Text 28750, 80 rader
Skriven 2012-08-26 02:30:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: comfort food 178
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 JW> I am on a comfort food and simplicity kick as of late as well. Going
 JW> back to childhood basics like meatloaf and creamed corn or baked mac
 JW> and cheese.

Those sound good, but the only one I endured as a child
was mac and cheese, which my mother improved by adding
a cup of chopped tomatoes - surprisingly not bad.

 I still season things more heavily than my mother ever
 JW> did though.

Beware of this (though seasonings are good) - if you
don't watch out, you'll have too much in common with the
trendy chefs in the big cities, who tart up their meatloaf
with chipotle ketchup and put lobster in their mac & cheese.

 Tonight I made a quart of homemade ketchup with half the
 JW> sugar and double the traditional spices plus a tsp of tamarind paste.
 JW> it's got a zing to it. Half of it will be the base for BBQ sauce
 JW> tomorrow.

The pickling mixture used in ketchup makes the taste
and aroma very persistent. Again there's the beware
aspect.

 ML> long been converted to the soft, falling-apart greens
 ML> tasting of ham and onions and away from crunchy stir-fries.
 JW> Both styles are tasty. Half way in between... not so good.

My palate seems to react differently to bitterness
nowadays, and that might have something to do with
the change in preferences.

Green Ketchup
cat: condiment, sauce
yield: 1 liter

6 c chopped green tomatoes
6 peppers, de-seeded and chopped
- sweet or hot, whatever you like
1 lg onion, chopped
1 stalk celery or 1 leek, chopped (optional)
3 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
3/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 Tb pickling spice
2 Tb olive oil
1/2 c brown sugar
salt, pepper, & green or red Tabasco sauce to taste

Put the vinegar and pickling spice in a small saucepan
and heat to boiling, then remove from heat and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Fry the
onion, celery, and peppers until soft, adding the garlic
at the last minute and cooking 1-2 min longer.

Add the tomatoes, along with a generous cup of water.
Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring regularly
until the tomatoes start to break down and the mixture
starts to get bubbly. Reduce the heat to very low and
let it simmer  at least 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.
If it seems like it's getting dry, go ahead and add a
bit more water as needed.

Strain the pickling spices out of the now-cool vinegar
and add the vinegar to the tomatoes. Stir in the sugar.
Use an immersion blender to break up the few remaining
chunks. Adjust seasoning. Cook 30 min or until desired
consistency is reached.

*Recipe variation: Bittman's recipe actually calls for
4 c chopped green tomatoes and 2 c chopped tart apples.
This also sounds very yummy.  I had 6 c of green tomatoes
to use up, so I decided to be lazy and skip the apples.

Source: The New Home Economics

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