Anyone for Some BBQ????

 I guess you might say that ribs with one of my homemade sauces is my specialty. This sweet but oh so slightly spiced sauce, a recipe that I developed and also use as a base for others, is probably my favorite to use. It gives the meat a not too sweet, but delicious...sticky...delectable, coating. I use my sauces both on the grill and in the oven. 

But BBQ sauce isn't just for the BBQ.....Oh No! Try your favorite sauce as a condiment for your burgers, hot dogs, chops, fries or onion rings! It's a great substitute for ketchup! And if a store bought sauce isn't spicy enough for you, just kick it up a bit by mixing in your favorite hot sauce...to taste of course. Like it a bit more vinegary? Mix in some of your favorite vinegar. I think you see where this is all going.

Pickled Cauliflower

So, yesterday was "single jar" pickling day. What is "single jar" pickling day, you may ask? It is the day that I decide to take odds and ends that I don't have enough of to really do much with, that are "pickleable" and pickle them, before they go bad. I call it "single jar" because it is usually enough stuff for one large jar of a pickle mix of some sort. This batch contains cauliflower, black olives, sweet onion and a few baby carrots.

So I began by toasting my pickling spices until I could smell them....but not burn them. I then added 4+ cups of white vinegar, about 4 cups of sugar and a cup of water. Of course, you can do this to taste OR use your favorite pickle brine...sweet or savory. 

While the sugar was melting, I broke apart the florets into bite sized pieces, cut the sweet onion into bite sized pieces, and put in a layer of cauliflower then a layer of onion and olive. I continue the pattern till all was gone. I then poked in 3 leaves from my allspice trees (optional) and also poked in a few baby carrots I had found in the fridge. 

Next, pour the pickling mixture over the veggies. And that was it. I wanted to make sure everything was covered, but because the veggies kept floating up, I took a heavy plastic ramekin, set it on top of the veg, put some brine in it to give it some weight, and that kept everything from floating to the top. Place the cover on the jar and let sit in the fridge for at least 1-2 weeks. When ready to eat, the ramekin can be removed (you won't need it at that point.)

 Because these are one offs, and I put the jar directly in the fridge when it cooled, I did not need to go through the canning process, except for the clean jar. If you plan on just putting your jar on the shelf, then you will need to go through the full canning process, for safety.

                                                  

 

Making Wine Vinegar

 I decided to try my hand at making wine vinegar. I grabbed a bottle from my parent's stash...a bottle that they didn't particularly care for, and began the process. From my experience, here in Florida anyway, it is best to do this when the weather is cool. Otherwise, you risk mold. (Yes...it happened to me. I tried to make another batch late summer, and ended up with a moldy mix within a few weeks.)

In a non reactive bowl, add your wine and a little vinegar. I used organic apple cider vinegar.

Stir the vinegar and wine mixture. Then loosely cover with a clean towel. Continue to stir twice a day. After a few weeks, maybe sooner, depending on conditions, the mixture should begin to ferment and begin the process of changing into vinegar. Monitor daily.

When the scent and taste is where you want it, bottle in a CLEAN bottle. I kept the bottle the wine came in, removed the labels and thoroughly cleaned.