Homemade Ketchup and Roasted Garlic Mayo--Two Must-Have Sauces

My Kids love Ketchup.  Well, in fact, I haven't met a kid who doesn't like Ketchup, period.  Have you?  I know many parents concern about the High Fructose Corn Syrup as an ingredient in most of the store bought brands.  What's the solution?  Of course I created my own.  Not only this Homemade Ketchup version contains only natural ingredients (those that you can pronounce), it’s also super easy to make.  Another bonus is that it tastes way better than the bottled ones.  For me, I'm not always a Ketchup person, so, for dipping options, I also created this Roasted Garlic Mayo.  Guess what?  I'm sharing both recipes with you today.




This Homemade Ketchup and Roasted Garlic Mayo are two must-have sauces that you want to have in your fridge at all times.  They are versatile sauces that compliment well with so many ingredients. 



Want to check out how I made them?  Follow me to the kitchen.

Here’s are the steps to prepare the Homemade Ketchup:

1) Heat the oil in a medium sauce pan.
2) Sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant. 
3) Then add the red pepper flakes.
4) Followed by the apple cider vinegar.
5) Then, add the tomato paste, salt, brown sugar, bay leave, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.  Let it simmer uncover for 30 minutes. 
6) The sauce will thicken and it’s ready.  You can puree it in a blender for a smoother texture or leave it as is.  I love it a little chunky like this.





Super simple, right?  Store it well in the fridge and the ketchup shall last for 7 to 10 days….that is, if you don’t finish it sooner.  You can also portion it out and freeze part of it so a batch lasts longer.

Up next, let me show you how to roast the garlic to make the decadent Roasted Garlic Mayo.
1) Cut the whole head of garlic side way.
2) Place it on a foil and drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt on top.
3) Wrap it up and bake in the 400 degree F oven for 45 minutes.
4) The garlic will be super soft and fragrant.  You won’t be able to trace any pungent garlic flavor at all.  They turned into these sweet, tender and irresistible jewels after roasting.  When it’s cool enough to handle, simply squeeze the flash out from the skin.  Smash them with a fork and whisk in Japanese Mayo, lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and your Roasted Garlic Mayo Sauce is ready.




I hope you like the two homemade sauces that I’m sharing with you today.  Stay tuned for the next blog post to find out what I serve these sauces with.  You definitely don’t want to miss it.  I promise they will be easy to prepare, healthy, fun and wonderful for entertaining guests. 

Braised Stuffed Cabbage—Using Thrive Products

As you know from my previous post that I’ve received some Thrive products to try.  I really enjoyed using them to create new recipes.  This was one of my favorites to share with you.  Many stuffed cabbage recipes required hours of baking/braising because of the stuffed raw meat and rice.  Thanks for Thrive products, this dish was simplified and energy friendly.  I say, it truly was a green recipe (no pun intended).



With a few simple ingredients, dinner was ready in no time.  I really love Thrive’s freeze dried products.  The flavors of each ingredient was really concentrated.  Just wanted to show you how the products looked before I add them into my recipe.

Freeze Dried Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Freeze Dried Instant White Rice

I love onions, but not so much in chopping them.  These freeze dried chopped onions (picture below) came in handy!  I used them in both the sauce and the stuffing for these Braised Stuffed Cabbage.

 

Tomato Powder, Freeze Dried Chopped Onions and Freeze Dried Cooked Ground Beef

Picture below shown the inside of the Braised Stuffed Cabbage.  My family loved this dish.  The tartness from the tomato powder really balanced well with the savory beef and cheese stuffing.  This is such a perfect dish to enjoy in the summer.  Not only it was elegant, it was also easy to make but looked as if you put hours of work into it.




I included pictures of each steps on how to prepare the cabbage leaves and to stuff them. 
1) Remove and discard the tough bottom ribs of each cabbage leave.
2) Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
3) Immediately plunge them into the bowl of iced water, then, remove leaves from water and pat dry.
4) Spoon a generous 1/4 cup of filling into each leaf.

 
5) Fold the bottom part of the leaf to the center.
6) Then fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing
7) Arrange each roll with the seam side down so that the roll will hold itself shut.
8) Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency, about15 to 20 minutes.




Sounded easy enough?  It really was.  My kids loved the cheesy, beefy, rice stuffing!  The cabbage leaves were soft and tender and absorbed the lovely tomato sauce.  They both ate 2 stuffed rolls each all by themselves (they are only 2 and 4 years old).  I’ll definitely make these Braised Stuffed Cabbage more often from now on.  How about you?  Would you like to try? 
 

It's still not too late to enter your name for a giveaway, courtesy of Misty from Shelf Reliance.  Please refer back to my previous post here for details.  Good Luck!

If you have any questions regarding Thrive products, Misty will be available to chat with you live at her blog on June, 6th (Monday) between 1:00pm to 1:30pm PST. Please click here to access the chat room.

A Friendly Reminder from Misty: I notice some of you shown interest in purchasing Thrive products.  Please make sure you place the order through Misty's site here (http://yourownhomestore.shelfreliance.com/yourownhomestore) and you'll save 5%-45% off retail price, courtesy of Misty.  Isn't it cool?  If you go straight to http://shelfreliance.com you will end up paying full retail price.  Thank you for the great tip and savings, Misty!


Just linked up this recipe with “Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.”




*Disclaimer: I received the free samples for the purpose of this review and I am not compensated in any way to write this post.  All comments and opinions are 100% my own.

Caramelized Onion, Roast Beef and Goat Cheese Focaccia

 



Not sure if you’ve noticed, many of my savory dishes includes Onion.  Onion is such a good aromatic ingredient in many dishes.  It enhances and accentuates the over all flavor of the dish without over powering other ingredients.  In many dishes, the onion functions as the aromatic ingredient.  However, onion is the star of this Caramelized Onion, Roast Beef and Goat Cheese Focaccia.  I especially adore caramelized onions. How can I not?  They are naturally sweet and the caramelized flavor is wonderful.
   

I’m glad that both of my kids love onions as much as I do.  When I was serving these Caramelized Onion, Roast Beef and Goat Cheese Focaccia the other day, my three and a half year old son ate the whole piece all by himself. Then, he requested for more caramelized onions!  Just the onions!  :)  I couldn’t help but smiled and gave him more onions.  After all, he has a very sophisticated palate, and I know exactly where he got his genes!  LOL



As promised from the previous post.  Here’s the “dressed up” version of the herbed Focaccia.  These Caramelized Onion, Roast Beef and Goat Cheese Focaccia are easy to make, and certainly elegant enough to serve at parties or gatherings as appetizers.  Yet, they are just simple, everyday ingredients.  Don’t you love that? If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, you can substitute that with your favorite type of creamy cheese.  You can also substitute the roasted beef with smoked turkey or any other kind of meat that you preferred.  Just make sure to be generous when you pile the caramelized onion on top and you’ll have a treat! 



This recipe is an entry for April’s Kitchen Play sponsored by the National Onion Association.  This Caramelized Onion, Roast Beef and Goat Cheese Focaccia is inspired by the Beer-Braised Spring Onion and Herbed Goat Cheese Crostini.  Since my husband and I are not Beer drinkers, we don’t have any beer in the fridge.  But, I do have many bottles of red and white wine!  :)  So, I used some dry white wine to deglazed the pan when I sautéed the onion.  With a few springs of fresh chopped thymes, these caramelized onion turned out succulent, flavorful and amazing with it’s natural sweetness.
     
For more information about the Kitchen Play contest, please review the complete contest rules.
 

         

Thanksgiving Feast

As promised, I took pictures of the Thanksgiving feast and here they are.  If you’re interested in getting the recipe of anything you see below, please leave me a comment and I’ll try to get the recipe for you.

                                   

“Self Serve” California Rolls—These are so much fun to eat, and delicious.  Take a piece of nori (seaweed) and wrap the sushi rice, crab meat, avocado, sesame seed filling to create your own individual roll.  Not to mention, it’s great idea for parties because there’s minimal prep work and the nori stays crispy.



Egg Rolls—Filled with vegetables and glass noodles.  Crispy and delicious!



Mixed Salad—which is, to mix your own vegetable with the store bought dressings next to it!  Hahaha…



Honey Glazed Ham—Nothing represent holiday food better than a leg of honey glazed ham…oh, maybe besides the turkey!  Almost forgot about the turkey :P



Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage and Shitake Mushroom—This is one of my favorites!  Sprinkle with a little bit chopped green onions on top and I can eat just that as my Thanksgiving dinner!  :D



Cheesy Penne Pasta with Broccoli and Cauliflower—Cheesy and delicious.



Korean Spicy Stir Fried Pork—This dish demonstrates the well balanced of the sweet and spicy!  I want to get the recipe to make it again at home!



Cream Corn—A holiday staple side-dish.



Orange Juice and Spices Brined Turkey—Juicy, flavorful and delicious.  I believe it looked beautiful too before it was carved.  :P



Creamy Mashed Potato—Smooth and creamy.



Roasted Beef—Great BBQ flavor and beefy.




Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow—Another holiday staple side-dish in our family.



Garlic Knots—Check out the recipe from my last post here.



Rice Cake with Red Bean Paste and Walnut—Not too sweet, the edges are crunchy and the center is chewy, very yummy.


I bet you don’t believe we only have one type of dessert for the Thanksgiving feast, right?  I need to confess that I totally forgot to take pictures when we started to eat the desserts!  :P  This particular picture was taken before dinner was served.  The rest of the goodness were all in our tummies and memories.  We had custard tarts, pumpkin pies, smoked almond turtles, taro cakes, flan, etc.  They were all sweet and delicious.  Oh well, I’ll make it up to you by posting something sweet on my next blog post.  ;)

Smoked Almond Turtles and Garlic Knots

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for. I have many to be thankful for this year and I’ll continue to count my blessings every day.

I’m thankful for this lovely place called home, because it’s not just a house. It’s called home because it’s filled with love, and people I love.

I’m thankful for having many good friends in my life. Although we don’t see each other very often, but they’re like stars, I know they are always there. So, I keep them closed to my heart.




We should give without remembering and receive without forgetting. No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. I’m thankful that I have the abilities to give and have great friends and family that help and support me to become who I am today. 

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.

It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart. I believe the greatest things in life are free. The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.


 
I’m thankful for all of you.  Who read and support my blog, weeks after weeks.  Left me comments and words of encouragement from time to time.  Thank you for all that you have given me. I hope that I can give it back... tenfold and more.  I will work my hardest to keep doing so.

I hope all of you have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. And let’s not forget those who are less fortunate around us.

This Thanksgiving, my family is going to have a gathering at my cousin’s house. We always have a big family gathering every year. I’m going to bring these Garlic Knots and Smoked Almond Turtles to share with them. Of course, I’m sharing my recipes with you all. For the rest of the feast, I’ll take pictures and post them up later on. Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.