you want a completely smooth texture, puree them all.
In a shallow pan over medium heat, heat olive oil, then add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, then stir in sugar.
Add onion and cook until just barely translucent.
Add freshly pureed, lightly roasted, and heavily roasted tomatoes.
Add oregano, basil, salt, pepper and cook down on low heat until desired texture.
Add cooked hamburger meat for spaghetti if desired.
I inadvertently forgot to take a picture of the sauce by itself, so here it is on a pizza!
How is your garden fairing? Have you ever made homemade tomato sauce before?
My sister grew some beautiful edible tea roses that smell so fragrant and looked so gorgeous as she gave them to me in a vase. I admired them just until they were about to turn and thought, maybe I would like to try making a recipe out of them. I’ve never cooked rose petals before, so here it is, rose petal syrup. It’s so delicate, with hints of rose and pairs so well with vanilla ice cream.
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
ROSE PETAL SYRUP:
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup edible rose petals
Directions
ROSE PETAL SYRUP:
Heat water and sugar to a boil on med-high heat, stirring constantly and continue to boil for about 3 minutes.
Stir in rose petals and continue to boil mixture for another 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
Removed from heat and drizzle over ice cream, pastries, or any dessert of choice.
Here are some photos I took of the flowers, I’m thinking of painting a still life of the vase and creamer pour arrangement, they’re just so beautiful.
Let me know of any flower syrups or extracts you have tried making, also let me know how your garden is fairing, I’d love to know!
1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on taste and chips you pair it with
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 jalapeño peppers, diced
1 Serrano pepper, diced
Directions
HOMEMADE GUACAMOLE:
Mash together avocados, garlic, spices, cilantro, and lime juice until well incorporated.
Mix in tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, and Serrano pepper.
Serve with corn or tortilla chips. It’s also great on toast.
Today is Spicy Guacamole Day! Guacamole, translated as avocado sauce, was originally made by the Aztecs. It can be made in various ways and to the level of heat as desired. I like to do all the vegetable prep work ahead of time before cutting into the avocado to reduce the chance of it turning brown while making it. I also like to work in the garlic, spices, cilantro, and lime juice as I mash the avocado. And if I need to store it in the refrigerator, I’ll squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top and place clear wrap directly onto the guacamole to help keep it from browning.
10-12 (2 lbs) roma tomatoes, cored, deseeded, and halved
3-5 tomatillos, cored, deseeded, and halved
1/2 medium white onion
2-5 jalapeño peppers, halved
2 serrano peppers, halved
3-6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on taste and chips you pair the salsa with
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/4 lime, juiced
Directions
FRESH HOMEMADE SALSA:
Reserve 1-2 tomatoes (diced), 1-2 tomatillos (diced), 1-2 jalapeños (finely diced), 1 serrano (finely diced), as well as a small handful of onion (finely diced) and 1-2 garlic cloves (minced) to add at the end for a brighter flavor and added texture.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (191 C) and cook remaining tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, and serranos in a shallow baking sheet drizzled with olive oil, skin sides up, and covered with lid or aluminum foil for about 15-20 minutes, adding the garlic cloves at the last 5 minutes of cooking time so they don’t burn and become bitter. The vegetables will begin to soften and skins will begin to peel away.
*If you prefer a really smoky taste, you can cook the vegetables on top rack of oven, uncovered for a shorter amount of time at 425-450 degrees F (218-232 C) until the skins blacken. Just note that cooking, though adding a deeper flavor profile, will cause the vegetable colors to darken and dull, so roasting at a high heat for a shorter amount of time can help with that if keeping a relatively vibrant color of salsa is also what you are wanting to achieve.
Once vegetables have softened (or blackened), allow to cool and peel away skins.
Dice the cooked tomatoes, tomatillos, and onion, finely dice the jalapeños, serranos, and finally mince the garlic.
Lightly pulse blend/process cooked vegetables to desired texture.
Then combine all vegetables (cooked and reserved uncooked, as well as oregano, cumin, and salt) in sauce pan and cook on med-high heat for 5 min.
Remove from heat and add cilantro and lime juice.
Refrigerate for 2 hours and enjoy! Flavor will also continue to develop with additional refrigeration time.
Fresh homemade salsa is just so bright, fresh, and delightful. And it’s really easy to make. There are just a couple things you’ll want to keep in mind when making it from scratch and it is all dependent on your taste, prep, and cooking preferences. For those who like smooth salsa, you can either blend or cook the vegetables down more to achieve that consistency. Or don’t for a chunkier style.
For that bright, fresh taste, options include adding fresh lime, tomatillos, cilantro, or you can cook the vegetables for a lesser time or not at all if you’re not inclined to do so. For a deep, smoky taste, you can roast any or all of the vegetables at a higher heat in the oven.
Of course you can always simply cook then blend all the vegetables at once if you’d like but taking additional steps to prep and stage really makes for a salsa that allows for balance and depth of a fresh and smoky taste, medium-smooth texture that stays on your chip, and where the fresh vegetable colors remain. I like a depth of flavor, texture, and color that combines the best of all worlds, so I prefer to reserve some of the freshly chopped vegetables to add at the end.
And you can change the level of spice by omitting/adding more peppers of choice, mainly jalapeños and serranos and leaving in the membrane/seeds.
Let me know if you make this recipe and which way you made it, there are so many options!
Homemade whipped cream is surprisingly easy to make!
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM:
16 oz (1 pt/473 ml) heavy whipping cream
3-6 tablespoon granulated sugar (to taste)
Pinch of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
May also use any extract or spice you desire such as raspberry, peppermint, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc…
Directions
HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM:
Whip all ingredients together until light and fluffy.
I love homemade whipped cream. Between the light, fluffy texture and how you can control the sweetness and add any kind of flavoring you like, it’s a real treat. It’s great for any dessert, can be used it as an icing, and makes an especially delicious addition to coffee. It also goes by the name Chantilly cream or creme Chantilly.
This recipe is soft, smooth, and you can pipe decorations with it.
Credit: ericarobbin.com
Ingredients
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM ICING:
4 large egg whites (room temperature)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pats, softened
Directions
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM ICING:
Place egg whites and sugar in bowl over hot water bath.
While whisking, bring mixture up to 160 degrees (71 C).
Remove from heat and continue whisking on high setting until and completely cooled and texture is light and billowy. May apply ice packs to outside of bowl to aid in cooling process.
Once completely cooled, add butter one pat at a time, ensuring each piece is well-incorporated each time.
May add any flavoring or fruit compote as desired.
Best if used immediately. May refrigerate, but make sure you allow icing to come to room temperature before mixing (at low speed).
