Red-Hot Salsa

Red -Hot Salsa

This fall, I had a bounty of tomatoes and peppers as the first frost approached. I made three different types of salsas with the tomatoes and peppers, and I have finally tasted the Red-Hot Salsa this weekend. After a couple of months of mellowing, this year's, Red-Hot is particularly good I think, because it was a very hot and sunny summer, resulting in fabulous tomatoes and peppers.  I used a combination of the brandywine, beefsteak and plum tomatoes, with the scotch bonnet, chili, and jalapeño hot peppers, that I grew in my garden this summer.   

Brandywine Tomato on the Vine

• 6 cups of chopped red tomatoes
• 4 cups of a selection of red, orange and yellow sweet peppers, chopped
• 2 cups of chopped onions
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 cups of cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped hot peppers with the seeds removed (be sure to wear rubber gloves and keep hands away from face)
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of  Spanish hot smokey paprika
• 3 tablespoon of chopped  fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh flat leafed parsley

Put all of the ingredients, except the parsley, into a large heavy enamelled or stainless steel pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce  the heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring often.  When the salsa is thick enough, a tablespoon of the salsa dropped on a cold plate will flow slowly when tilted. Stir in the parsley and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Place the salsa in preserving bottles, remove air bubbles, screw lids on tightly and process  1 cup jars for 15 minutes, and 20 minutes for 2 cup jars.  This makes about 8 cups of salsa.  

If you can wait, the salsa tastes better after it has had a chance to mellow for a month or two. 

Curried Apple and Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I planted butternut squash in my garden  for the first time this summer and now have lots of squash to make soup.  Years ago, my sister, MJ introduced me to curried squash soup.  She had dropped in after visiting a friend, and raved about a soup her friend had made.  We experimented and came up with something similar.

I have a number of renegade apple trees in the country, and over the years have added apples to the soup in the fall.  This past weekend I decided to also use some of the last vegetables of the year from my garden - leeks, a hot pepper, shallots I had forgotten about that were hiding under some of the beans,  and of course the butternut squash.

Curried Apple and Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 butternut squash
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 2 leeks
• 2 shallots
• 1 chili pepper
• 2 apples
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• cinnamon
• red curry paste
• Salish salt
• pepper
• 1 can of coconut milk
• yogurt for garnish

Cut butternut squash in half and clean out seeds. Sprinkle with cinnamon and paint exposed flesh wiht maple syrup, leaving the remainder in hollow.  Place on baking sheet and bake in oven at 350F  for half an hour or until soft.

While the squash is roasting, cut and clean leeks, and saute in olive oil in heavy pot.  Add cut shallots and chopped chilli pepper with seeds removed.  Set aside.  Peel apples and chop and add to leek mixture.  Add chicken stock, one of the sprigs of thyme, and the bay leaf.

Remove squash from oven and scoop out cooked pulp, adding to onion and stock mixture. Add curry paste and stir.  Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf and and thyme stem.

Blend mixture with immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in coconut milk and taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  and stir in leaves  from last sprig of thyme.  

I the mean time, clean the leeks well 

Kale and Heritage Tomatoes with Eggs

I make a this single pan meal at least  once a week, often when I get home after a tough day at work and don't feel like cooking, and sometimes for brunch on the weekend.  At this time of year, it is very easy, all of the vegetables come straight from the garden, eggs from my neighbour (that is why they are so yellow), and olive oil from the pantry.  It is fast and easy, tastes great, and I think is relatively healthy.  

Autumn Garden Vegetables and Eggs

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 bunch of kale, sometimes I use Swiss chard or beet leaves
• a selection of heritage tomato or not, depending on what you have available
• 1/2 a small hot pepper
• some fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 or 2 eggs per person
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Chop the garlic and onion, and hot pepper and sauté in a heavy frying pan.  

Clean kale and trim off heavy stems.  Loosely chop and add to pan with a tablespoon or so of water and the juice of one lemon, or some wine vinegar.   Add thyme leaves.  Lightly stir and cook until the kale starts to turn a bright green and is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Form a well in centre of the pan, pushing the kale to the sides.  Break eggs into the well in the centre of the pan and place tomatoes around the edges on top of the kale.  Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the eggs are cooked to the consistency you like. I like my yolks to be runny.  Grind fresh pepper on top of eggs and serve.