Apologies & Chutney

No weekend recap, no photos from the most amazing potluck I've ever been to, no photos of the worlds most involved cupcakes that I made for Brother's 21st birthday. No photos of the farmers market, or the beautiful Mediterranean market I discovered right in my own downtown. I was a bad blogger this weekend. I took photos, but failed to put the CF card in my camera. WHO EVEN DOES THAT?

Well, me. I do that obviously, or we wouldn't be in this predicament, right?

This weekend, I ate delicious Lebanese food. I visited the East Providence farmer's market, which is so much larger than our little Roslindale market,  (Why don't we have an empanada lady?). I kidnapped my cousin to keep me company while I spent four hours making these cupcakes, and on Sunday I met some amazing Boston area foodies and bloggers. I was too busy soaking it all in. Oops, sorry...I'm new at this, remember?

But I do not come to you empty - handed. I have something (a little, small something) to tide you over until tomorrow. A chutney. Yes when all else fails, turn to sauce...or get sauced. Your choice. I like the making sauce, it doesn't leave me with a headache the next day.

There is an ironic story about this chutney, in that I made it for my diabetic grandmother after she spent half an hour waxing nostalgic about chutney, and how there used to always be chutney to accompany roasted meats when she was younger (how young? I don't know, I also don't know where in rural Ireland she was finding chutney, but I assume it was made of crab apples or something...) I made this chutney, I canned this chutney, and I brought it to her, and then she asked me 'What am I to do with this?" and then,  "It has far too much sugar for me, put it in the fridge..." So, While I'd like to call this 'From the Goodness of My Heart Chutney' or 'My Grandmother is a Liar Chutney' I'll spare you my bitterness, and instead, give you something sweet, and just a little spicy...

Spicy Sweet Peach Chutney
makes 6 1/2 pint jars, or 3 pints


4 pounds sliced peeled peaches

1 large white onion, diced

3 medium green and red peppers, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, finely diced

1 cup raisins

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 ounces chopped crystallised ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups white sugar

4 cups apple cider vinegar

Directions

In a large heavy pot, stir together the peaches, raisins, garlic, onion, peppers, jalapeno, ginger, chili powder, curry powder, sugars and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat uncovered until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. It will take about 2 1/2 hours to get a good thick sauce. Keep in mind that this will thicken slightly more when its cooled in the jars. Stir frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Wipe the rims with a clean moist cloth. Seal with lids and rings, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes, ensuring that there is at least one inch of water over the lids.

Serve this over roasted or grilled pork, with goat cheese and crackers, or eat it with a spoon standing at the kitchen island with the fridge door open, I won't tell anyone. More...

Arugula Pesto Pasta and the MBTA

The other night after a particularly hellish 2-hour delay on my commute courtesy of the MBTA, I finally arrived home at almost 8pm starving, cranky, and generally full of rainbows. Thankfully I had the presence of mind (psychic powers?) before boarding the train to pick up a magazine. Since I avidly read Last Night's Dinner, (cooking her way through Melissa Clark's 'No Sweat' feature,) I decided to give Rachael Ray's August magazine a try. Sometime around when they were evacuating the train one stop before mine, I found dinner in its pages.

We had a rather large handful (handfuls?) of arugula left over from the salad the other night, and I scored some basil and a smallish tomato from the garden of a family member (cat sitting and plant watering has its perks!) In our fridge there were a few slices of capicola, which took the place of the bacon, after a slice and a turn in a hot pan.

I made a half batch of the sauce, because we were low on arugula, and subbed in some Romano cheese for the Parmesan, (it's a personal preference thing, go with your gut on it). I made mine a bit thinner with pasta water, due to the fact that I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, but it came out tasty anyway.

The sauce went over some wheat pasta. Shells, because that was what was hanging around the pantry at eye level when the water was boiled. The capicola was sprinkled on top, after it got just a bit crispy around the edges. I ignored the asparagus, because the man hates asparagus, (don't even get him started on swiss chard, because that is not to come within 5 feet of him) and I swapped out the fresh ricotta for a quick tomato salad (chunk tomatoes, mix with torn herbs - parsley, rosemary, and basil in this case, and drizzle with oil and vinegar ) which I sat directly on top of my steamy pasta. This particular version of pesto is a definite hit, around here because the arugula has a pleasant bite and freshness that knocks the basil back a bit. I was left wishing that I had made more pesto to stick in a jar and eat later (maybe with a spoon).

Yesterday, sick of shooting from the hip at dinner time I trudged to the grocery store. Check in later this week for something (hopefully) really delicious.

More...