Condiments – Oven Love

Broccoli Salad with Homemade Mayo (Guest Post)

Natalie — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 05:03:37 +0000

Today, we’ll be making the marathon 10 hour drive from GA to OH (make that 14 with the kids?). I’m glad to be on our way to getting settled in our new home, but it will be a long and bittersweet day, for sure. While I’m listening to my “Leaving GA” playlist and sobbing on the road, you get the treat of meeting Allison from The Sprouting Seed!

Allison is a nutritionist with a B.S. in Nutritional Science and a full-time mom. She got her start as a nutritionist and breastfeeding counselor at WIC. This was before she moved half way across the world to live in Central Europe, where she learned about real food, vibrant health, and traditional methods of preparation. Allison has found a way to make friends with little old ladies around the world and loves to share their time-tested secrets of life.

So glad to have her here on the blog today. And with a dynamite recipe for broccoli salad, no less! I am normally not a mayo fan.. but I think I will have to try her homemade mayo recipe– it looks amazing.

Broccoli is my favorite veggie. But I’ll be honest, I usually like it one way and one way only: lightly steamed, then sautéed with garlic. It’s simple, delicious, and I rarely feel the need to broaden my broccoli repertoire.

Lately, however, things have changed. I’ve been jazzing up all my vegetable dishes and not even broccoli could escape my creative streak. I started by frying zucchini fritters and grating cauliflower into “rice”. Then, I broke away from the well-beaten path of my broccoli recipe and ventured into new terrain. What did I make? Well, Broccoli Salad, of course!

This salad is hearty and delicious. It features raw broccoli, a homemade mayonnaise dressing and, you guessed it, bacon! I originally made it as a side dish, but lately I’ve been loving a big bowl of Broccoli Salad for dinner. It’s easy to whip up and sure to please. As an added bonus–using homemade mayonnaise instead of the store-bought version turns this dish into a powerhouse of nutrients. Bon Appetite!

Broccoli Salad with Homemade Mayo (Guest Post)

Author: Allison Jordan

Recipe type: SIde Dish, Salad

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 heads of broccoli, stalks removed, cut into small florets
6-8 slices of bacon
¼ purple onion, finely diced
½ cup crispy pecans, chopped
¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins
¾ cup homemade mayonnaise (recipe found here: http://thesproutingseed.com/homemade-mayonnaise/)
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp raw, local honey

Instructions

In a skillet, fry bacon over medium high heat until evenly crisp. Remove the bacon, drain excess grease and crumble the bacon into small pieces.
In medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar and honey and whisk until combined. Mix in broccoli florets, cranberries, and onion. Toss ingredients until the broccoli is thoroughly coated with the mayonnaise dressing.Just before serving, add the bacon and crispy pecans.

Roasted Red Pepper Dip and Valentine’s Day Veggies

Natalie — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:55:34 +0000

Veggies for Valentine’s Day! Let’s make it a thing.

It’s not exactly a box of chocolates, but it’s kid-friendly and pretty adorable. Who can say no to heart-shaped vegetables?

I made up this little tray for a kids’ Valentine’s Day party in under an hour this morning. That includes chopping, arranging the plate and making the dip. And I did it all with kids underfoot or in one of my arms. (Can I get a virtual high five?) Here’s how it went down:

Clean and prep all the veggies (I used cherry tomatoes, carrots and red peppers.)
To make the heart shaped carrots, peel them, cut a triangle in the top of the carrot and then trim the sides to make it look like a heart. Then chop the whole carrot into smaller hearts.
Put a few of each veggie into a muffin cup. (I used two since the pink one was not very sturdy, but you can get away with one. You could also use paper cups.)
Make the dip (recipe below).
Put the dip into a bowl and top with a tomato heart. (Cut two tomatoes on and angle and stick them together.)
Arrange on your plate and store in the fridge until you’re ready to go.

I made my dip with cream cheese, but if you’re dairy-free, you can substitute with a can of white beans. If you don’t eat beans or dairy, well.. I can’t think of a good substitution off the top of my head, so let me know in the comments if you have any ideas.

Whether you go the veggie route or the stuff-your-face-with-chocolate route for Valentine’s Day, I wish you a happy one. I know, I know.. not everyone is on-board with this holiday. But me, I love an excuse to cut my food into shapes, so celebrate we will in this house. Enjoy the day with the ones you love!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dip

Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 block full-fat cream cheese or 1 can cannellini/white beans, drained
½ cup chopped roasted red peppers (drained if using jarred peppers)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked paprika)
cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a food processor or mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth (use the food processor if you’re using the beans). Add the peppers and spices and process until smooth.
Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

Homemade Honey Ketchup

Natalie — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:42:00 +0000

You guys. I have actually processed and put up almost all of the tomatoes that came out of the garden this year. This is MAJOR. I typically get so overwhelmed with the produce that some of it (okay, a lot of it) goes to the chickens. But this year, I’ve been on the top of my game with a new tomato recipe for each giant basket that ends up on the counter. We’ve done tomato puree, roasted tomato sauce/soup and this homemade honey ketchup so far.

I was a little weirded out by homemade ketchup before (why give up my Heinz?), but the last mountain of tomatoes had me thinking otherwise. I think I was most afraid that I wouldn’t like the consistency or it wouldn’t taste enough like ketchup and all the work would be for nothing.

Wrong-o.

Homemade ketchup is so worth it.

My favorite part was using honey in the recipe instead of white sugar. I was the little girl at McDonalds who dipped her McNuggets into ketchup AND honey. What better way to satisfy my tendencies than to just add honey into the mix in the first place? Stroke of genius, I tell ya.

And who knew that the spices are what make ketchup taste like ketchup? I had no idea that cloves, cinnamon and celery seed were behind that classic ketchup taste. Kudos to you, “spices.” You never get enough recognition on those food labels.

This recipe is ready for canning or freezing, whatever you fancy. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of tomatoes to make a small amount of ketchup, so this recipe is best left for those of us who are searching for ways to use up our garden excess. If you’re looking for a less labor/time intensive homemade ketchup recipe, check out Joy the Baker’s Homemade Curry Ketchup.

(Recipe adapted from Canning.)

5.0 from 2 reviews

Homemade Honey Ketchup

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Condiment

Ingredients

8 lbs. tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup honey
1 cup white vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
1½ teaspoons whole cloves
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt

Instructions

Wash tomatoes. Remove stem ends and cores. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Transfer to a large colander in the sink; drain. In a 8-10 quart non-reactive pot, combine tomatoes, onion and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling, stirring often; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Press tomato mixture into a food mill. Discard seeds and skins. (If you don’t have a food mill, I would think you could blend or process the tomatoes and strain them, but I haven’t tested this method.) Return tomato mixture to the same pot. Add honey. Use a ruler (or wooden spoon and rubber band) to mark the depth of the mixture. Make a note of the depth- you will want to reduce it by at least half, if not more. Bring to boiling, stirring until the honey dissolves; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 hours or until mixture is reduced by half.
In a small non-reactive saucepan, combine vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and celery seeds. Bring a a boil, then remove from heat. Strain vinegar mixture into the tomato mixture, discarding the spices. Add the salt. Simmer, uncovered, until the ketchup is at your desired consistency- anywhere from 30 more minutes to 3 more hours.
TO CAN: Ladle hot ketchup into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars (pints work, too). Leave ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Remove jars from canner, cool on wire racks. Makes 4 half-pints or 2 pints.
TO FREEZE: Place pot in a sink filled with ice water, stir mixture to cool. Ladle ketchup into half-pint freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze for up to 10 months.