Homemade Ketchup

Most everyone has grown up on Heinz Ketchup. A hamburger isn't a hamburger without this red tomato condiment. Hot dogs would blend in with their (hopefully) whole wheat bun. Ketchup is good on skillet potatoes, french fries, and omelets. In college, I had a friend who would eat ketchup by the spoonful. (I wonder what nutritional deficiency she was experiencing to make her crave this carefully concocted grocery store food.) When we lived in India, I used ketchup all of the time, except it was spicy.

Did you know that ketchup can actually be made in your kitchen? In fact, it has nutritional proprieties and aides in digestion, if prepared properly. Though easier to flip open, your store bought Heinz ketchup does not benefit your gut. Not to mention, homemade ketchup produces rich and strong flavors on your tongue as it navigates your taste buds, that can't be beat.

Your Ingredients:




3 cups canned tomato paste (this translates to four 6 oz cans)
1/4 cup whey (the yellowish liquid on top of yogurt--see below for extraction directions)
1 tbls sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup (the real stuff from the tree)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup fish sauce (can be found in the Asian section of your grocery store)

Mix all of the above ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Pour or plop mixture into a quart-sized mason jar. You will want to use a wide-mouth mason jar. There should be at least 1 inch of room from the ketchup to the top of the jar lid. I would recommend using the traditional metal lid versus the new plastic one-piece lids. Leave on your counter for two days before moving it to its chilly home, your refrigerator.

Want to know how to procure whey? Obtain a cloth napkin or cheese cloth. Place it in a strainer and put the strainer over a bowl. Allow it to drip for several hours at room temperature and then continue to let it drip in the refrigerator. The liquid will be your whey and the solid is cream cheese!

I will show you how to make mayonnaise and mustard another day!

It Seems Like Yesterday

He looked at us like we were crazy. Why did his parents put him in the garage to eat again so soon after dinner? It had already been a bizarre afternoon. There had been a party in progress when he woke up from his nap. He was then passed like a hot potato from one person to the next. And everyone kept commenting on his size and continual smile. Why were all of these people staring at him? Oddly, when he was finished with dinner, he was promptly cleaned up and then palanquined to the garage, placed back into his once messy high chair where everyone sang a song, and a white fluffy square with orange sticks was placed on his tray. What could this geometrically shaped object be?

Mr. Smiley gave it one delicate touch...

It was soft....

Time to try again...

It was on his hands now... and hands belong in your mouth... right?

And so began Mr. Smiley's journey into toddler hood. He enjoyed his first piece of cake, which was his first time having freshly ground wheat, smooth cream cheese, rapadura, and honey.

I do believe that my youngest child enjoyed every bite, even the continual coconut flake he processed in his mouth for quite some time. He savored each bite. As he languidly chewed, a flurry of activity was occurring in his honor, as all of the other children demonstrated their ability to digest and process sugar quickly.

It is hard to believe that this particular little boy, will one day be running around, capable of knocking over a little girl, like his oldest brother. It is hard to believe that in the not so distant future, he will be wearing Thomas the Train underwear, like his older brother. It is hard to believe, that he will one day tell me what cake he wants for his birthday. It seems like yesterday that he was born; his birth so vivid and timeless in my mind.

It only seems like yesterday that I was walking around the yard, surveying my garden, pushing the boys on the swing, awaiting my mom's arrival with some powerful herbs that would aide in my labor and delivery of Mr. Smiley. It seems only yesterday that my doula and husband pampered me with a massage. It must have been last week that my midwife came over late in the evening to check on me in my darkened bedroom. Is it possible it was 365 days ago that I bolted out of bed and hopped into that comfortably warm tub and caught my baby? Surely, it was a few days ago that my mom used a tiny pot to remove water from the large birthing tub as Mr. Smiley and I shared our first moments together. Just last night my husband sat shirtless holding his newborn like a kangaroo daddy, right? I think my mother-in-law and new grandfather just brought me bagels and coffee this morning? Have countless meals, both liquid and solid gone by since I first nursed Mr. Smiley and hosted his "Birth Day" party? Impossible.

Oh, Happy Birthday, my precious One Year Old! I love you! I just can't believe how fast you are growing up.

Mr. Smiley's Birthday Carrot Cake

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup creme fraiche

1 cup yogurt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cup Rapadura (cane sugar)

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. sea salt

1 8oz can crushed pineapple, water packed

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

2 cups cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tbls. vanilla

1/2-3/4 cup honey (raw)

Mix flour with yogurt and creme fraiche. Cover and allow it to sit out overnight (12-24 hours). Yes, it is OK. You won't die and it doesn't spoil. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13 inch cake pan. (I used palm oil and wheat flour.) Cream butter with Rapadura. Beat in eggs, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Slowly add fermented flour mixture. Fold in pineapple (with juice), carrots, and coconut. Pour into pan and bake at 300 degrees for approximately 2 hours. Let cool.

To prepare your icing, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and honey in a mixer of food processor until smooth. Ice your cake and enjoy!