Ok, so I was watching some food shows on TV last weekend, and I saw this guy talking about how to make your own pastrami. Near the end of the show he mentioned that the recipe is pretty versatile and can be used with pork, chicken, turkey, etc..  So, I think I’m going to try making a turkey pastrami. Now, right off the bat, pretty much all the research I’ve done calls for some type of smoker to finish off the turkey/ham, or whatever you are cooking. But, I’m going to try roasting instead, because I dont have a smoker, nor do I have the proper kitchen to exhaust any high amounts of smoke. However, I would definately like to try it out sometime.

Lets get started

What I’m going to need:

• For the Brine;
• 100 g Brown Sugar
• 100g Coarse Salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns
• 3-4 Whole Garlic Cloves
• 1 Tsp Mustard Seeds
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 1/2 Ltr Water
• 1 Tbsp Juniper Berries, I left this one as last because I had a very difficult time trying to find these. I ended up using red peppercorns instead, but if you can find Juniper berries use them.

Ok, so for the brine you take a saucepan and add the brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, mustard seeds, garlic gloves, juniper berries, bay leaves. Then, add the water and bring to a brisk boil for a minute or 2. Take it off the heat, and let it cool all the way back down to room temp, you can even put it in the fridge if you want to try and speed up the process.  Now, place the turkey breasts in a container. Cover them with the cool brine, but make sure that they are completely submerged with it.  Cover them well, and put it in the fridge for atleast 36-48 hours.

Now in the next part I’ll be going over the dry rub and cooking process for this recipe… but I’ve got to wait until they are ready

Wow, didn’t even think about how cheap, fast and simple this recipe would be until I tried it out last night. Took all of 15 minutes start to finish and hardly cost a thing!

Try it out, but be warned, these are addictive!

• 2 cups nuts (i used walnuts, but u can use whatever you like)
• 4tbsp honey
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1tsp sea salt
• 1/2tsp pepper

Now, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Take a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper. Spread the nuts on a single layer across sheet. Drizzle the honey all over the nuts, sprinkle the cayenne, salt, and pepper over the top. Take a fork/spatula or whatever you have lying around and toss untill everything is coated and back to a single layer on the sheet. Pop into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the honey has bubbled up and caramelized over the nuts. Remove from oven, sprinkle with a little more salt for flavor and the a re ready to eat.

What did i tell you, can’t be easier than that. Enjoy all!

Fresh Organic Salsa

• 6 roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 small red onion chopped finely
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together the tomato, jalapeno pepper, red onion, green onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, lemon juice, cumin, jicama, and the diced tomatoes with chilies in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to sit at least 1 hour before serving.