Chilled Marinated Garden Vegetables- (no oil)

                                       Chilled Marinated Tomatoes.
You may have noticed, I don't post many vegetable recipes. I am a true vegetable lover, no recipe can outshine, what Mother Natures has already perfected. (although she could, maybe re-think beets, I'm sure there is a recipe out there, that may make me change my mind...maybe)
During the summer, there is always a plate of sliced, salted tomatoes at the dinner table, still warm from the sun. I didn't grow cucumbers this year, or there would be salted plate of those as well.
Every now and then, I like to marinate, and chill them. My favorite combination includes: diced tomato, cucumber, diced onion, sliced mushrooms, sliced black olives and diced red bell peppers. This is an Italian marinade.

Marinade Ingredients:
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1Tbl. sugar
1/4tsp. celery seed
1tsp. salt
1/4tsp. pepper
1tsp. minced garlic
1tsp. onion powder
1tsp. basil


Preparation:
Place cut vegetables in a large bowl.
Whisk together the marinade ingredients, pour over vegetables, cover and chill.
The longer these marinate the better, I sometimes make this, the day before.

Burnt Sugar Syrup

                 Burnt Sugar Syrup is used in a lot of Caribbean recipes.
It is very simple to make. Please use caution, the worst burn I ever had, came from caramelizing sugar.
The sugar will smoke in this process, especially near the end. You want it to become as dark as molasses.

Ingredients:
1/4cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water

Add the sugar to a skillet, and heat on a medium-high flame. Keep whisking throughout the entire process.

                                  The sugar is beginning to liquify.

The sugar is beginning to caramelize, keep stirring in the little bits around the edges, so they can dissolve too.

Once it becomes black, remove the pan from the heat. Pour in the cold water. It will foam up, I wait until I see the foam recede a bit, then whisk to combine. Cool completely before using. It can be reheated a bit if it thickens too much. I think I could have darkened this a bit more.

Mixed Citrus Vinegar

                                  Mixed citrus vinegar and vinaigrette


The funny thing about this vinegar, is that the finished product doesn't taste or smell like vinegar, just citrus juice.

Mixed Citrus Vinegar:
2 oranges- sliced- I prefer to use Minneola tangelos
1 lemon- sliced
1 lime- sliced
3 cups white vinegar
a large jar with a lid-I use a gallon pickle jar
A wine bottle to store the finished vinegar

Preparation:
This makes enough to fill a wine bottle.
Add the citrus slices and vinegar to the jar. Place the lid and put it in a dark cool place.
Allow to rest several days- up to 2 weeks.
The vinegar will mellow a bit as it steeps, but you can use a milder vinegar such as rice or white wine vinegar. both are considerably more expensive.

 No need to shake or stir.

 Strain and discard the fruit. If you press the fruit, your vinegar will become cloudy. You will still have a bit of sediment floating in the vinegar, which can be removed by pouring it through a cheesecloth a few times.
Pour it into a wine bottle.

                                     Mixed Citrus Vinegar steeping.

For the vinaigrette:
This makes enough for 2 servings of salad.
4Tbl. mixed citrus vinegar
4Tbl.sugar
1/2tsp. poppy seeds
3Tbl. salad oil

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Mix on high speed for 5 minutes to allow the oil to blend.Serve.

Homeade Garam Masala- seasoning

Garam Masala

Back when I began to learn to cook Indian food, I could not find many of the ingredients.
Luckily I found recipes, to make them myself. I have since, started using blended bottles from the spice section.  My small town is moving up, I actually found smoked paprika a few weeks ago. I'm posting the recipe I used to use. It may come in handy for somebody.

Ingredients:
1 cinnamon stick- broken into 3-4 pieces
8 dried bird chilies
5Tbl. coriander seeds
2Tbl. cumin seeds
2tsp. cardamom seeds
1tsp. fennel seeds
1tsp. black mustard seeds
2tsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp whole cloves

Preparation:
Heat a skillet on a very low flame and dry-fry the cinnamon stick and chilies for about 2 minutes.
Add the remaining spices and continue to cook (stirring or shaking constantly) for about 8 minutes, or until they give off a strong aroma.
Remove from heat and cool completely.
Place in a spice grinder, and grind into a fine powder. It's ready to use.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months

Gram Flour

Fresh ground Gram Flour- also known as- Besan, Channa, Harina De Garbonzo. The recipes I use this in, call for only very small amounts, so I keep a bag on hand and grind as needed. It only takes a few minutes.

Ingredients:
1 bag of dried chickpeas (garbonzo beans)

Add the beans to a spice grinder, food processor, or maybe a blender
( haven't tried it, I hear it works.)
Grind it into a powder and pour it through a sieve, to remove any large particles.

Bourbon Street Spice Rub

                                         Bourbon Street Spice Rub
You can literally smell the French and Caribbean influences in the mixture. Fantastic! Use it on baked chicken too.

Ingredients:
1tsp. finely crushed bay leaves
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp. allspice
2tsp. thyme
1Tbl. brown sugar
1Tbl. garlic powder
1Tbl cayenne
1Tbl. black pepper
1Tbl. salt
2Tbl. onion powder

Preparation:
Mix well and store it in a sandwich bag or jar. Rub onto meats at least 2 hours before grilling.
For a stronger flavor add a little more to the meats just prior to grilling.

Montreal Seasoning

                                                       Montreal Seasoning
You must try this imitation of 'Grill Mates' Montreal seasoning. It's not spot on, but really good.

Ingredients:
4tsp. salt
1tsp black pepper
1tsp. grated orange peel
1tsp. grated lemon peel
1tsp. paprika
1tsp. thyme
1tsp. rosemary
2tsp garlic powder
1tsp onion powder

In a spice grinder ( or use a mortar and pestle)
Add 
1 tsp. coriander
1/2tsp fennel seeds
1tsp bell pepper flakes- or red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
Grind just long enough to crush.

Add all ingredients to a resealable bag. shake to mix well.
This can be used on any grilled or baked meats.

Easy Garlic Butter

Easy Garlic Butter

Mix 1/4 cup soft butter with 1tsp. garlic powder.
Add more garlic according to taste. Works great.

Cajun Seasoning

Cajun seasoning:

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Stir together salt, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes until evenly blended. Store in an airtight container.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Wow I love this one on grilled beef
1 small bottle of mild BBQ sauce
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 or 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (found in the Mexican section of your grocer)

Put all in a blender until smooth. baste onto grilled meat at the end of cooking.

Paul's Beef Rub

Paul's Beef Rub
3tbl. brown sugar
2tbl. salt
2tbl. pepper
2tbl.garlic powder
2tbl. paprika
2tbl.parsley
2tbl.onion powder
1tsp.ground cumin
1tsp.cayenne
Mix all ingredients rub into meat to be grilled, wait 1 hour, then grill.
Beef, chicken, pork or fish

Blackening Spice

Blackening Spice

Ingredients:

 1 teaspoon ground basil
 1 teaspoon ground thyme
 1 teaspoon garlic
 1 teaspoon white pepper
 1 teaspoon black pepper
 1 teaspoon salt (sea salt is better)
 1 teaspoon onion powder
 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
 1 teaspoon paprika


Mix all ingredients together.
Place in an empty used spice bottle or jar for storage.
Refrigeration recommended but not required