Lemon Pepper Hot Sauce

Ingredients:

12 Lemon Drop peppers, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
2 Mad Hatter peppers, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
1 small red bell pepper (or ½ standard size), coarsely chopped
½ cup carrots, sliced small
5 small cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
¼ medium white onion, coarsely chopped
1 TBSP olive oil
½ cup rice wine
¾ cup (more or less) water
1 TBSP honey
1 tsp coriander seed, roasted & crushed

Comment: could use some salt.


Instructions:

• Wear rubber gloves and a face mask.
• Seed all the peppers. Coarsely chop them.
• Peel and crush the garlic.
• Chop the onion coarsely.
• Chop the peppers, ⅛” thick.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan.
• Saute all of the above until the onions begin to think of transparency. Stir constantly.
• Add some of the water and simmer until everything is beginning to soften.
• Meanwhile, toast coriander seed. Crush it.
• Add the rice vinegar, honey & toasted & crushed coriander seed until carrots are soft.
• Cool the mixture some.
• Blend the mixture real fine.
• Cool completely.
• Fill bottle or jar and refrigerate.


Next time:
• ½ tsp or so of salt.
• ¼ cup or so lemon or lime juice.
• a tsp or a TBSP of peeled, ground ginger root.
• a little tarragon, fresh is better, ground is acceptable.
• Some cilantro or even parsley. Maybe some chives.
• a little batch of fresh basil.
(Courtesy Ed Currie of Puckerbutt.)

Lemon Chicken with Brocolli

Ingredients:
2 TBSP all purpose flour
½ tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp fresh black pepper
12 oz uncooked skinless boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2 TBSP olive oil
1½ cup chicken broth, divided
2 tsp minced garlic
2½ cups broccoli florets, roughly chopped
2 tsp lemon zest, or more to taste
2 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:
• On a plate, combine 1½ TBSP flour, ¼ tsp salt & pepper. Add chicken & turn to coat.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high flame.
• Add chicken & cook, turning, until lightly browned & cooked through: ±5 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
• Add 1 cup broth and the garlic to skillet to deglaze. Bring to boil, scraping up goodies from bottom of pan.
• Add broccoli. Cover & cook for no more than a minute.
• Mix remaining ½ cup broth, ½ TBSP flour & ¼ tsp salt. Add to skillet & simmer, covered over low heat.
• Cook until broccoli is al dente, crisp-tender & sauce starts to thicken: ±1½ minutes.
• Stir in chicken & lemon zest & heat through.
• Add lemon juice & chopped parsley & toss to coat.
• Serve with couscous, angel hair pasta or rice.

Mexican Skillet with Eggs

Ingredients:

1 medium poblano chili pepper, seeded & finely chopped
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup [canned] black beans, drained
1 cup zucchini, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 pinch salt (kosher?)
½ cup green salsa verde (plus more for serving)
4 large eggs
2 TBSP cilantro, chopped
Cooking spray



Instructions:
• Coat 12” skillet with cooking spray & heat over medium high flame.
• Add chili, corn & onion. Cook stirring often until onion is soft: 5-7 minutes.
• Add beans, zucchini, cumin & salt. Cook, stirring often, until zucchini starts to brown: 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in salsa.
• Make 4 wells in vegetables with back of a spoon. Crack one egg into each.
• Reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, until eggs are cooked to desired doneness: 5-7 minutes for medium.
• Garnish with cilantro.
• Serve with more salsa if desired.

Peanut Butter & Rhubarb Cookies

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, about ½ cup mashed
¾ cup old fashioned oats
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup rhubarb, fresh, diced
3 TBSP mini chocolate chips

 
Double Batch:
2 ripe bananas, about1 cup mashed
1½ cup old fashioned oats
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup rhubarb, fresh, diced
⅓ cup mini chocolate chips

 
Instructions:
• In a large bowl, mash the banana and add oats. Combine with spatula, and stir in peanut butter. Mix everything until all ingredients combined.
 

• Fold in chips and rhubarb pieces. Alternative: use a stand mixer or electric mixer on medium speed, but be careful not to over-mix.
 

• Scoop about a tablespoon of cookie dough on to baking sheet lined with silicon or parchment. The batter will be fairly wet. Once you arrange the cookie dough on a baking sheet, gently shape each cookie into more uniform and rounded shapes with your fingers.
 

• Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 F. WARNING: These over-bake quickly.
 

• Let the cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them onto wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.