Cilantro Lime Slaw and Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Two little things to make your summer more summery: homemade barbecue sauce and my favorite side dish of the season, cabbage with cilantro, garlic and lime.  A slaw, if you will.

First, the sauce.  You can make your own barbecue sauce a thousand times more delicious that those overpriced bottles of sludge in the market.  It's SO easy and so quick and you probably already have everything you need in your pantry.

I don't have a recipe to give you.  I'll just tell you roughly what I put in mine and that you can do it how ever you'd like to and it will still taste great.

The base is tomato sauce or ketchup.  Seriously, ketchup is fine.  Don't turn your nose up at the idea.  I use ketchup and it's great.  I was surprised by that but it's true.  I also add a little squeeze of tomato paste concentrate from a tube to deepen that tomato flavor even more.

Next, add any combination you wish of any of these ingredients according to your taste:

• cumin
• cayenne pepper
• garlic powder
• onion granules
• dry mustard
• salt and pepper
• brown sugar
• black strap molasses (don't need much, but it does deepen, darken, thicken and sweeten nicely)
• honey (does what molasses does without the deep and dark)
• apple cider vinegar (just a little goes a long way.  perfect for adding a little acidity)
• Worcestershire sauce
• tomato paste

In the version you see pictured, I put everything but the mustard, onion granules, honey and brown sugar.  Sometimes, I put those in and omit other things.  It depends on what I'm cooking and what I'm in the mood for.  It's hard to go wrong.  Just taste as you go and season accordingly.

Mix it all up, apply to meat while grilling, eat 'em up yum.  It's the simplest thing in the world and you'll wonder why you ever spent $5 on a jar of stuff that doesn't really taste as good as yours.

Next is the cabbage slaw that Kid Cayenne and I eat tubs of all summer long.  It is light, refreshing, limey and garlicky... some of our favorite things.  Disclaimer: it does contain raw garlic, which I know is a bit much for some, so omit that if you think you'll hate it or want to kiss someone who hasn't enjoyed your slaw.

Cilantro Lime Cabbage Slaw

1/2 head of green cabbage, finely shredded with a sharp knife or mandolin
3 TB cilantro, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced as finely as you can manage (optional)
juice of 3 limes
2-3 TB extra virgin olive oil
lots of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  (I can't imagine that this would do very will with regular salt and pepper)

Add all ingredients to a very large bowl and toss until cabbage is coated.  Adjust seasonings accordingly.  This slaw benefits from plenty of salt and pepper.  Please try to go for the kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  I can't imagine that granulated salt and finely ground pepper would do well here at all.

Goes beautifully with barbecued chicken, sausages or hamburgers.  Goes beautifully with lots of things, really.   Makes a big bowl... probably 6-8 servings.

Do any of you have any bbq sauce or slaw variations that you love?  Please tell me about them.

edt: I forgot to mention that this is perfect as a side or topping for soft tacos and fajitas!

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Mojo Grilled Pork with Orange-Jicama Salad

 
Commenced new Bodum Fyrkat grill usage (I just like saying that. Fyrkat!  Also, "gril de pique-nique" which is what it said on the box.  Riiight?)  with a recipe for Mojo Grilled Pork with Orange-Jicama Salad from an issue of America's Test Kitchen magazine from Cook's Illustrated called 30 Minute Suppers.  Fun, because it used jicama, an ingredient I have never eaten before.  The article described it as a cross between an apple and a potato.  Good enough for me.  I also added grilled asparagus as a side.

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves. minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup juice and peeled and segmented fruit from 2 oranges
1/4 cup juice from 2 limes
1 TB brown sugar
1/2 jicama, peeled and cut into 2 x 1/4 inch pieces
2 TB cilantro, minced
salt and pepper
8 thin bone-in pork chops, about 4 oz each, 1/2 inch thick  (I used boneless chops)

Heat oil in small pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant but not browned, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to bowl and whisk in orange juice, lime juice and brown sugar.  Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Combine jicama, orange segments, cilantro and 1/4 cup dressing in a second bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss pork chops with 1/4 cup dressing and season with salt and pepper.  Grill chops over hot fire until lightly charred and tops begin to turn opaque, about 2 minutes.  Flip chops and grill until just cooked through, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to platter, drizzle with remaining dressing, tent with foil and let rest 5 minutes.  Serve with orange-jicama salad.

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Now I will say... this wasn't the best meal I've ever made.  There was something lacking, some element that should have made the ingredients sing, that somehow just didn't.  It was fine and I'm not saying you shouldn't make it.  It was a perfectly appropriate summer meal.  I just thought it funny that with such outstanding flavor personalities like citrus, garlic, cumin and cilantro, it seems that it should have had more... glory.  It was fine though.

Speaking of glory.  I got glory in the form of dessert.

Strawberries dipped in crème fraiche and brown sugar.  Have you ever done that?  It is mind blowingly delicious.  You take these three things, these lovely things on their own, you put them together and suddenly they are so very, very much more.  It would be inadequate for me to tell you that the tangy, almost lemony nature of the crème fraiche joins brilliantly with the crumbly darkness of the brown sugar and turns even a less than perfect strawberry into a symphony.  You just have to try it.

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Future Figs, Pretty Bodum Grill and My Mystery Tree

I've just had a power outage (whole block, neighborhood... whole city?) and with no interwebs to keep me busy, I ventured outside.  I mowed the lawn, pondered my mystery tree and wondered how long 'til I have fresh figs to eat.

Here is the mystery tree.  What is this?  It had yellow fruit on it earlier this year.  I came across a post at Apartment Therapy's cooking site that makes me think maybe it is loquat.  It looks very similar.  Can anyone tell me?

I'm thrilled to have a fig tree.  It's beautiful and I look forward to the day I can pick the fruit.  It straddles mine and the neighbor's yard, so I may have to fight for the figs, but I am completely prepared to do that.

Best of all, today my new grill was delivered.  I know that some of you are very fancy with your Big Green Eggs and your Serious Grill Business but I am lazy, prone to neglect and sloth and really just want something small and easy to bring in from the humidity and rain.  My last grill was a great little cast iron hibachi that did a really good job but was so heavy that I eventually slacked off on bringing it inside and it rusted away.

This time I knew what I needed.  I wanted a patio grill with enough room to make food for 2-4 people.  Sturdy but light weight.  Portable.  A friend pointed the Bodum Fyrkat Picnic Grill out to me and it fit the bill perfectly.  Plus: adorable.

It has little silicon clips to keep the lid on while moving it from place to place, along with a silicon covered handle.  Nicely enameled, seemingly well built and just the right size.  They come in an array of summer colors and are made by Bodum, of Bodum french press fame.  I know, strange right?  They seem to have branched out into BBQ this year.  I'm a little nervous just because they aren't an established grill manufacturer, but at $50 and given that my needs aren't hardcore grilling purposes, I'm sure it will be fine.  I'll let you know how it works out in practice.  I also bought a Weber chimney charcoal starter and am looking forward to having deliciousness tonight.  Just not sure yet, what to cook.  I have some fat little asparagus in the fridge, just waiting to hit the grill.  Meat is as yet undecided.  Anyone grill something nice lately?  I crave inspiration.

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