Peach Salsa

 Based on Marisa McClennan’s recipe, this peach salsa is a mild one w'ith just en.

'

ough heat to make it a salsa.  Hey, co'uld can always add more.  There are no tomatoes in this one, which is my preference.  You can use this salsa to top your tacos, and also your BBQ’ed chicken or enjoy with tortilla chips.

To make 4 500ml jars.

Ingredients

6 cups.        peeled, pitted and chopped peaches (about 4 lbs)

1 1/2 cups   Finely chopped onion (1 large)

1 1/2 cups   White vinegar

1 cup            chopped, sweet red pepper (1 large)

3/4 cup         granulated sugar

1                   Finely chopped jalapeño pepper 

1                   Finely chopped poblano pepper (or other mild pepper)

3 cloves        Garlic

1 tsp              Ground cumin

1/4 tsp           Cayenne Pepper

Directions

To peel the peaches, prepare a pot of boiling water.  Add the peaches to the boiling water and remove them to a bowl of cold water after about 1-2 minutes.  You should be able to rub off the peach skins quite easily.

To keep peaches from browning, place them in the vinegar called for in the recipe as they are chopped.  

Add the onions, peppers, garlic, sugar and spices to the vinegar and peaches, in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes, until the salsa no longer looks watery.  Taste and add additional jalapeño, vinegar, sugar if necessary.

Ladle the hot salsa into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe the rims, apply the lids and bands and place in a steam (or water bath) canner for 15 minutes.  When the time is up, turn off the heat, carefully remove the canner lid and let the jars sit in the canner for about five minutes.  This will help prevent the salsa from reacting to the rapid temperature change and bubbling out of the jars.

Enjoy!

Braised Chicken with Tomatillos

This recipe is delicious and so easy to pull together.  Perfect for late summer when you have run out of tomatillo recipes but still have a mountain of tomatillos.  You can make extra sauce and freeze for later. 

To serve 6

Black Bean Burgers

With BBQ season here, it's nice to have a few vegetarian burger recipes to choose from.  These burgers taste every bit as good as meat burgers and can be so much healthier.  Better still, you can customize to your taste and there as no additives, preservatives, etc.

To make four large or eight small burgers.

Salsa Verde with tomatillos

In 2020, my garden blessed me with a bounty of tomatillos.  Beautiful, big ones!  **You can substitute green tomatoes for the tomatillos.

When you pull the husk back on the tomatillos, they look like small, green tomatoes and are covered by a sticky substance. Just husk and wash, they are ready for chopping and cooking. 

This salsa is terrific as a dipping sauce, and can also be used in chile verde or green posole.

To make approximately three 500ml jars 

Ingredients

4 lbs             tomatillos, husked, washed, and finely chopped 

1 cup            finely chopped onion (about 1 medium onion) 

3 to 4            jalapeño peppers, minced (seeds removed for a milder salsa) 

8 cloves        garlic, minced 

1 tbsp           ground cumin 

2 tsp            sea salt 

½ cup          bottled lime juice 

¼ cup          minced fresh cilantro (I add it just before serving)

Directions:

The KitchenAid dicer makes quick work of dicing the vegetables.  Combine the tomatillos, onion, jalapeños, and garlic in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add the cumin, sea salt, lime juice, and cilantro. 

If you prefer a smoother salsa, you can use an immersion blender to break down some of the salsa at this time. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

Taste the salsa and add more salt, cumin, or lime juice if necessary. Ladle the hot salsa into the prepared jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. When the processing time is up, remove the canning pot from the heat and remove the lid. Let the jars sit in the pot for an additional 5 minutes. This helps to prevent the salsa from reacting to the rapid temperature change and bubbling out of the jars.

Roasted Salsa Verde (with green tomatoes)

 This salsa is traditionally made with tomatillos but it can also be made with green tomatoes.  We are now in September and I am staring at a bounty of green tomatoes- perfect!

It is equally delicious served with tortilla chips, topping tacos or simmering chicken enchiladas... The roasting adds another level of flavour.

This recipe is based on one from the Ball Book of Canning.

Makes approximately four 500ml jars.

Cherry Tomato and Corn Salsa- Finally a Way to Preserve Cherry Tomatoes

 I've been gardening for decades, growing cherry tomatoes, and looking for a great way to preserve them.  This is it!  This salsa is bright, not too spicy, zippy and a joy to add to a taco, top off a soup or just eat by the spoonful from the jar.  So proud to include tomatoes, jalapeños and onions from my garden.

Adapted from the Ball Canning Book- because of the low ph of the corn and onions, you can't play with the quantities of the vegetables.  But, you can play with the herbs and spices.  This is the only tested recipe I could find.

To make 6 500ml jars

Tequila Jalapeño Lime Mustard

Once you have made your own mustard, I guarantee you will never to back to store bought.  So far I have made four great tasting, artisanal mustards: Canadian Club Rye Whiskey and Maple mustard, Stout Beer and Honey Mustard, Grainy White Wine Mustard and Classic Dijon Mustard.  They've all been taste tested by family (my best critics) and friends.  Thumbs up!

These are all small batches you could double up.  This tequila and jalapeño mustard will be perfectly paired with Mexican BBQ and tacos.

This recipe makes about three cups of mustard.

INGREDIENTS

6              jalapeño peppers, divided
1 cup       tequila
1/2 cup    brown mustard seeds
1/4 cup    yellow mustard seeds
1              cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup    yellow mustard powder
1/4 cup    honey
3 tbsp      lime juice (fresh or bottled)
1/2 tsp     sea salt

Directions

Slice 4 of the jalapeño peppers in half, retaining seeds. Add to a small saucepan with the tequila.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, press on the peppers with the back of a spoon to release juices, then allow to steep for 5 to 10 minutes.

Strain the tequila into a small bowl, pressing on the peppers to extract juices.  Add the mustard seeds to the infused tequila, cover, and let sit overnight (or until the seeds have absorbed most of the liquid; at least 4 hours).

Prepare canner, jars and lids.

Halve and seed the remaining  jalapeño peppers. Add the soaked mustard seeds, with any remaining liquid, the jalapeños, and the cider vinegar to a food processor.  Process until most  of the mustard seeds are chopped; leave some seeds for a grainy texture, or chop completely for a smooth mustard.
Transfer the pureed mustard seed mixture to a medium saucepan.  Add mustard powder, honey, lime juice and salt; whisk together over medium-low heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and reduce mustard to the desired consistency, remembering that it will thicken upon cooling (about 5 – 10 minutes for this).

Ladle hot mustard into hot, sterilized jars to 1/4-inch headspace, remove air bubbles, wipe rims, affix lids and bands, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Fabulous Turkey in Mole Sauce

This amazing, excellent dish was the centrepiece of a recent Mexican menu created for friends.  Mole is not a difficult recipe but it is time consuming to make.  Create over a few days or dedicate one whole day to complete this worthwhile culinary project.  Thank you Epicurious.com for providing the recipe.

Let me save you a few steps:  I found a superb Mexican market in Ottawa- Bienvenidos Latin Market on St. Laurent Blvd.  They stock all the specialty ingredients you will need for your mole dish AND they will happily answer your food questions.

Pulled chicken, lime and tortilla soup

This is one of Guy Fieri's recipes, with a few added touches.  I decided to roast a whole chicken, marinaded overnight, then added black beans and corn to the soup base.  Delicious!

This recipe will serve six.

Smoked Salt and Lime Marguerita Preserves

Meet my newest favourite preserving book: The Preservatory by Lee Murphy.  Lee preserves the bounty of Vista D'Oro Farms & Winery located in Southern B.C.  Amazing recipes!

I've made this recipe with Canada's Siempre tequila plata, an multiple award winning tequila, distilled in the town of Tequila Mexico.

This preserve can be served with cheese, garnish a cake or in

margaritas...

To make about 14 - 250ml jars.

Enchiladas Verde- the Salsa.

This beautiful, vibrant green sauce graces many a Mexican table and tops many an enchilada.  It's so easy to make at home and it's so delicious.

In Ottawa, tomatillos can only be found in the summer.  This recipe uses canned whole tomatillos but everything else is fresh.  Except maybe for the chicken concentrate- I ran out of broth.

The variety of fresh peppers, the garlic and especially the fresh cilantro give this sauce a wonderful texture and flavour.  Make extra and freeze or use it as a table sauce...

This recipe makes about one litre of salsa verde.  Enough to top about ten enchiladas and have a little left over.

Arroz con pollo- every mamacita has a great one!

Arroz con pollo (aka chicken and rice) is like a Mexican version of Spanish paella and it's delicious.  Perfect for a family dinner, your next dinner party or for a pot luck.  I like to double the recipe and tuck away half in the freezer- two portions per foil container- for weekday dinners.

Serve with a green salad and voila!

To serve 8...

Siempre Tequila Marshmallows... Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!

What does Gourmet Jo bring to a Cinco de Mayo Celebration?  Siempre marshmallows, of course!





But, how do you serve marshmallows- beautiful, sticky, gooey, Siempre and lime infused treats, to fifty well-heeled guests?


These simple, one bite cups did the trick.  Siempre infused slices of lime are strategically placed in each clear cup, ready to receive a spoonful of Heavenly marshmallows.

A little salty, a little sweet, a touch of lime and a healthy "glug" of Siempre Tequila...

Beyond Heavenly!

Mexican Chorizo with my Favourite Tequila- Siempre

A worthy sausage to demonstrate at the sausage making class.  We made it into coils (a la boerowors), into sausages and into patties.  Chorizo is also versatile- eat it in a bun, crumble it into tacos, eggs, wrap puff pastry around it- oh the things you can serve!

Val and I made pork chorizo then experimented with poultry chorizo.  Both varieties well seasoned and "doused" with my favourite tequila.  Delicious.

This recipe makes 10lbs of sausage.

Delicious Mexican chorizo with my favourite tequila.

Siempre Tequila Taqueria Carrots- Ole!

While everyone is busy mixing and drinking their favourite tequila cocktails, I am always looking for ways to add my favourite tequila, Siempre, to my dishes and preserves.  What better way than to combine it with beautiful baby carrots, perfect for eating with your favourite tacos.

I adapted a recipe from Saving the Season- a superb book.

This recipe makes one one-litre jar.

Perfect with tacos!

Louise's Rice and Peas- goes with Yucatan Chicken

A must for any Caribbean inspired menu..

This recipe will serve ten to twelve...

Yucatan Spiced Chicken- Olé!

Bring the Yucatan to your kitchen with this spicy, citrusy chicken dish.  It's light and easy to make.  Serve this chicken with rice and beans, maybe a side of Mexican inspired cole slaw and you have yourself a special dinner.

Yucatan chicken served with roasted chayote squash and rice and black beans

This recipe serves four.

Viva Mexico! Chicken Tortilla Soup

You're cooking with lime juice, chile peppers and garlic- all great foods to keep you healthy. Olé!  Even better, feel free to sprinkle on cubed avocado and/or baked tortilla strips for added flavour.

This soup begins with great homemade Mexican chicken stock- that's your foundation.  Add chicken meat, a little heat from chile peppers and other good for you ingredients and you have the makings of a great soup, perfect for a cool, rainy day.

Chicken Tortilla Soup garnished with avocado, tortilla chips and salsa.

Sweet Potato Shrimp Cakes

Two varieties of Sweet Potato Shrimp Cakes- one is Asian and the other is Mexican (served with salsa verde)

I love making salmon cakes, crab cakes, shrimp cakes... all kinds of fishy cakes.  Everybody loves them, they are easy to make and they freeze well.

I made my first crab cakes in 2005 when I moved to Vancouver from Ottawa and I was hooked (pun intended)!  This sweet potato and shrimp cake offers up bold Asian flavours.  Make them small to use as finger food or bigger to serve as an appetizer or main course. I try to have them on hand to serve unexpected guests.

Hot and Spicy and oh so easy- Vegetarian Chili

Need to feed a hungry crowd in a hurry?  This vegetarian chili is chock full of vegetables, flavourful and delicious and quick and easy to prepare.  I don't use canned "anything" very often, this is the exception.  Canned beans and tomatoes get this chili started in no time.  You just have to focus on the vegetables.

I'm using the basics: onions, red pepper, celery, garlic and adding squash (zucchini and butternut) and corn.  Many different flavourings are added to give the chili layers and layers of flavour.  You don't have to include them all.

This recipe will serve 6-8 and doubles easily.