Homemade Toasted Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Homemade Toasted Garlic Infused Olive Oil

10 large cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped (2.0 ounces or 57g )
1 cup extra light olive oil (7.2 ounces or 204g)
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes or to taste

In a small skillet, combine garlic and olive oil.

Place over medium-low heat (4.0 to 3.0 on induction cook top) and heat until oil starts to bubble, about 7 minutes.

Continue to cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until garlic turns to a light golden brown (approximately 8 to 10 additional minutes). During the last 2 minutes of cooking, you may want to stand by the stove because the garlic will become brown very quickly. Do not let garlic become too dark or burn (garlic will continue to toast while the hot oil is cooling). Make sure you are stirring frequently, especially during the last 2 minutes of cooking.

Add the red pepper flakes. Immediately remove from heat and let cool for about 1 hour.

When oil is cooled, transfer to a small jar and keep at room temperature for about 3 months.

The garlic pieces are completely cooked and toasty. When you bite into the bits of garlic, it is crispy and garlicky delicious. The garlic will continue to stay crispy for the entire length of time the oil is stored. I used this garlic oil with steamed spinach, steamed petite peas, roasted vegetables, soba noodles, pasta, potatoes, etc. I like to sprinkle the toasted garlic chips over baked pizza. When using the oil, make sure you include some bits of toasted garlic. Makes great dipping oil: just mix a small amount with some balsamic vinegar, pinch of mixed dried herbs, several julienne slices of sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil). Dip crusty French bread with this oil. So good!

Yield 1 cup

Pickled Red Onions

Pickled Red Onions

Adapted from Food Network

 

These pickled red onions are great condiments to tacos or any Mexican dishes, sandwiches, bugers, or salads.

 

 

1-1/2 cups white vinegar (12 ounces)

6 tablespoons organic cane sugar (1.8 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1-1/2 large red onions, thinly sliced (12 ounces)

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano, crushed

 

In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves. Mixture does not need to come to a boil. Remove from heat and add the onions and oregano. Let the mixture cool before transferring to a 24-ounce jar (photo above is an old 24-ounce Safeway Select salsa jar). Keep at room temperature for about 6 hours; then place in the refrigerator for several weeks.

 

Yield 24 ounces

Cashew Butter

Cashew Butter

It was a month ago when I made Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter which is now entirely consumed. I am now addicted to homemade nut and seed butter so this time I made cashew butter with great success. Using roasted cashews make this cashew butter more flavorful than store-purchased cashew butter. Store-purchased cashew butter tends to be a little thin because oil is added to the nuts during processing which gives it a thinner consistency. You can actually see the oil separation in which you always have to stir back into the nut/seed butter before using. With homemade cashew butter, you don't need to add additional oil. The natural oil from the cashews will release during processing, and that is enough to make the cashew butter a nice creamy consistency. You also have the option of adding as much or as little salt to suit your own taste. Nut butters are very easy to make as long as you have a reliable food processor (i.e., Cuisinart) or a high-power blender (i.e., Vita-Mix). It only took less than 10 minutes to make this delicious and smooth cashew butter.

1 pound package Trader Joe's brand UNSALTED roasted cashews

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place cashews in the work bowl of a food processor with a metal blade. Pulse nuts about 20 to 30 times to break up the nuts into small pieces. Then process continuously (about 7 minutes), stopping machine a few times to scrape down (about 5 to 6 times). During the processing, the cashew butter may seem tight and may clump together into one mass. With patience, it will smooth out. Just make sure to scrape down the sides of the work bowl occasionally, and spread the clumpy mass out to evenly distribute the cashew butter in the work bowl so it is not all at one side of the work bowl (like an unbalance washing machine). When the cashew butter is creamy and smooth, add the salt and process just until combined. Transfer cashew butter to an airtight container. The cashew butter will be a bit warm from the long processing. Just let it cool completely before covering and store cashew butter in the refrigerator. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Cashew butter will firm up a bit when refrigerated, but will soften quickly as you are spreading it on freshly toasted bread. You can also leave it out on the counter to room temperature to soften up.

Chunky Cashew Butter: After pulsing nuts into small pieces at the beginning of the recipe, reserve desire amount of the nuts to add back into the nut butter at the end. Follow the recipe to process the cashews until creamy and smooth. Add the reserved nuts the same time you are adding the salt. Process just until combined.

Yield 1 pound cashew butter

Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

I am hooked on Dave's Killer Powerseed bread. Safeway supermarket is the only place I can find Dave's Killer bread at the moment. It's a little pricey, but I love the 100% whole-grain goodness and seedy texture of this bread. I've been toasting a slice of this bread for the past few morning since I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter. I didn't realize making your own nut butter can be so easy. You need a reliable food processor that can run continuously for about 10 minutes without getting hot. I have an old Cuisinart from the 80s which works just fine. I don't recommend using a mini food processor which I have already tried. Because a mini food processor is not as powerful as the standard size processor, you will not achieve the same results as you would from a standard size food processor.

2 cups raw sunflower seeds (9.6 ounces)

2 to 3 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and position oven rack to the center of the oven. Spread sunflower seeds in a shallow rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring half way of baking time. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Insert a steel blade into the work bowl of a food processor. Transfer cooled seeds into the work bowl. Cover and pulse nuts about 30 times just to get the seeds to break up and become crumbly. Then continuously run for about 10 minutes until smooth, stopping machine a couple of times to scrape down sides.

When mixture looks smooth, while processor is running, drizzle in about 2 tablespoons sunflower oil. Let processor run until mixture is incorporated and becomes smooth. Add the honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to the mixture. Continue to let processor run until smooth and well blended. Mixture will seem tight in the beginning, but let it continuously run for about 5 minutes and the nut butter will smooth out. Check the nut butter. If mixture seems too thick, add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the remaining sunflower oil and let it run until well blended. Taste and add more salt to taste if desired. Transfer the nut butter into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

This nut butter is delicious spread on toasted 100% whole-grain bread.

Yield about 1 cup

Homemade Adobo Seasoning

Homemade Adobo Seasoning

Adobo seasoning is a blend of Latin spices and herbs used as an all-purpose seasoning to marinade meats, poultry and seafood. You can also add this seasoning mix to any of your Latin dishes. I decided to make my own adobo seasonings since most of the adobo seasoning mix that is available in Latin markets contain MSG. This recipe makes a 2-cup quantity and is stored in your pantry for up to 6 months. I used this seasoning to marinate pork loin chops and it was very tasty. You don't need to add additional salt to the meat while cooking since there is already the perfect amount of salt in the seasoning mix. The aroma blooms when the seasoning is mixed with the oil and becomes more intense while the meat is marinating. This seasoning mix is amazing.

6 tablespoons table salt
6 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dried crushed Mexican oregano
3 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons anchiote seed seasoning - What is this?
1-1/2 tablespoons ground ancho chili powder
1-1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika (regular is OK if you don't have smoked)
1-1/2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1-1/2 tablespoons ground coriander

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk or fork. Transfer to an airtight container and store in your pantry for up to 6 months.

To use the seasoning mix as a marinade, I mix 2 tablespoons of the abobo seasoning with 3 tablespoons olive oil, using a fork or a small whisk. This amount can marinate about 2 pounds large cuts of meats, i.e., pork loin chops or chicken breasts. Double the amount of marinade if marinating smaller cuts of meats, i.e., chicken tenders, kabob or skewer sizes.

Yield about 2 cups seasoning mix