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

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!

Lamb neck braised with Chinese sausage

Ingredients

2 lamb necks 4 lap chong (dried pork sausage) 1 tbsp dark soy sauce ½ tsp five spice powder

Ingredients for Braise

5cm piece of ginger ¼ cup of Chinese braising spices 5 pieces of dried tangerine peel ½ cup light soy sauce ½ cup dark soy sauce 2/3 cup yellow rice wine

Method

Crush the whole piece of ginger, wrap the spices in muslin and place them in a stockpot with the remaining braising ingredients. Top up with 1 gallon of water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for half an hour. Carefully remove the bone from each lamb neck leaving two whole pieces of meat. Rub the soy and five spice all over the lamb, place two sausages in the middle of each neck, roll them up like a ‘hot dog’ and tie them with string. In a wok brown the lamb neck on all sides, then place into the braising pot and simmer gently for 2 hours. Serve with a little of the braising juices, steamed rice and some Chinese greens stir-fried with garlic and sesame oil.

The Bay Leaf is useful in hearty, homestyle cooking. When you are making bean, split pea and vegetable soups, meat stews, spaghetti sauce, and chili, a Bay leaf can be added for a more pungent flavor. Alternate whole Bay Leaves with meat, seafood, or vegetables on skewers before cooking. Be sure to remove Bay Leaves before eating a dish that has finished cooking. The whole leaves are used to impart flavor only and are bitter and hard to chew.

Basil can also be preserved by freezing in ice cubes.  I prefer to chop the herb and then I spread it out on a flat dish ready for the freezer.  Once it has frozen a little bit, I scoop it up and put into little boxes or plastic bags and put into the freezer. This procedure allows the herb to remain separate rather than forming into frozen lumps.

And here’s a couple ridiculous facts;

The ancient Greeks and Romans thought basil would only grow if you screamed wild curses and shouted intelligibly while sowing the seeds. They also believed if you left a basil leaf under a pot, it would turn into a scorpion. Many believed that even smelling the leaves would cause scorpions to grow in the brain! Salome hid John the Baptist’s head in a pot of basil to cover up the odor of it’s decomposition.

The rosemary  plant is a shrubby thing that can grow to be as tall as five feet, if you let it. The stems are covered with slender, inch-long, pine-like leaves. Rosemary flowers aren’t very showy, and are usually white, lavender, or blue.

Did you know that people have long believed that rosemary can improve memory, which is why it was so often used in weddings and funerals. A bride might wear a wreath made from the rosemary plant to help the couple remember their wedding vows. Mourners would also throw sprigs of rosemary into graves, a symbol that the dead would not be forgotten.

The Chinese believed that rosemary could cure certain ailments. They used rosemary to ward off headaches and even cure baldness. The Greeks also believed that rosemary could aid the liver and improve digestion.

Whether or not you believe in the power of rosemary, it sure tastes good in certain recipes.

• 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.

Mild peppers are just that: mild. They are neither sweet nor hot. Pepper “hotness” is measured by Scoville Units. To be classified as mild they range from 1000 to 3000 SU and are perfect for people who are new to the cooking/eating of spicier food. Now to go over  a few of the most common mild peppers

Paprika Peppers

The most familiar form of paprika is the dried powder that u can find in any supermarket. It’s a spice that has been used in pretty much every Hungarian dish, and even used as a garnish in  many authentic European recipes. There are varying flavours of paprika, they can range from mild to hot and most supermarkets will carry quite a few different choices. What some people don’t know is that it does have a shelflife, and shouldn’t be stored for over 6months. Also make sure to keep in a dark, cool, and dry place

Poblano Peppers

These are one of the most popular chili peppers in Mexican cooking, especially in stuffed pepper recipes, and of course a large variety of sauces. Poblanos have a subtle smokey flavour, and this enchances when dried These peppers are called “poblano” when fresh and “ancho” when dried. Their 3-foot tall, bushy, ever-bearing plant produces fruits that dangle like pendants from their stems. The dark green chilies turn red when mature at 90-110 days. Once ripe, the chili reaches 4 to 4 inches long.  This is the most popular chile for stuffing .  It is generally roasted and peeled before use.   This is a mere 1,000 -1,500 Scoville units.

Ortega Chilies

The ortega is a chili pepper that is 6-7 inches long by about 2 inches wide. Ortegas are ready to be green-picked at about 70 days and red ripe at 95 days. Ortegas are good stuffing, grilling, roasting and pickling peppers. These are the mild green chilies you’ll find canned in your grocer’s condiment aisle. These peppers are perfect to put on burgers, sandwiches, and yes, nachos!

And then I thought, why don’t I make a few meals with some of them and can the rest? Perfect, that’s what I’ll do! Now, I have never canned anything before in my life… but how hard could it be? Well time to check the internet for some ideas I guess…

Ok, after doing some research, it looks like 2o lbs yields about 20 to 25 jars.  Ha! Think I may have found some Christmas present ideas. Also looks like I’m going to have to do some shopping.  Here’s my list of stuff I’m going to need to overtake this canning project.

Peppers

Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)

Jar funnel ($2 at mall kitchen stores and local “big box” stores, but it’s usually cheaper online)

At least 1 large pot

Large spoons and ladles

Ball jars (Publix, Kroger, other grocery stores and some “big box” stores carry them – about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)

Salt (optional – I don’t use any)

One 6 – 8 quart pot or saucepan

Now, one more thing it looks that I need for this is a pressure canner, these, from what I’ve read are usually between $75 and $180 dollars. You DO need a pressure canner! If you don’t have one, technically a water bath will work, however every university food science department and the government will tell you that it just is not safe to use the water bath method; it takes the higher temperatures of the pressure canner to kill the botulism bacteria.  So use a pressure canner – it’s healthier and it’s easy.

continued….

That went way smoother than I thought it would.  Instead of the salt that the recipe said I should use, I found that  vinegar and salt water seem more popular with the rest of the research I’ve done.

One thing I would have to advise, is use rubber/latex gloves for this. I consider myself to be a “manly” guy when it comes to spicy stuff, but I accidently rubbed my face after slicing all those peppers, and let me assure you, I was feeling it the whole time I was canning these peppers. Anyways, like I said, this was super easy, and I’m going to be trying different ways to flavour the next batches I do. This kind of salt/vinegar bath is perfect for working with new ideas (maybe adding some rosemary to the next batch?).

This is very easy to do, check out this video. Have Fun!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlRG2Yp-op8