Honey

Since I made the salsa and pasta / pizza sauce really mild this year, I wanted to make a nuclear hot chili sauce to compensate. Something that I could use just like that, or mix into one of my other tomato sauces to spice it up a bit. I did some googling and asking around, and finally found a recipe that really appealed to me. I did not follow that recipe to the T - left out the salt and pepper, and the vinegar. The latter I believe was only added to make it suitable for boiling water canning, which I do not have to do since I pressure can.

I wanted a sweet tomato-based sauce that was spicey as heck, and that's what I got! It's got apples, peaches, pears and honey to sweeten it up. It calls for 10 lbs of tomatoes - I used 7 lbs of romas, 2 lbs of various heirlooms from my CSA, and about 1300 ml of canned diced tomatoes from my 2006 batch.

I wanted to make Granola, but as I usually do with something new, I don't like to just get a recipe and try it out, I like to read a bunch of recipes to come to understand the basic essence of the thing I want to make. Then I make up my own recipe. I've been making granola bars for a couple of decades now, and truth be told I even tried my hand at granola in there once or twice during that time - but in the past I'd always just followed a recipe. In reading up on granola, it became clear that it is very similar to granola bars - go figure. Basically use a bit less moisture, a bit more grains, and bake longer at lower heat, without pressing the mixture into the pan. Instead, you distribute it loosely, and mix it about every half hour while baking.

Here is my first crack at it, which is still in the oven. Based on the taste test going into the oven as well as comments on the terrific smell from my wife and youngest son after it had been in the oven a while, I think this will prove to be a pretty good first kick at the can!

This yeasted dough is really easy to throw together if you have a bread machine. Actually, even if you do not, mix it together just til everything is wet and then let stand covered in a bowl for 12 hours and let the gluten develop on its own. This is a new method I've just recently seen and will be doing a video for. Missing from this video is the addition of the 1/4 cup of olive oil - somehow I managed to mess up that clip while doing the video.

Mix

• 350ml water (or beer)
• 1 (generous) tablespoon honey

One of my favorite childhood memories are the many Saturday nights at the family table with a big plate of sweet baked beans, fresh brown bread and hot dogs. Baked beans are one of my favorite foods and, since moving to Ontario, I haven’t made them as frequently as I would like.

Why not? Apparently the beans we always used for baking beans just aren’t available here in Ottawa — I can find obscure beans from far-flung parts of the world, but I just can’t get ahold of the Jacob’s Cattle, Soldier, Yellow Eye or French Horticultural beans that my mother used for her Saturday night feasts.

Every year during my annual trip back to the coast, I stock up on my beans and horde them like gold — doling out each batch and making them stretch for as long as I can, knowing I won’t be able to replenish my stockpile until the next summer. Our unexpected and unfortunate trip back in January was a boon in one very pleasant respect: I now have beans — lots and lots of beans!