Pepper Sauce, Made

by Mrs Marvel

Since I have nothing better to do with my Sunday evenings (I jest), last night I decided to make the pepper sauce recipe that was featured earlier this week. The idea came on sort of spur of the moment as I was in the grocery store and saw all the lovely rich reds and greens of the peppers. At first I assumed I would use bell peppers, but when I realized the recipe called for a dozen red and a dozen green, I realized that would be too much volume. I went with red and green jalapenos, which may or may not be the right ones, but that’s what I used, so there it is.

It took about 30 minutes to clean and deseed two dozen peppers – and let me tell you, my sinuses were clear at the end of that process! I used a mini food processor to chop them up finely, and then again with the onion. If you decide to take this on, let me warn you now. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE while working with these peppers. The juice can be very uncomfortable and the seeds are used in the making of pepper spray. I touched my upper lip and the juice worked its way into the base of my nose. Yeah.

So, I there I was with three bowls of chopped up produce making my eyes water and my nose run…

…and at this point I could not imagine Gram making or ever eating this sauce. I imagined it to be like Tapatillo or Tobasco. Throwing caution to the wind, I put it into my big pot, added the vinegar and sugar (two pounds plus 8 ounces!), and set it on to cook.

After it came to a rolling boil, I reduced the heat to medium and stirred it occasionally. As it boiled it produced almost a bubble on top which would burst open and flood over the rest of the vegetables. We had dinner in the middle of this process so it might have actually cooked for 30 minutes, and then I let it stand a good 10 minutes afterwards as I did dishes.  :-)

The resulting sauce is pretty liquidy with the small pieces of pepper and onion suspended within. Remember it’s got over two pounds of sugar in it! The sauce is sweet with a spicy finish and reminds me of the dipping sauces you get with your spring rolls and egg rolls at a Chinese or Thai restaurant. It’s very good, yield is 2 quarts. I don’t know how I’m going to use it, frankly. I can’t imagine what to make with it!

Any locals want some?

It’s a mystery

by Mrs Marvel

Not all of Gram’s recipes sound so great, I must admit. Here’s one with no title that uses lemon jello, V8 juice and mayonnaise, among other ingredients. Oh yuck! I can guarantee I won’t be making this. It sounds like one of those 70s jello rings served with a tomato-carved-like-a-flower in the center.

Mystery #1

1 box lemon jello

1 c V-8 – hot – dissolve

6 oz Phila cr cheese

1/4 c ketchup

1/4 c cream

1/2 c mayonnaise

salt

celery salt

What happens next is part of the er, fun?

Now we have a second mystery item. This looks like notes jotted down during the making of whatever it is. Is it a cookie? A biscuit? A pie crust? I have no clue.

Mystery #2

3 egg whites

1 tsp baking powder

1 c sugar

3/4 c saltine crumbs

nuts

Ida’s Chocolate Sauce

by Mrs Marvel

Here we have a second recipe for chocolate sauce. Where the first recipe was pretty much a “throw it together and use it” sauce, this one requires a little bit of time for cooking. It sounds delicious and I love Gram’s notes to herself. They are visual an easy to reconcile. I have no idea who Ida is. On that same note, I asked my mom this morning about Cousin Anne and she has no recollection off hand of who that could have been. She’s going to look at the card because there is some possibility it could be Gram’s mother’s handwriting, in which case Cousin Anne is easier to identify. If you’ve ever spent some time on Ancestry.com (like the Forgotten Old Photos site members who find all sorts of interesting information) then you know it can be confusing at times to sort through the tree and wrap your head around the relationships. Well, Gram’s family had quite a few twists and turns as it turns out – nothing scandalous – just confusing. Maybe one day we will figure out who Cousin Anne is. Until then, enjoy Ida’s chocolate sauce recipe.

Ida’s Chocolate Sauce

1 square chocolate (1 oz) ** bakers chocolate

Butter – rather less than an egg size

6 tbsp sugar (scant 1/2 c)

Melt over low heat

Have open a small can of evaporated milk. Add a little at a time, stirring and letting it boil up each time after adding. Very good either warm or cold.

Cranberry Sauce

by Mrs Marvel

I have always wondered how to make my own cranberry sauce. I don’t really love the “can shaped” jellied cranberries that come around every Thanksgiving, so I might try this next fall.

Cranberry Sauce

1 qt cranberries

1 pt water

2 cups sugar

Boil until cranberries pop, place in jelly jars hot & cover with paraffin.

Pepper Sauce

by Mrs Marvel

Here’s a pepper sauce that is reminiscent of a barbeque sauce. Cousin Anne is a tough one to nail down. Gram had an Aunt Anne and even a great-grandmother Anne. Unfortunately our records don’t include the children of her nine aunts and uncles. On the other side, Grandpa George’s side there are no Anne’s that I can find. My guess is that Cousin Anne is really a cousin we just don’t know about yet. Isn’t it funny how these recipes are also a genealogy record?

Pepper Sauce

1 doz red peppers

1 doz green peppers

3 large onions

Chop all fine

Add:

2 1/2 lbs brown sugar

1 pt vinegar

salt to taste

Boil about 20 minutes & bottle. Makes 3 pts