Apricot Chutney

Take advantage of apricot season to make this delicious and versatile sauce. It's a wonderful topping on poultry, fish, or meat alternatives. This can also be used as a base sauce for baking or slow-cooking those same items, as well as combined with other ethnic sauces (such as curry paste) to add a whole new dimension. Fresh apricots taste much better than using store-bought apricot preserves.

This extra sauce will be used for my next dinner, which will be a vegan curry full of a variety of vegetables. The sauce will be made by combining the chutney with "Patak's Mild Curry Spice Paste."

Ingredients 

• 6 ripe apricots (they should "give" a little when you press your finger into it; make sure they're not too mushy) 
• 1/2 medium or 1 small onion (white, yellow, sweet, red, or any other favorite) 
• olive oil 
• brown sugar 
• lemon juice or any variety of vinegars 
• salt and pepper 
• any additional favorite spices/flavorings/add-ins (see Step 4 for suggestions)

Instructions 

1)  On medium heat, stirring frequently, sauté in a saucepan (small pot) until onions are caramelized: 

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 to 1 cup diced onion  

2)  While onions are cooking, dice and save for Step 4: 

• 6 apricots 

3)  Once the onions are ready, deglaze the pot with: 

• 1/4 cup water. 

4)  Then add:

• the diced apricots 
• 1/4 cup light ("golden") brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar 
• salt and pepper, to taste 
• any other spices/flavorings/add-ins to help coordinate with the rest of the meal (such as: poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and ginger root, garlic, curry seasoning, raisins or dried cranberries, etc.)...make it your own!

5) Cook the mixture over medium heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until apricots shrink down to desired consistency. If it starts to get too dry, add 2 tablespoons of water at a time.

Apricots are cooked down and ready to taste to make adjustments to flavorings.

6) When it's ready, taste the sauce and make adjustments as needed: 

• add brown sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, if you want it sweeter 
• add lemon juice or vinegar, 1 teaspoon at a time, if you want more tartness 
• add salt/pepper/other flavorings in small increments until you get the taste you want

Apricot chutney on top of baked wild-caught salmon. This dinner combo came from local produce that happened to be abundant and in-season at the local veggie stand. In the recipe for this batch, I added a little extra vinegar and brown sugar, plus some crushed red pepper flakes to give it a "kick."

Walla Walla Chow Chow Relish

This recipe is adapted from a few different recipes found online and in canning books. Chow chow relish tastes great as a condiment over many different meats, including sausage and hot dogs. My favorite way is to eat it over a bowl of pinto beans and rice. Since we use Walla Walla sweet onions, we decided call this one "Walla Walla..." to make this recipe sound more meaningful to those folks who live out west here and think that "Chow Chow" is just a type of dog food. I've had fun doing this canning project with my sister-in-law, Sue, several times now.

1) Combine the following items in an extra large pot or mixing bowl to make a cabbage-vegetable mixture:
     > 4 quarts (= 16 cups) finely chopped or shredded cabbage (approx. two medium heads of cabbage)
     > 3 cups thinly sliced and chopped Walla Walla sweet onions (approx. one large onion)
     > 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (approx. one large pepper)
     > 1/4 cup salt (sprinkle on top of all the vegetables and then mix thoroughly)
Let the vegetables rest for 1-2 hours, mixing once in awhile. The water will be drawn out, which will be drained later, before cooking these vegetables.

2) Combine the following ingredients in a large pot:
     > 4 cups white vinegar
     > 3 cups sugar
     > 4 teaspoons dry mustard
     > 2 teaspoon turmeric
     > 1 teaspoon ground ginger
     > 4 teaspoons celery seed
     > 4 teaspoons mustard seed
Cook this vinegar-sugar-spice mixture over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Thoroughly drain the excess water out of the cabbage-vegetable mixture, then add it to vinegar-sugar-spice mixture in the pot and bring it up to a simmer over medium high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bring to a full boil, then turn off the heat. It's now ready to pour into the jars.

4) Pour the hot mixture into hot pint-sized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Apply lids and lid rings.  Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath (start the timer when the water starts boiling). Remove the jars from the water bath and allow to cool. You will hear a popping sound in the lid after several minutes, which indicates they are properly sealed.

Yields 7 to 9 pints.

21-pound cabbage Sue picked out for our latest canning session. She bought it at a local vegetable stand.
 I think we only used about a quarter of this cabbage to make two batches of this recipe!

Pesto Sauce

Pesto sauce is quick and easy to make. The drawback is that the ingredients can be pricey, especially pine nuts, fresh basil, and fresh parmesan cheese. By the time all the ingredients are purchased, the tally ends up being much higher than a tub of "fresh" pesto found in the cheese section at the local supermarket. However, it's worth it to splurge once in awhile because homemade pesto can be fine-tuned to taste exactly how you want it, and it always tastes better than the store-bought variety.

The recipe below reflects how I prefer my pesto. I tend to prefer more cheese and less garlic than most pesto recipes. I prefer not to puree my cheese with the other ingredients in order to allow the sauce to have more texture; plus, it's easier on my blender when I am not trying to blend in the cheese. When I puree the ingredients, I try to leave a little texture remaining from the basil and pine nuts. If the sauce is too dry, add more olive oil or some cold water (for a less fattening sauce). It's okay to increase and decrease the ingredient amounts listed below, based on your own taste preferences.

1) Puree together in a food processor:

        4 oz fresh basil, washed & stems removed
        1 clove crushed garlic (may add more garlic if desired)
        1/2 cup olive oil
        1/2 cup (2.25 oz pkg) pine nuts
        salt & pepper to taste

2) Stir this mixture into:
        1 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

3) Store in a sealed container up to three days in the refrigerator. Serve with pasta, meats, vegetables, or fish. Generally, the sauce is best stirred into hot pasta without cooking the sauce further. If pesto is cooked, remember that the oils will separate, the cheese will melt, and the consistency will change. Click here to find many creative uses for pesto sauce.

Hummus

I entered the ingredients into a note on my cell phone based on an ingredient list of a package of hummus dip that I was eating at someone else's house. I think it was Trader Joe's but not sure. I will turn this into a real recipe later....

   > garbanzo beans
   > water
   > sesame
   > lemon juice
   > garlic
   > salt
   > olive oil

This sounds a lot like my tahini dressing, with the addition of garbanzos.

Peanut Sauce for Stir-fry

This sauce can be used with any Asian noodle or rice stir-fry dish. Note: "creamy" peanut butter will yield a creamier sauce, but I prefer to stay away from hydrogenated fats.

1) Mix together in a bowl and set aside:
     > ½ cup natural peanut butter
     > ½ cup water
     > 2 tablespoons soy sauce
     > 1 tablespoon brown sugar

2) Make your stir-fry (meats, veggies, etc.). For additional flavor, you may include any or all of the following in the stir-fry:
     > minced hot peppers
     > ginger root
     > garlic
     > green onion (or leave out of cooking and use as garnish)

3) Once stir-fry is cooked, mix in the peanut sauce mixture and cook through until it's at desired consistency. Serve over rice, pasta, or any type of Asian noodles.

4) For more flavor after cooking, add any or all of the optional garnishes:
     > chopped fresh cilantro
     > green onion
     > fresh-squeezed lime juice
     > extra soy sauce
     > Spiracha hot chili sauce

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ALTERNATIVE RECIPE: Almond Sauce

1) Saute some minced garlic in a little bit of oil, then add...
2) sauce ingredients, mixed together before adding to the garlic-oil (cook until thickened):
    > ½ cup almond butter
    > 1½ cups water
    > 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
    > 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
    > 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Falafel Pita Pockets

Someday I will find a good recipe for homemade falafel. In the meantime, though, I'll use the mix. I like "Casbah" brand the best. "Fantastic World Foods" brand of falafel ended up being a cooking disaster because the falafel balls didn't hold their shape in the cooking oil. Any favorite commercial salad dressing may be substituted for the tahini dressing. Tahini sauce is usually found in the kosher section of the grocery store.

1) Prep vegetables...slice/cut for sandwich-style bites:
     > green leaf lettuce
     > tomatoes
     > cucumbers

2) Fry falafel balls in oil per package directions. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool off.

3) Make tahini dressing: mix...
     > One-third part tahini sauce
     > Two-thirds part water
     > freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
     > garlic (either crush a small amount or infuse the flavor with garlic pieces)
Whip it up with a fork, then add salt to taste. Add more water if needed to make it thinner

4) Cut pita pockets in half and open them up so they are ready to fill.

5) Place all ingredients out on the table to have everyone help themselves and assemble their own pita pockets (stuff  them like tacos, then drizzle the tahini dressing inside the pita over the ingredients).

This dinner can also be served like a salad, with toasted pita wedges on the side.

This is a nice, refreshing dinner to eat on a hot summer night.

Vinaigrette Dressing

1) Assemble salad ingredients, then sprinkle over salad to taste...
     > olive oil
     > balsamic vinegar OR red wine vinegar OR apple cider vinegar
     > salt and pepper
     > "herbs de provence" seasoning blend

2) Toss. Add chopped red onion, green onion, or chives into the salad for extra flavor.