Tons of Tomatoes

Like a lot of people we decided to plant a vegetable garden this year.  We planted cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, etc.  The one thing we really have an abundance of is tomatoes.  I like tomatoes, but there are only so many sandwiches and salads you can eat before you get tired of them.  So, I decided to try something different – Tomato Jam.  I have to be honest, it sounds terrible.  The first thing you think of when you think of jam is strawberry or blueberry, something really sweet.  You really don't put tomatoes in that category.  

I had a ton of tomatoes that were going to go bad if I didn’t do something with them, so I decided to give it a try.  I’m glad I did.  The jam itself has a nice sweetness to it along with spiced overtones.  Once you taste it, you can think of a ton of uses for it.  It will go well with breakfast or would also sit very well on a sandwich.

As you can see from the picture above, I did not remove the seeds from the tomatoes.  It really doesn't make a difference, but if you were to serve this formally, you would want to remove the seeds.  But, when cooking for my family - it's just not that serious.  I put the tomato jam on toast and topped with a fried egg.  You will be able to think of a million combinations with this jam.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 lbs. Ripe Tomatoes
• 1 cup Sugar
• 4 tbs Pineapple Orange Juice
• 1 ts Ginger
• 1 ts Cumin
• 1/4 ts Cinnamon
• 1/2 ts Ground Cloves
• 1/2 ts Nutmeg
• 1/2 ts Chipotle Powder
• 1 tbs Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS

• 1
  Peel tomatoes
• 2
  Combine ingredients and bring to a boil on medium heat.
• 3
  Once boiling, turn down and let simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

  
  

Summer BBQ

It’s summertime.  Summer always reminds me of BBQ.  BBQ is one of those things that if you don’t have the proper equipment, you will never get it to taste right.  One of my favorite restaurants here in Cincinnati is Walt’s BBQ.  They have the best BBQ ribs I’ve ever tasted.  I would dress up like a hooker for these ribs.  One day I was looking at Craigslist and ran across a Bradley Electric Smoker.  It was only a $100 – these usually retail for $400 and up.  So, I decided to go ahead and get it.  It was honestly one of the best purchases I have ever made. 

The Bradley Smoker uses wood discs that you can purchase online.  They have different flavors, like hickory, apple wood, you get the picture.  The discs are fed every 20 minutes, so you don’t have to do anything.  It’s completely mindless – which is right up my alley.  I set the ribs for 4 hours and they came out great.  Obviously, not as good as Walt’s, but very good nonetheless.  I have used this quite a bit and tried some different meats, including a pork roast that I used for pulled pork.  I cooked the pork roast for about 5 hours and it came out perfect.  It works great every time.  If you’re a beginner and looking to try BBQ and smoking ribs, I would definitely recommend one of these electric smokers. 

Of course, one of the key ingredients when cooking BBQ is the rub.  Below is a recipe I found a long time ago and it’s the one I use the most when making ribs or pulled pork.  The one thing I really like about this rub is that it will also help form a really nice bark as seen on the ribs above.

BBQ Rub

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cup sugar
• 1 cup salt
• 4 tablespoons paprika
• 4 tablespoons red pepper
• 2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoon ground celery

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients

The Basics

Cooking is pretty straight forward, but there are a few essential things that I would recommend to anyone.  I always recommend good pots and pans.  You don’t have to go out and purchase a $1500 set, but just make sure they’ll last after a couple of washes.  Most stores will recommend that if you purchase the non-stick pans to wash them yourself.  Forget that.  I always put mine in the dishwasher.  The last thing I want to do after cooking a big meal is to do dishes by hand when I have a dishwasher.  I like non-stick pans, but good steel pans will last forever.  One good tip that I have learned is to purchase factory seconds on the internet.  If you Google “all clad factory seconds” you will come up with a list of companies that sell these pans.  Most of them just have some minor cosmetic defects.  They are sold at a pretty deep discount. 

Once you use a really sharp knife, you will never want to use the regular knives again.  Knives are one of those things that you will probably have to spend a little bit of money on.  The good part is that you can purchase one knife and be fine.  You don’t need an entire set.  I have a set of knives, but only really use 1 for about 90 percent of the work.  I have a set of Global Knives, which are great, but a little pricey.  The knife I use the most is a Myabi 600D 7” Chefs knife.  It works great and I would recommend it to anyone. 

The other essential thing you need when cooking is a good seasoning.  Some people use Greek seasoning, Lowery’s season salt, etc.  I like to make my own seasonings and season salt.  It takes only a few minutes and it can be used on just about everything.  The season salt that I make is used in most of the recipes.  Here is the recipe if you would like to try it:

Season Salt

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1/2 tablespoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon celery salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients

What's this all about?

It’s about food.  All kinds of food.  A lot of the food that I cook is Mexican, but I will be posting all kinds of recipes – as well as some restaurant reviews.  Our family likes to try a lot of different foods, everything from vegan to Chinese dishes.  To me, it’s never about one type of cuisine.  I’ve been cooking for most of my life, but never professionally.  It’s always been for family and friends.  It’s always been a dream of mine to go to culinary school, but got a degree in IT instead.  Go figure.

The goal of this blog is to try to expand our way of thinking about food, to get you to try new things and give you new ideas when it comes to food.  I’m also very excited to get feedback from you.  Looking forward to all of the new ideas that will soon be coming my way.  It’s an honor to have you here – thank you!!