Zest Fest 2012

A short road trip to Irving for Zest Fest 2012!  I met up with my friend Katie and found out what a chilehead she is after she made 2 trips back to the car to unload her purchases.

I'm short on the show photos, there are plenty to be found. So here is a brief round up:

The Winners From I Love It Spicy

Photos From Scott Roberts

ZestFest 2012 at Facebook

My meager bounty of yummy loot.  I could fill the bath tube with the hot sauce that I have around here so I was more tasting and looking goodies for other than hot sauce or salsas.  With that being said, there are some excellent products out there  and it was a treat to taste all of the flavors of Zest Fest!  Congratulations to the winners and all the others that work so hard to bring spice to our life!

See more about the products at my
Photo Gallery.

After the Saturday at the Zest Fest, it was off to Grapevine for adventures with my friend Katie.  First stop, Tommy Tamale.  An large selection of fresh tamales, salsas and sauces.  After some sampling, I left with Spicy Pork and Four Cheese.  The owners are awesome and hard working.  I hope to see them next year at Zest Fest.  (They mail order, too)

Next stop, Tolbert's in the Grapevine historical district for some food, drink and after dining tunes.  Tolbert's was founded by co-founder of the Terlingua Chili Cookoff, Frank X Tolbert, Sr. and family. 

Highlight of the night was Buddy Whittington, blues rocker.  The band was late to start but  we got in the groove with an near 2 hour first set.  And I will have the opportunity to find Buddy in my hood next weekend. If he makes it to your town, don't miss the show!  Thanks Katie!

And then there was the midnight hour harvest of Opuntia sp. for Congo Joe.  I was able to collect from a couple of locations but got lost on the way out of town and missed the spiny one.  Next trip!

Back on the road home I always pay tribute to the Founding Father of Texas, General Sam Houston. But what did I find, some was stealing his monument.  Oh my gosh!  NOT, just a freak photo from my window.  I love road trips!

I had a hoot!

Beth in Texas

Red Eye Gravy for the New Year BEPS

Red Eye Gravy for the New Year BEPS

First of all, BEPS = Black-Eyed Peas, a New Year tradition in South, we eat these for luck through the year.  Those wonderful little legumes are nutritious, too!

I have never made or, from my recollection, ever had Red Eye Gravy.  Oh! what I have been missing.  It's a simple recipe, I don't even think you need the ham renderings, the magic comes for the strong black coffee blended into the light roux. It's magically addictive, just like Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts.  It's thick and rich and it's GRAVY!

The Roux

Red Eye Gravy 
1/2 LB Country Ham Steaks*
2 TBS Butter
2 TBS Flour
1 TSB Onion Powder
3/4 Cup very strong black coffee
1 -2 Cup Chicken broth, water and/or milk**
Salt & Pepper to taste

• Once favored meat of choice is cooked, removed from skillet\pan and keep warm.*
• Drain off any excess grease.
• Melt butter in skillet until it begins to bubble
• Add flour and stir consistency to create a light roux
• Add onion powder, blend into the roux
• Add the strong black coffee
• Stir well and then add the broth/water/milk until desired gravy thickness is achieved

*Any renderings will do, just drain off all excess grease.  Bacon will do just fine!
**For thinning to desired consistency.

My new affinity for Red Eye Gravy could be because I rarely drink coffee these days and it's a fix. Give it a taste and you will see why this wonderful gravy should be on every breakfast menu 24 hours a day.

Happy New Year 2012!  Eat your BEPS!


Beth in Texas

Blue Cheese in Chipotle Oil

I LOVE this Rosenborg Blue Cheese in Oil! My jar was running dry of the blue cheese so I decided to improvise and make my own with some chipotle powder to kick it up.  So far so good but I learned some lessons as in the process (see Notes).

Blue Cheese In Oil

1 Cup Canola Oil

1 Tsp Peppercorns

1 Tsp Granulated Garlic

1 Tsp Course Ground Black Pepper (smoked if availale)

1/2 Tsp Bay Leaf - Crushed/Chopped (I used Lemon Bay)

2 Tsp Smoked ground chile powder

8 Ounce Creamy Blue Cheese

Blend all ingredients in a bowl except the blue cheese.

Cut blue cheese into 1/4" squares and pack in to sterilized jars.

With a spoon, continuously stir the oil ingredients and pour over blue cheese in jars.

Seal and refrigerate.  Let flavors meld until desired flavors result.

Notes:  

• I used EVOO but should have used the Canola Oil as on the label of the Rosenborg, the EVOO congeals when refrigerated.
• A 60% cream blue cheese is recommended.  I used a cheapie Danish "crumbling" Danish blue. I used olive oil spray on utensils to prevent crumbles.
• The Rosenborg label listed citric acid as antioxidant, I had citric acid on hand and added one tsp. I have no problem with citric acid.  No model to compare.
• Prepare the oil and chile powder in advance to let flavors meld or be prepared to wait.
• Day 2:  All is good, more flavor is coming on and no clouding.

This is good stuff.  Keep refrigerated and it will last for months.

Cheese Lover in Texas

Beth

Customer Profile: Nolan's Hot Sauce

Meet Nolan of Nolan's Hot Sauce!  At 13 and my youngest customer, he is quite talented with the hot sauce and has been quite popular at the farmer's markets.  I'm not a fan of green sauce but he has hit the mark with his very pleasing, tangy Green Fire. I love this one! And Nolan brings the heat with his Tongue Scorcher, levels of heat brought by the hot peppers and horseradish.  I also hear that he is quite the creative chef.  Give a shout out for Nolan and a promising career in front of him.  We wish you all the best Nolan!

A Note from Nolan:

To Beth,

My Name is Nolan and in December I will be 13 years old. My favorite thing to cook is seafood which I buy fresh from my fishmonger who gets his fish fresh from the N.C. coast. I started making hot sauce about three months. Since I have sold close to a hundred bottles, and counting. The first hot sauce I made was my Original, then my Desert Scorcher, then my Green Fire, then finally my Tongue Scorcher. My best selling sauce is the Green Fire, which has a lite citrusy flavor that people can't get enough of. Ever since i was little I have liked peppers of all kinds. My favorite kind of pepper now is the poblano. Not for it's heat but it's mild and slightly bitter taste.   -nolan

A big high-5 to Nolan, his sauces and his future with whatever it may hold for him AND to his folks that have given him the encouragement and opportunity to succeed.  Thank you Nolan's Dad!

Thank you for sharing your story and sauces, Nolan!

Beth in Texas

Customer Profile: Joey Tio Sauce

Joey Tio has some excellent sauces and his new Green Sauce rocks just like Uncle Joe.  His grill fired jalapenos put this one over the top.  His Original Red is just the right heat and the garlic and twang that is favored by this Texas Chica.

He makes sauce with passion and with the demand from family and friends, these creative sauces  keep him on the ready to fill the demand.

Joey's talents go far beyond the hot sauce.  He is also a guitar man, teacher, songwriter and singer.

Find out more about Joey Tio and his Acoustic Cloud Studio

Love ya Uncle Joey!

Stuffed Burgers - A Method

This idea has resurfaced from the cold Winter of 2011.  I'm don't even recall what blog or forum I found it but it sounded like wonderful idea for the indoor grill. 

While you will have to use your own imagination to stuff these dudes like you want, the method is simple.

Cookie Sheet Stuffed Burgers

Line 9" X 13" cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper

Spread 3 - 4 pounds of lean ground beef across span of cookie sheet.  Spread as thick or thin as you like keeping in mind that this thickness will more than double once stuffed and folded.

Spread stuffing ingredients over 1/2 of the press out slab of beef. 

In this case, we used sauce, blue cheese and green olives.

From the end with no ingredients, carefully lift wax paper and burger to fold over the top of the ingredient side.

NOTE:  To make for cleaner, less dripping burgers, you can place your ingredients in portions so that when you cut the stuffed patties, they will be more compartmentalized.  Keep watching, you will see.

Once folded, pinch edges to hold ingredients into the loaf.  With a pizza cutter, square out portions as desired.  Depending on your ingredients, you may or may not want to pinch off edges of each patty.  Personally, I liked the dripping edge on the burgers but that's a choice.

Get creative with your stuffing ingredients:  Cheese, vegetables, mushrooms, hash browns, olives, pizza style, taco style, BBQ style, Asian style, breakfast style. 

Make it YOUR way!

Here we have the stuffed burgers on the indoor grill.  Nice, big, juicy burgers that never made it to a bun!  These came out very huge, like a kind of meatloaf of sorts.

As you can see, portioning the ingredients while setting the ingredients would make a cleaner burger but I like this wall to wall stuffed burger way.

I chose to top it with bacon and Jack cheese for a Grand Finale!

 












Happy Burger Rama!
Beth in Texas

Summer, 2011 - Some Photos

It's been a long, hot summer down hear on the Texas Gulf Coast.  The Chile Childs are survivors and they are getting some TLC for the Fall Harvest.

So while we wait for sub-Season of Fall to come about, I have a few photos of things I saw, things I did and a few places I visited in Summer, 2011. 

I would like to add, this my first YouTube slide show, I add this to Things I Learned This Summer list.   I put copyrighted music in the background but it got nixed so.....

Please open this link in an new tab/window for a background tune while you view the slide show:

Romance in Durango

Some of the photos include:
Garden & Chile Photos
Food Creations
My Margarita Row - Branson, MO
Ride The Ducks - Branson, MO
Best Birthday Cake Ever - Italian Cream with Chiles
Planking
Harley Davidson Factory Tour - Kansas City, MO

This was a test of the Peppermania Broadcast System
Beth in Texas

A Simple Pepper Drying Hanging

What a chica can find in her closets!  No...not just shoes!

I found a contraption that I made years ago for drying peppers and never used.  I didn't invent it, it was an idea I found in a magazine or in the early daze of the www.  It had come apart but was easily reconstructed with twist ties and skewers.

Basic materials:
Small link chain
Bamboo skewers
Twist ties or twine for securing skewers
Peppers of choice

Use 3 - 4 skewers for the main/top support "rod".  Secure on both ends with twine or twist ties and tie a twine hanger loop in the middle.

Slice an opening in peppers to prevent rot & mold.

Pierce peppers to skewers and secure to chain with twine or twist ties

Balance as necessary

Hang in sunny location, moving as necessary to protect from rain.

I didn't want to "waste" my good peppers so, as you see here, is $3 worth of mixed chiles from my local Foodarama.

If nothing else, it does make a cool yard art hanging on the fence or decor for a patio party.

So far, so good. Two days on a sunny fence and no rotting yet.  The green Jalapenos are ripening but I guess 118º in the sun will do that!

Status update to follow.

 
Happy Crafting!
Beth in Texas

Chipotle Lime Hummus

After acquiring a summer cold and not wanting to venture to the store for ingredients for a tasty bold snack, I came up with the yummy variation of hummus.   This spicy and nutritious dip is especially complemented by Stacy's Brand Baked Simply Naked Pita Chips.

I based this recipe on Goya's recipe for traditional hummus, substituting with ingredients I had on hand.  You can do the same....

Chipotle Lime Hummus

1      29 ounce can chick peas aka gabanzo beans
4      tbs olive oil
1      tbs roasted garlic
4      tbs lime juice, fresh squeezed (approx 2 limes)
1      tbs smoked chile powder (or to taste
1/2   tsp cumin, ground
2      tbs chipotle hot sauce of choice
2      tbs water, or as needed
        Salt to taste, smoked preferred

Add all ingredients into food processor or blender bowl.  Blend until smooth adding liquids to desired taste and consistency.
Plate or bowl to serve with pita bread or chips.  Garnish with basil, parsley or cilantro.




Easy, pleasy!  I wager someone will like it at your next grill out or tailgate!

Snack Happy!
Beth in Texas

Minor Nutrients For Summer Stress In Chiles

Regardless of where you are, the stress of summer can take a toll on our chile plants.  As we approach the Fall harvest season, this is a really important time to give a little extra attention to our prized chile crop, particularly if we have gotten a little lazy with the Summer doldrums.

Whether you have been growing in the ground or in containers, the watering schedule may have depleted nutrients that the chile plants can really use right now.  If you want to stay organic, fish/kelp emulsion applied foliar or to the root zone offers an excellent boost to the NPK.  There are also some great organic granular feeds available but you may have to quest further than the box stores or order online.  If you don't mind stepping aside from the organics, there is nothing wrong with a balanced formula of Miracle-Gro.

There a couple of minor nutrients that we can add that can help the chile plants along (and tomatoes, if you still have them).

Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) will supply two crucial nutrients important to Capsicum, sulfur and magnesium.  While sulfur is more readily available to plants, especially in synthetic fertilizers and acid rain, magnesium can be depleted from the soil.  Magnesium deficiency (as seen in this photo) may be exhibited with chlorosis, leaf curl, stunted plants and fruit, among other symptoms.  Magnesium builds the cell walls, aid in photosynthesis and aids in fruit production.

Epsom salts are readily available at box stores, drug stores, even your grocer.  Apply a tablespoon or two to the root zone or foliar feed at a rate of 1 - 2 tablespoons per gallon of water.

Calcium is needed for cell division and plant growth. Its buffering characteristics are critical to soil balance and largely determine the availability of other nutrients. Lack of calcium results in yellow or pale leaves, and causes blossom-end rot on tomatoes and pepper, as seen in this photo.  BER is accelerated when the deficiency is paired with water stress, too much and too little in the grow season.

Application of dolomite lime or bone meal at the root zone along with a consistent watering schedule can help this unwanted problem.  Either should be available at a reasonable price at your local home improvement center.  Apply at the labeled rate.

Just remember, the chile childs have had a long, hot summer and the season still has life left for us all.  Give them a little TLC now and you may be amazed what you may get by your season's end.

Happy Harvest!
Beth in Texas