on the far right is the completed tomato vodka. it's very subtle, and the tomato sings a sweet, soft note. at first i strained it through a sieve only, and it was much murkier. the flavour was stronger as well, but not pleasantly so - almost as of fruit on the cusp - about to go off. i strained it again, through muslin this time, achieving the end result, and i am pleased. i'm trying to come up with a cocktail to showcase it, but until then... bloody marys! but for a bloody mary you need worcestershire, so...
my worcestershire sauce recipe:
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 1/2 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 inch ginger, minced
- 3 cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 cup tamarind paste
- 3 tbs. palm sugar (it's a guess - slightly smaller then a golf ball size piece) - or brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3/4 cup malt vinegar
- 2 cups water
crush the allspice and cloves fine in a mortar. heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. season with salt and pepper and cook on low until the onions are translucent. add the apple and the spices and cook a minute further before adding all remaining ingredients. bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning - if it seems too vinegary add more sugar. strain and bottle.
i like it because the vegetarian worcestershire sauces that i have been able to find (all two of them) have been thick and syrupy. this recipe yields something more like lea & perrins in viscosity, sans the little fishies.the other jar is tomato ketchup - which i am going to call love-apple catsup from here on after a recipe in
salt: a world history. the book mentions how ketchup had it's origins as a fermented fish sauce - so worcestershire and ketchup have something in common... nice segue...
the recipe i used is from jamie oliver, pretty much verbatim except for substitutions made out of necessity, but it's quite good. i used it to make a thousand island dressing, which along with my sauerkraut combined to make some mighty tasty tempeh ruebens (i'm trying tempeh again) last night that i did not take pictures of.
to come full circle, here is the vodka before straining:
one of my all time favourite condiments - and i do fancy my condiments. simply garlic roasted in oil. i keep it in the fridge and use it in lieu of fresh chopped garlic in pretty much anything. coating vegetables in the oil and roasting them in the oven is quite sublime. this recipe is from rick bayless' pbs show mexico one plate at a time.
separate all the individual cloves and whack them with the heel of your knife.
peel the papery skin off of the cloves and place them in a baking dish. cover with enough olive oil to fully submerge them and season with salt and pepper to taste. while you're doing all this, preheat the oven to 350 f.
roast at 350 f for 40-50 minutes or until the cloves are golden brown and the oil is bubbling away.
remove from the oven and mash thoroughly with a potato masher or two forks. add the juice of the lime and red pepper flakes. return to the oven for a further twenty minutes and voila! allow to cool and transfer into sterilized mason jars for storage in the fridge. this recipe usually gives me one pint jar and one half pint jar: enough for home use and one to give away!
while home-made garlic oils are usually a no-no due to the risk of botulism, the prolonged exposure to the high heat of the oven will kill any C. botulinum and their spores. just make sure to follow hygienic procedures in the kitchen and sterilize any storage vessels to reduce your risk.
