Cooking – Page 13

Kai Kaphrao Khai Dao and a visit to Minh Huong Market

November 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Markets & Grocers, Recipes

I finally had some time off this past weekend. It has been a busy and stressful couple of weeks and it ain't over by any stretch of the imagination. Things are starting normalize as I finally got a chance to enjoy a couple of cookbooks that arrived during that period which I hadn't had the chance to open. So during the weekend, the one I opened first was Andy Ricker's Pok Pok. I've eaten at Pok Pok in PDX a couple of times and really enjoyed the food, which really did remind me of what came out of all those wonderful street stands in Thailand.

A couple of recipes jumped out at me and I decided to start with an easy one for breakfast the next day, the Kai Kaphrao Khai Dao.

Free range ground chicken, organic eggs, and greens and peppers from our garden.

One of the main ingredients in this dish is the kaphrao…."Hot" Basil, also known as Holy Basil. So early Sundya morning I headed off to Minh Huong Market and got some Holy Basil.

The recipes are quite precise; even though I deviated to our tastes, I appreciated the gram based measurements.

I've taken to measuring things fairly well nowadays and I basically changed a couple of things to fit our tastes and what we had in our pantry. More garlic, more fish sauce, more chilies, which didn't over-power the dish at all. The long beans looked terrible so we decided not to buy any. In terms of timing; in the book, the chef cooks his eggs first and places them on the side while doing the rest of the dish, making this a basic one-wok process. I prepped and completed the stir-fry portion up to the point of adding the hot basil, then started on the eggs….I also added some coconut oil for cooking as well. Once the eggs were almost done, I put the wok back on the flame, heated and added the basil to finish.

This turned out real well though the Missus told me She prefers regular Thai Basil in this…….

Kai Kaphrao Khai Dao

12 ounces ground chicken
3 Tb Fish Sauce
2 Tb Dark Soy Sauce
3 Tsp white sugar
3 Tb grated garlic
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
6 Thai Chilies sliced
2 Red Serrano Chilies thinly sliced
3 dried chilies crumbled
2 Cups loosely packed Hot (Holy) Basil
2 Tb grapeseed oil

3 Eggs
2 Tb grapeseed oil
1 Tb coconut oil

– Combine fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix to dissolve the sugar
– Heat the wok over high heat. When the oil is smoking remove it from heat, add the garlic and stir quickly.
– When the garlic starts to brown slightly, place back on the heat and add the onions and fresh chilies. Stir until fragrant.
– Add the chicken and stir fry, breaking up the ground chicken.
– When the chicken is almost done, add the fish sauce mixture and dried chilies, and combine well
– After about 30 seconds add the dark soy sauce – 1Tb first, until the color is right.
– Stir fry until the liquid has been completely absorbed by the meat.
– Start eggs in grapeseed and coconut oil
– When eggs are almost done as desired, put wok back on heat and mix in hot basil

Serve up with Jasmine Rice…..makes about 2-3 servings

Every once in a while I'll get an email asking where to get items like Holy Basil or Cha Om.

My usual recommendation is that they check out Minh Huong Supermarket.

Even if you're not looking for anything in particular and are in the general vicinity, drop by…..

You'll see some items you won't find in your local neighborhood Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean market. On this day we saw some young women with Thanaka, the distinctive Burmese cosmetic paste applied to their faces. Something I'd never seen in San Diego.

Minh Huong Supermarket
4029 Euclid Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

The bluefin tuna, “try to make something good for a change” challenge.

October 25, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

It seems like a pretty easy question….poke or some sashimi, right? But what if you're given a challenge, to make "something good for a change"?

I was faced with that on a recent evening…..granted, I've been really busy with work recently, so I really wanted something special for the Missus.

So I came up with this.

Bluefin three ways……

The cut of bluefin was very fresh, though not particularly outstanding. The perfect 20 minute challenge for me.

Here's the play-by-play…..

I decided on doing a very quick, hot smoke, so I got my trusty stovetop smoker going. I didn't want this to be a hot dish, but also wanted a fairly aggressive smoke flavor without cooking the fish. So I used mesquite and instead of starting high then turning low, I just turned the flame up high, seasoned the block of tuna with Maldon Smoked Salt and fresh ground pepper, covered the smoker briefly and when a good amount developed, placed the fish in the smoker, replaced thecover, and just let her rip!

I went into the garden to pick the veggies and herbs, washing then drying them on paper towels. Seven minutes had passed. I removed the tuna from the smoker, placed it on a plate and putting it in the freezer to quickly cool. I wanted to maintain the firmness of the fish.

At this point I decided on making three different items; for the first, I chopped the uneven part of the block, mixing it with some pretty good Maui onion and minced avocado……I then added a few drops of my roasted ghost pepper hot sauce and stuffed the avocado. Something I used to do when I helped a friend of mine cater a few dinners many years ago. A couple of slices of red serrano, sliced scallions, minced cilantro, and a touch of mint from the yard finished things. The Missus loved this combination of meaty-smoky-pungent-creamy-crunchy-mildly spicy. I was amazed that the ghost pepper hot sauce added just enough heat with a wonderful flowery fragrance.

The second item were just slices of the smoked tuna on lettuce from the yard. This I paired with some blanched, then grated garlic, grated ginger, yuzu kosho, and wasabi. I was so proud of the Missus, She never touched that wasabi from a tube. She loved placing tiny dabs of the salty, mildly spicy yuzu kosho on the smoky fish, never feeling a need to add soy sauce.

The third item was a play on a caprese, with tuna replacing the standard mozzarella. I placed the cuts of fish between slices of cherry tomato and basil, drizzling on some 0.3% acidity extra virgin olive oil. I also seeded a cherry tomato and filled it with olive oil creating a "shot" homage to our visit to Peza Union, where the tasting of each olive oil was presented in cups like a shot! The Missus enjoyed this the least.

This was only half of everything as there was a imrror plate also created. The Missus really enjoyed this…..which turned out pretty well. One of the most interesting responses I got from the Missus was when I had Her eat a slice of the Maui Onion with a touch of smoked salt…….I love good Maui onion with just some Hawaiian salt…this was the way I ate it growing up and the Missus enjoyed this as well.

The funny thing was….I was also finishing up Her main courses for dinner at the same time…….perhaps that's a future post…..

Still, like that surf and turf challenge, I lived to cook another day……

Red Peppers Stuffed with Lamb and Rice

October 13, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I had about 4-5 ounces of lamb and a some rice left after making my lamb loco moco. Not much really. I've been swamped at work and didn't want to make a special trip to the market, so what to do? I looked out into the garden and around the kitchen and decided to make some stuffed peppers….lamb, rice, herbs, onion….we had a bunch of red bell peppers lying around, why not?

It turned out pretty well……

I also made a Shakshuka like sauce which brought everything together for the dish, which is so easy it's criminal. The only thing was the wait which was 45 minutes in the oven, but gave me time to make the sauce.

I actually went ahead and measured everything out except the oil, salt, and pepper. This is for two, you can just multiply everything out for more peppers.

Red Peppers Stuffed with Lamb and Rice:

2 Red Bell Peppers
1/4 lb ground lamb
1 1/2 cup cooked jasmine rice
2 Tb minced mint
3 Tb minced cilantro
2 Tb thinly sliced scallions
2 Tb finely minced or grated garlic
1 tsp crumbled Turkish oregano
1 tsp Spanish paprika
1 Tb ground cumin
1 tsp ground chilies
1-2 Tb olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
water

– Preheat oven to 375
– Cut the tops off the peppers and level off the bottoms of the peppers. Remove the center, discard the seeds, and trim out the interior of the pepper.
– Combine the all the ingredients except the peppers and water in a bowl.
– Stuff the peppers
– Place the peppers in a pan, I used a small cast iron pan I have and add about 1/2 inch of water.
– Place tops back on the peppers and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
– After 30 minutes remove the tops of the peppers, these should already be pretty soft.
– Drizzle olive oil on the meat filling and put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

You may want to serve this with a salty tomato based sauce, or something similar….think of the flavor profile of lamb. This was fairly gamey and went real well with the sauce I made. I'll probably do this again soon.

Roasted Ghost Pepper Louisiana Style Hot Sauce

October 9, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

Well, it seems that "pepper season" is just about over for our impulse buy ghost pepper plant. The branches are full of peppers so I better get off my butt and figure out what to do with these. I've killed off all my friends already, so I gotta figure something out soon!

So far I've made some guacamole and BBQ Sauce, even infused vodka, I've even tried these in a stir fry…..talk about a butt burner. And yet, the initial flavor when you eat one of these is so good, flowery and fragrant…..

So I decided I better make some hot sauces. I thought I'd start with a basic Louisiana style hot sauce, since it's pretty easy to make and all. Plus, a couple of these style hot sauces are always in our kitchen. Plus, it's pretty easy to make a basic version. There were a couple of things to contemplate. Because of the heat factor, there ain't no way I'd be using more than a couple of these for a batch, so I had to figure some way to maintain that reddish-orange hue. I wanted to emphasize a bit of smokiness as well without losing the integrity of the flowery-heat. I decided to roast the peppers and only use 4, seeds and all…..why waste all that heat, right?

Anyway, I looked in the fridge tonight and this is all I have left, so I thought I'd better get posting…….

You can, of course add more, or less peppers, or even mix and match. I figure I'd be using about a pound of regular chilies to about 2 cups of vinegar. I don't have to mention using gloves when working with these peppers, right? Be careful after as well…..contact burns are not fun.

As for uses. Well, anywhere you'd use Tabasco, Crystal, or Frank's….. I used some on a Lamb Loco Moco I made.

It was really good. The hot sauce goes well with eggs…….

Roasted Ghost Pepper Louisiana Style Hot Sauce:

4 Roasted Ghost Peppers
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped coarsely
1 1/2 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
6 Cloves of roasted garlic smashed
1 tsp Liquid Smoke

– Put everything in a non-reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer.
– Hot your breath, otherwise you'll start sneezing like crazy
– Simmer until red bell peppers soften about 7-8 minutes
– Pour into a blender…be careful with this!
– Process until smooth
– Pour into a sterilized jar, let cool, then steep for 10-14 days
– Once everything settles, strain into sterilized bottles

I'm saving the last of this batch for some wings and I'll probably do this again. Next though, I'm going to try to make that other indispensable hot sauce/condiment, Sriracha.

Stay Tuned!

Thai Garlic Shrimp and Green Eggplant

October 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This is a recent favorite of the Missus. One day a couple of weeks ago I bought some of those golf ball sized green Thai eggplant. I thought we'd eat them raw with maybe a Thai Style Beef Salad, or something like that. The Missus on the other hand had a different idea….She wanted me to try and stir fry them with some shrimp, Thai style, in a sweet garlic type "sauce"….actually more of a coating as She didn't want these too wet. After making it a few times, I've finally got it down to the way the Missus enjoys it. It actually reminds me of those multi-part Chinese style stir-fries, which means it's the prep that really matters.

I found that this type of eggplant isn't the "oil sponge" that I'm used too. It really doesn't need much oil. It also stays fairly firm.

I use palm sugar for these, which, unless you know how to handle can be a pain. I first microwave the hard discs for about 20 seconds then grate it.

This looks like a lot of steps, but it is not.

Thai Garlic Shrimp and Eggplant:

For the Garlic – Palm Sugar mixture
4 Tb Palm Sugar
7-8 Cloves of Garlic minced (equal the amount of sugar)
1 Tb Fish sauce

– Combine grated palm sugar, garlic, and fish sauce – I actually grind up in a small food processor

For the eggplant
5-6 Thai EggplantSliced
2-3 Tb grapeseed oil
2 Tb Chili Paste
1 Tb Fish Sauce
1 Tb White Sugar
1 Tb Shaoxing
White Pepper

For the Shrimp
1/2 Pound Shrimp shelled and deveined
2 Tb grapeseed oil
4-8 Thai Chilies chopped
1 medium shallot minced
1 Tb Fish Sauce
3 kaffir lime leaves sliced in a thin chiffonade
1/3 cup cilantro leaves roughly chopped
3 Tb scallions sliced – green parts only

– Heat wok until smoking
– Add grapeseed oil for eggplant, quickly add chili paste, and stir till fragrant
– Add eggplant and stir fry
– Add Shaoxing, white pepper, sugar, and stir fry until eggplant is well coated
– When eggplant softens slightly add fish sauce.
– When eggplant is heated through remove to a plate and wipe down wok and bring back to temp

– Add grapeseed oil for shrimp.
– When the oil starts to shimmer add Thai Chilies, shallot, and kaffir lime leaf.
– Stir fry until fragrant
– Add shrimp and stir fry
– Add fish sauce.
– When shrimp starts turning translucent add the Garlic-Palm Sugar mixture and stir fry until it bubbles. Add eggplant back ot the wok.
– When shrimp is cooked through remove from heat and add all but 1-2 Tb of cilantro and all of the scallions and combine

– Top with the rest of the cilantro when serving

We served the shrimp on some lettuce from our garden.
And lots of rice of course

Playing with my food – using Tapioca Maltodextrin: Sesame – Salt Powder

September 29, 2013 mmm-yoso Cookbooks, Cooking, Playing with my food, Recipes

Though I love food…both consuming and cooking; once in a while I kind of hit a rut and need a little change of pace. I don't remember where I first about Tapioca Maltodextrin and its effect as a fat stabilizer. I'm sure it wasn't in Modernist Cuisine at Home which I bought last year. And looking through it. Maltodextrin is only mentioned in two recipes and barely in passing. I do recall seeing something, perhaps on Youtube where an olive oil powder was made. Anyway, a couple of months ago I bought Modernist Cooking Made Easy, which had a short chapter on Maltodextrin. It just seemed like fun…..plus Maltodextrin is plant derived and a pretty common food starch. First I cleared things with the Missus who has a Masters in Chemistry, then I went ahead and ordered a pound.

Getting to the point; tapioca maltodextrin can turn fats and oils into pastes and powders. For my first try, I decided to use something that we have around the house and use in sparing quantities…sesame oil was an easy choice.

One of things you'll notice right away is that tapioca maltodextrin is lighter than air….so no sneezing….no heavy breathing either. You don't need anything more than a whisk for this one. Using the recipe in Modernist Cooking Made Easy as my reference, it was a simple as this:

Sesame-Salt Powder (based on the recipe in Modernist Cooking Made Easy)
50 grams sesame oil
2 grams kosher salt
25 grams tapioca maltodextrin (this was about 3/4 cup)
extra tapioca maltodextrin as needed

– Pour sesame oil into a large mixing bowl (a large mixing bowl)
– Add salt and mix
– Add 10 grams of tapioca maltordextrin…gently, unless you want clouds of the stuff all over the place
– whisk in until a paste forms. Slowly add the rest of the maltodextrin. It will begin to clump.
– Whisk until it starts to form "beads", you may need to add more maltodextrin to get the texture you want.

Other than a couple of maltodextrin clouds floating about, this was easy…..

It will stay in powder form as long as it doesn't come in contact with liquid…though it lasted a while even when on some poke I made.

There's quite an interesting sensation…ahem, "mouthfeel" when it turns back to oil in your mouth.

It was also delicious on my Hiyayakko Tofu…….

I really didn't detect much in terms of any additional flavor….by itself, there's a very faint sweetness, which I could not detect when using it with my poke or tofu.

Truffle Powdered Popcorn, caramel – salt powder, nutella, and probably duck fat or bacon powder seem around the corner. This will be great for dipping….

This was a fun experiment…..now it's on to Xanthan Gum and Lecithin!

Recently Consumed

September 16, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking

I'm feeling a bit lazy today, so just something quick…….here are a few dishes I've made recently.

More fun with triggerfish. This one with Tomato-Basil-Caper Sauce:

This one with a Lemon-Basil-White Wine Vinegar sauce.

I've been using my Weber Smokey Mountain at least once every weekend…except when we were in Ciudad Obregon. It's usually just chicken or ribs….I like smoking half chickens, then searing them off in a skillet when I'm ready to eat.

This past weekend, the Missus needed some smoked chicken for work…..I really didn't want to take up the entire day so I decided on brining then smoking some chicken thighs.

After cooling I chopped and sent Her off with BBQ sauce…..of course I saved some for me. It was a BBQ Chicken Salad.

See those "black bits" on top of the chicken? Well, the skin really doesn't get super crisp. So what I do is remove them; pat dry, chop, then deep dry….deep fried smoked chicken skin. Man, that was good! Made for a nice topping on my BBQ Chicken Sandwich along with some coleslaw.

I'll finish off with a nice sandwich I made with grilled wagyu skirt steak…..man this was good!

Thanks for visiting….we'll be back with a post on another restaurant tomorrow!

Ghost Pepper Infused “Fugu” Vodka

September 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking

So we were shopping last night and the Missus mentioned that one of Her colleagues loves to infuse his vodka with peppers…."smack to the head"…of course, what a great idea.

Just then I passed the perfect "label" to infuse…Ballast Point's ultra-filtered, "Fugu" small batch vodka.

Not much to say here, make sure to wash the pepper well, slice in half, put in bottle…….I thought about removing the seeds and stuff, but that would be no fun.

So that was last night….the Missus and I couldn't wait, so we had a taste with dinner….holy smokes……it's very floral, but that heat! I thought I'd need at least a week. It is literally "fire water"!

It went well with the Bison Nahm Tok I made.

I'll be sharing this and leaving it with friends this weekend (maybe I'll document what we create) since I'm not really into spirits….though that doesn't mean I won't do this again!

Ham and cheese baked into a bread…a compendium.

September 8, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Cooking, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

You've found mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy are the usual bloggers here. Today, Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both away from their computers and unable to blog, so Cathy is writing.

Today's post is about a common food item coincidence discovered while logging, deleting and organizing photos and events to eventually blog about. Yep, I've been staying indoors during these crazy humid days and it's this, football on TV and completing Continuing Education credits online.

I was amazed at how many photos I have of the simple food item of ham and cheese baked into a bread and decided to share the variations I've found in Southern California. Some places I have blogged about before and some places will be posted in the future.

Last October, I wrote about Euro Pane, a bakery restaurant in Pasadena. Ham in chunks and melted cheese, along with onion and carrot baked into a crispy crusted, quality bread ($5) (it's quite large). Simple and wonderful.

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

Last November, we stopped at the Super H Mart in Diamond Bar. One of the many businesses in the Food Court area, Tous les Jour (a Korean bakery), sold this ham and cheese baked in a soft, cheesy bread ($2.10). I remember liking it, but not the specifics. Website

Here's a cross section of the ham and cheese from Paris Baguette ($2.20) The croissant, crispy, flaky, fluffy, also has a sweet glaze on top. It's disconcerting at first, but since there is very little ham or cheese filling, it makes the majority of the bites (the bread) rather pleasant.

Paris Baguette, inside HMart and Zion Market, San Diego

In June, I traveled to 85C Bakery in Irvine. Twice. This Taiwanese bakery sells a ham filled cheese topped soft bread roll ($2.25) It's very cheesy, tasty and unique.

85C Cafe and Bakery 2700 Alton Parkway, Suite 123 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 553-8585 US website Open 7 a.m. daily.

Right across the parking lot from 85C is Bon Epi, a Korean bakery, which makes a wonderful ham and cheese croissant. It's one of my top two.

Bon Epi Patisserie and Café 2750 Alton Parkway, Suite 101 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 251-0070. Open seven days 7 a.m.-midnight Website

Best Donuts and Deli is a Mexican Bakery located two storefronts from Little Sheep Hot Pot. A new Starbucks was built at the corner of the mall and The Mister and I walked in here looking for a treat to have with a coffee.

These trays were next to the counter, ready to be set out. I asked what was in the small rolled breads; the nice lady handed me one – as a sample. Ham and cheese in a perfect ratio with the bread; the ham was chopped, it is a hard white Mexican cheese that isn't too melty-gooey and there were chopped marinated carrots in the mix. It was really a perfect bite. Two for $1.

The bread is a nice, chewy white bread, not anything flaky nor soft. Simple and very good. As you can see, we also got two sweets. A longer post (about the torta sandwiches and donuts here) is forthcoming.

Best Donuts and Deli 4714 Clairmont Mesa BlvdSan Diego 92117 (858) 581-1278

K Sandwich also makes a ham and cheese croissant ($2), and the result is amazingly consistent. These are photos from three different visits.

You can see the croissant dough has a crispy flaky crust layer with a softer bready interior and that pieces of white cheese are rolled inside the ham before baking. It's an easy, quick snack.

K Sandwich corner of Convoy/Linda Vista at Mesa College Drive (7604 Linda Vista 92111) Open at 6 a.m. Mon-Sat, 8 a.m. Sunday.

Santee has four Starbucks stores (if you count the one inside the Vons) and next to the one located in the Albertson's parking lot is Pink Donuts, which sells a ham and cheese filled bread ($1.75).

A very soft, buttery bread surrounds a good amount of ham. The bottom part of the ham has a thin layer of a soft white cheese. Good, because it's fresh, the bread crushes easily. Not bad in a pinch/early morning when I don't want to drive very far).

Pink Donuts 9802 Magnolia (at Mast Boulevard) Santee 92071 (619)258-8807

Yet another donut shop, Peterson's Donut Corner in Escondido, sells a very hammy ham and cheese filled bread ($2). Again, it's just a thin layer of cheese on the bottom part of the bread. It's a good bread dough, only slightly crispy but a good slightly chewy dough. (That's a blueberry frosted cake donut, excellent- 95¢)

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774

Pangea Bakery Cafe, on Convoy street, sells good sized ham and cheese bread semi-loaves for $2.50. A hunk can easily be shared by two people.

A sofrt bread topped with cheese and layered with a good amount of ham and yellow cheese. When this is fresh (or toaster oven re-warmed), it's an excellent meal.

Pangea Bakery Cafe 4689 Convoy Street, Suite 100 San Diego 92111 (858)560-0688 website

I recently wrote a post about Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery in Tustin. The ham and cheese croissant here is exquisite ($2.50). It isn't very large and that's OK. This is the only place that bakes in Swiss cheese with the ham, and exposes (and slightly crisps) the ham. The flaky croissant makes the prefect ratio to the meat and cheese filling. I never get a photo of the cross section, because we exit the freeway and are in and out of here quickly; the croissant is consumed in the car as I drive away. Trust me, it's good.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)665-8239 Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days

I haven't posted on Sidecar Donuts yet, but went here twice in less than two weeks in June. A small popular bakery in Costa Mesa, Sidecar has lines of people out the door and into the parking lot daily. It sells more or less 'regular' (but fancy) donuts and each day also sell one even-more-special item. This day, it was a Monte Cristo Donut ($3.75). Filled with ham, cheese and strawberry jam then fried and topped with powdered sugar, as an egg dipped and fried Monte Cristo sandwich would be. So it's not a bread dough, but still ham and cheese filled and delightful. I thought I'd add it in here, since it almost fits the topic.

Sidecar Donuts and Coffee 270 East 17th Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (949) 887-2910 Website

To conclude this post, and possibly answer your inner comments, of course this can be done at home. Above is a meat and cheese bread The Mister made the other day with a one pound refrigerated dough, Jarlsberg cheese and and hard salami. He baked it on a cookie sheet on the outdoor grill; placing the cookie sheet on the opposite side from the heated burner. Radient heat you know.

I hope everyone had a good weekend and that the week ahead will have normal weather. Thanks for reading.

Roasted Ghost Pepper Guacamole…and one other idea

September 1, 2013 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

I was surprised at the interest folks seemed to have with Bhut Jolokia. Honestly, I bought the plant out of curiosity and because of the fussiness of growing and the long time it takes to ripen, the Missus didn't think the plant had a chance. But with the recent warm days, guess what?

So having these have been interesting. But what happens after all of the novelty? We are enjoying our garden and it is important not to waste, not a single radish, cucumber, shishito pepper, or leaf of kale if possible. We know when to pull the plug….the stalk of lettuce was almost two feet high and the leaves were getting bitter, it's time to move on. But what about all these ghost peppers? We've kind of decided not to go out and find specific recipes for our ghost peppers, but to insert them into everyday items we'd make, which would be much like how we garden; a very organic process.

Which is how it ended up in guacamole. The Missus is the guac maker in the family, so this is basically what She made. We had bought some nice 80/20 grass fed ground beef and some other veggies to grill. I'm not a big fan of grilling burgers, I like them griddled in their own fat, but items that baste our add moisture to the product are exceptions. Initially, it was going to be teri-burgers, but the Missus wanted me to fire roast one of the peppers for guacamole. I love guacamole on burgers, so I thought why not just grill of the meat and pile on that lovely guacamole on the burger?

I had the Missus put only half the roasted ghost pepper in the batch of guacamole, seeds and all. This was enough for a nice fruity heat that lasted for several minutes after each bite. It was delicious! Next time we'll throw in some bacon as well….ghost pepper-bacon guacamole!

I'm just giving you more or less a list of ingredients…the Missus doesn't really measure. You can replace the ghost peppers with 1-2 serranos if you like. Or a habanero. If you do use a very spicy chili, make sure to mince it very finely. I do all the chopping of the peppers, garlic, and such for the Missus who doesn't like to prep those items.

Roasted Ghost Pepper Guacamole
3-4 medium avocados
1-2 roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
1/3 red onion chopped
1/2 roasted ghost pepper, seeds and all, very finely minced
1 clove of garlic finely minced
cilantro (optional to taste)
lime juice to taste
salt to taste

You might want to go a little conservative in terms of salt and lime juice initially. You can put your guac in the fridge and let set for 15-20 minutes and then adjust the flavors.

It was great on the grassy flavored burger. We managed to use tomatoes, lettuce, and cilantro from the yard.

Ok, but what about the other half of the ghost pepper? Well, I didn't want to waste the rest of the rolls I had bought and I ended up using the smoker again today. So I went ahead and did a Rib Sandwich topped with my Asian Purple Cabbage slaw. I took a half cup of my BBQ sauce, added a bit more agave syrup, then the other half of the ghost pepper and blended.

So, when I made this, the Missus had a taste and said it was "kind of sissy". Nothing I could really do about it and I put it in the fridge. When it came time to eat the stuff, 2 hours later, holy smokes……man, it was pretty darn spicy. I'll use more sauce as a base next time! Still it did have add a nice fruitiness to the sauce….while you were able to enjoy it!

So three you go Lynnea, I hope you enjoyed this one! I gotta go and shred 10 pounds of chicken for da Boyz' food now! Hope you're all staying cool and safe on this hot weekend!