Ingredients:

• 6 pounds of fresh tomatoes OR (2) 46 oz. bottles of tomato juice
• 1-1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium onion, about a cup, cut into quarters
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed (see this video for easy peeling)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 1 cup honey

Directions:

If using fresh tomatoes, process them until they are simply juice. See the videos below for instruction. If starting with juice, proceed to step one.

1. Combine all ingredients except for honey. Simmer till ketchup-thick, about 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally then more frequently as it thickens. The stirring will prevent burning.
2. Remove bay leaf.
3. Add honey and heat a while longer to return to ketchup thickness. Stir frequently to prevent burning, lowering the heat if necessary.
4. Remove from heat and puree with blender to smooth and incorporate remaining onion and garlic.

Notes:

Yields about 5 cups.

Ketchup will keep for a long time in your fridge.

Make a large batch and process them in a canner to make it shelf stable for even longer storage.

Videos:

This video also contains info for using a food mill to remove seeds and skins from tomatoes.

This short video shows you how to remove the skins from tomatoes.

For more videos visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Longing for a new way to enjoy broccoli, I thought a bowl of soup sounded good. This recipe is versatile enough to serve warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Ingredients:
1 Tb olive oil
1 lb fresh broccoli (about 4-1/2 cups), cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced (see this video for easy peeling)
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 cup rich yoghurt
1 tsp salt (if chicken stock is unsalted)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in stock pot over medium heat.
2. Add broccoli, onion and garlic to pot, cooking until softened but not browned.
3. Add chicken stock, tarragon, yoghurt and salt and bring to a simmer.
4. Puree soup in blender or with an immersion blender.

Notes:

Cooking yoghurt will kill the bacteria so don’t consider the yoghurt in this recipe as a probiotic.

Enjoy warm or cold.

Yields 5-1/2 cups.

Once you’ve had roast chicken like this, you may never want to have it any other way. Everything else will be dry, tough and flavorless by comparison. Also try brining chicken that you broil, fry or bake.

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken about 4 lbs (important note)
3 Tbs melted butter
about 2 quarts water
1/4 cup salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 Tbs dried tarragon
1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh bruised

Making brine:
1. Combine 1 quart of water with salt, garlic, tarragon and rosemary in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil then reduce to a slow simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Combine with remaining quart of water and refrigerate to chill.

Brining chicken:
1. Clean chicken and remove excess fat.
2. Place in cold brine, adding water if necessary to completely cover meat.
3. Refrigerate for 24-48 hours.

Roasting chicken:
1. Preheat oven and roasting pan to 375 degree F.
2. Remove chicken from brine, rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Coat chicken with melted butter.
4. Place wing side up on preheated roasting pan and roast for 20-30 minutes until browned.
5. Rotate so other wing side is up and roast another 20-30 minutes until browned.
6. Rotate chicken to breast side up and roast until dark meat in thigh reaches 170 degrees F and the breast at least 160 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let rest 20 minutes before carving.

Notes:
I use a jelly roll pan with a cooling rack for a chicken roaster. It’s important to hold the chicken out of the fat that will render out of the bird while roasting.

I found this container at my local restaurant supply store and it’s perfect for brining:

A digital thermometer with a probe is very handy. When chicken is turned to breast up, insert probe into thigh and set alarm to 170 degrees. Be sure to check breast temperature too when alarm goes off.

The resting time before carving is important. It allows the meat to retain as much moisture as possible. If you carve meat without a resting period a lot of the moisture ends up on the cutting board.

Experiment with brining time and amount of salt to suit your taste and schedule. You could use more salt and soak shorter for instance.

Other flavors to try: lavender, cilantro, bay leaf, oregano, fresh ginger root, kaffir lime leaf, lemon peel, sage, thyme…

I often crave this snack at night, when I want something savory like a potato chip. If you cook it enough, you’ll even get a bit of crunch around the edges.

Ingredients:
Provolone cheese
dried tarragon
homemade garlic powder

Directions:
1. Place slice of provolone on a microwave safe plate.
2. Sprinkle cheese with herbs and garlic.
3. Microwave on high about 40 seconds.

Notes:
Experiment with herbs – I like oregano as well and I’m sure some of you would like dill. Look in your spice cabinet and go a little crazy. Experiment with the cheese too. Try a different cheese. Combine cheeses.

Now you can actually see it being made! Yeah, I know!

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Wanting a quick substitute for ketchup, I came up with this recipe. It’s fresh, it’s zingy, it’s quick. I bet it would be good on fish too. The pureed garlic gives it a surprising heat.

Ingredients:
1 medium, ripe tomato, diced
1 clove of garlic, pureed (see this video for easy peeling)
salt
black pepper, freshly ground

Directions:
Combine ingredients, mix and taste.
Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Video:
See this video for a demo of pureeing garlic.

And here’s a demo of making this recipe:

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

A nice change from plain steamed beans.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned
3 Tbs unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed (see this video for easy peeling)
salt
water

Directions:
1. Combine minced garlic with butter and heat until butter is melted.
2. In separate large pot, bring 1 inch of water and a big pinch of salt to a boil.
3. Put beans into boiling water and cover, cooking for 5-7 minutes.
4. Drain beans, add butter sauce, toss and salt to taste.

Notes:
Cooking the beans too long will yield a mushy bean.
The salt in the water helps the beans keep their green.
The longer the garlic sits is melted butter, the better the garlic flavor permeates.
A garlic press is a handy tool to have.

I wanted a tender, flavorful, moist rib with a complex smokey flavor and a slight crust. Check, check, check and check. Mmmmm, baby these are goooood eatin’!

Preparation:
You’ll need to make the bbq sauce the day before. See the recipe.
Soak wood chips in water for at least 1 hour before use.
Make a fire in your grill for indirect cooking and make sure it is ready to go soon after the ribs are done simmering.

Ingredients:
1 slab of ribs
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, smashed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
a pinch of ground cloves
a pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper, roughly ground.
water
bbq sauce #2

Directions:
1. Place onion, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and pepper in bottom of large pan.
2. Place ribs on top of spices.
3. Cover ribs with water.
4. Simmer ribs in covered pan for 1-1/2 to two hours until tender. Meat should have pulled back from the bones about 1 inch.
5. Drain ribs and place directly over fire for a few minutes per side.
6. Move ribs to indirect heat in grill and coat with bbq sauce.
7. Drain wood chips and place on coals.
8. Allow to smoke for about 15 minutes.
9. Serve with bbq sauce for dippin’.

Notes:
Simmering can either be done on the stove top or in a 350 degree F. oven.
Simmering adds complex flavor to the meat itself and makes it tender and moist. Direct cooking on the grill gives it a slight crust.
For instructions on smoking with a gas grill, see this video.

Video:
How to smash garlic.

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

Guiding principals: tangy, sweet, spicy, smokey, complex. Great on everything, but made for the ribs.

Ingredients:
(2) 46 oz cans tomato juice (only salt added) OR fresh tomatoes: see notes below
1-1/2 cup white vinegar
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp sweet hungarian paprika or better yet, smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground chipoltle pepper
2 tsp salt
2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
12 cloves garlic, smashed (see this video for easy peeling)
1 Tbs liquid smoke (see note below)
1-1/2 cups honey
and maybe 1 tablespoon Tabasco Hot sauce (the original red only)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients, except for honey, liquid smoke and Tabasco in a large pot.
2. Simmer for hours and hours until very thick, stirring occasionally, more so as it thickens.
3. Add honey and simmer another 30 minutes, stirring more frequently to prevent burning.
4. Remove bay leaves.
5. Taste and add Tobasco Hot sauce if you see fit.
6. Add liquid smoke.
7. Transfer to a blender and puree well.

Yields about 3 pints

Notes:
To substitute fresh tomatoes for canned juice, use six pounds, cored and skinned. See the videos below.
The initial simmering will take 6-8 hours.
Halving the recipe will halve your simmer time.
Adding the liquid smoke in the beginning can greatly diminish it’s flavor so it’s better to add it at the end when the simmering is done.

Regarding liquid smoke: I use Wright’s Hickory or Mesquite Liquid Smoke. The labels list no illegal ingredients. I emailed the company to be sure and they confirmed the legality. Find the exchange below.

My inquiry:

I am on an extremely strict diet that does not allow me to have any forms
of refined sugars, gums or starches.

Do either your hickory or mesquite liquid smoke products contain any forms
or refined sugar, gum or starch?

Thank your for your help.

Sincerely,
Paul Stocker

Their reply:

Dear Mr. Stocker,

Wright’s Liquid Smoke is a natural product that gives foods a charcoal broiled taste.

It is made from hickory wood that is burned in an enclosed unit.
As the smoke rises it is captured in a condenser, allowing the smoke to cool.
The cooled smoke forms water droplets (condensation).
The condensation droplets are collected in a pan, filtered and placed in 55 gallon drums.  The drums are taken to the production filling location where it is filtered for a second time and transferred to the filling line.
The bottles are filled, capped and labeled.  They are then placed into shipping cases ready for distribution.

It contains no salt, carbohydrates, sugars, gum, starches, food additives, colorings or carcinogens. It is designated “natural” by the FDA.

—

Some other liquid smoke brands do contain illegals so read carefully.

Here’s an article on Slashfood about liquid smoke.

In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that the gold standard for investigating a processed food as set forth by Elaine Gottschall is to get a physical letter from the company on official letterhead with a person’s title and signature. By this measure, my investigation fails as I conducted it by email. Given this specific product and that most communication now takes place electronically, I am personally comfortable with the validity of the email exchange. You will have to decide for yourself where your comfort lies.

If you want to omit the liquid smoke, but keep the smoke flavor, two options come to mind:

• Increase the smoked paprika
• Smoke some onions or other vegetable on your grill and use them in the sauce (Thanks to Marilyn on the BTVC-SCD group for this suggestion).

Video:
How to smash garlic.

This short video shows you how to remove the skins from tomatoes.

Making ketchup from scratch. Same method, slightly different ingredients.

For more of my videos, including higher quality versions, visit my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/eatingSCD

This spicy treat gives you a little bit of your breakfast back. Try it with eggs and banana pancakes and you’ll think it’s the old days when you ate with wild abandon.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. ground chuck beef
1 tsp ground anise seed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp ground mustard
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 white onion, finely minced
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. Get yourself some rubber gloves and dive right in.
2. Form thin patties or link shapes.
3. Fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side.

Notes:
Try other meats or add some pork to this recipe if you like.
The egg makes for a more tender sausage, but can be eliminated if necessary.
Fry this up as crumbles instead of patties or links for use in other recipes like pizza or spaghetti sauce (I’d eliminate the egg for this purpose).
Make a bunch and freeze in serving portions for a quick fix.