Homemade Fermented Remoulade Sauce/ Sourdough Crabcakes

I am a big fan of seafood!  Living by the coast gives me plenty of opportunity to eat seafood... if only my family shared my love of salt-water dwellers :(  Thankfully, I was able to squeeze in a meal I have been craving for quite some time:  crab cakes with fermented remoulade sauce. 

 

Since living in the New Orleans area, I have been wanting to make a homemade version of that spicy, tangy sauce that is so good on... well, everything!  Since the base is mayonnaise, you can use it to spruce up anything that you would eat with mayo- even sandwiches (especially po-boys).  Here is my version of remoulade that will have your taste buds singing:

 

 

For a truly fermented sauce, make this one day ahead of time

1 c homemade mayo (for this recipe, I used Kelly the Kitchen Kop's copycat recipe for Hellmann's)

2 T Dijon mustard

2 T ketchup

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1/2 c chopped green onion

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

1 stalk chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 t Tabasco

1/4 t ground black pepper

(the original recipe called for 1 t paprika, but I left it out)

1 T whey

 

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Place in a jar and cap.  Let sit for about 8 hours on your counter, then refrigerate.  The whey will help your sauce stay fresh for longer and add probiotics for your tummy :)

 

Here's my remoulade, fermenting happily on the counter!

 

 

 

 

For the sourdough crab cakes, I tweeked a Paula Deen recipe from Food Network.  She knows her way around a southern kitchen, although some of her ingredients are less than ideal.  I have switched the bad ingredients for better ones, as well as adding a bit of homemade flavor :)

 

What you'll need for homemade, delicate crab cakes:

1 lb lump crabmeat, flaked

1/3 c sourdough bread crumbs (I processed a couple dry pieces of homemade sandwich bread)

3 finely chopped green onions
1/2 c finely chopped green pepper
1/4 c homemade mayo
1 egg
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t dry mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 t garlic powder
1 t sea salt
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 c coconut oil
sourdough crumbs for sprinkling

Mix all ingredients in a bowl (except coconut oil and remaining sourdough crumbs), using hands to really mix well.  Shape into patties and sprinkle with remaining sourdough crumbs.  Heat coconut oil to 350 F.  Fry crab cakes in batches- cook about 5 minutes on each side, careful to flip them without breaking.  Let rest on paper towel before serving warm with homemade remoulade.

 

 

Treat yourself with these homemade beauties!  They are worth the extra effort :)  Enjoy!

 

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

If you are like me, you go through a LOT of ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar).  I make my own salad dressings, non-toxic cleaners and bone stocks- and I use ACV in all of them!  The problem is, organic, unpasteurized ACV can get expensive... the solution is:  make your own :)

 

 

 

 

I found some really easy-to-follow directions online, with pictures!  The only thing I did not do was add sugar.  The organic apples I used had plenty of natural yeasts and sugars to get the fermentation process going.  The only difference in our finished product is that mine is a bit lighter in color than the other one. 

 

I used enough cores and peelings from organic apples to fill a two quart jar- just throw in your scrap pieces and fill water to cover.  You can save the good parts of the apple for a pie or homemade apple sauce!  Then, cover your jar with a thin towel, secured with a rubber band, and wait :) 

 

After about 10 days, your apples are spent and you can strain them out.  Then, cover your liquid again and let it sit until the liquid tastes like vinegar.  This may take up to two weeks or more, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.  (Mine took a bit longer because my hubby likes to keep the house cold!)

 

When your vinegar is ready, you may strain it again or just cap it and stick in your pantry.  No refrigeration required, and no pasteurization.  The grainy sediment at the bottom of the jar is called the "mother" and is actually beneficial to consume. 

 

Since I used scraps to make my vinegar, it really didn't cost any extra money-just a little time. ;)

So, take a little time to make your own ACV!  Your pocketbook will thank you.  Enjoy!

Homemade Sour Cream

Have you ever read the label of a store-brought sour cream?  It's not just cultured cream, is it?  Well, it should be.  I'm sick of commercial food products being loaded with unnatural preservatives, thickeners and "flavor enhancers"!  Sheesh.  What do I do about it, you may ask... I make my own :)

Above is the label from a sour cream container we go a while back... I now use this container to hold dry snacks for my children.  As you can see, there is (probably GMO) cornstarch, guar gum and carageenan, among other things.  Why, oh why do they need to ruin this usually yummy condiment?

For my homemade version, you will need about a quart organic cream (preferably raw) and 1/4 cup buttermilk.  I bought the least gummed-up buttermilk I could get from the store, although it still had "annatto coloring" as the last ingredient.  I do not own buttermilk culture, so this had to do.

Pour the cream into a glass storage container (a mason jar would work, also) and stir in the buttermilk.  No heating required- just mix it together cold!  Then, let the mixture sit on your kitchen counter for a full 24 hours, covered with a rubber band-secured cloth.

And, voila!  after the culture sours your cream, you are left with a very large batch of goodness!  Although mine was very creamy when the 24 hours was up, it continued to firm up after I put it in the fridge.  It has the same consistency as that cornstarch-ridden store-bought sour cream, and I didn't have to thicken it at all!

Enjoy your sour cream in soups, sauces and as a Tex-Mex condiment.  So glad I don't have to yell at the ingredient labels in the store any more! :)

This post shared on Monday Mania.

Homemade French Dressing

When I lived in France while in college, I stayed with a family that had a great love of food. They not only made homemade sparkling apple cider but a variety of other things I had never even heard of before... One of my host father's special secrets was his salad dressing. It was nothing like I'd ever tasted before and made with real, fresh ingredients- not at all like "French dressing" at the grocery store. In fact, I never saw any "French dressing" in France! I think that is an American invention.




Here is what you'll need for my easy-peasy version of French vinaigrette:

1/4 c virgin olive oil (or other salad oil)
1/8 - 1/4 c raw apple cider vinegar- start with less and add more, if desired
splash red wine vinegar
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
pinch sea salt
dash black pepper
drizzle heavy cream (optional)

Put all ingredients in a cheap plastic squeeze bottle and give it a good shake. I especially like this dressing on my daughter's Salade Nicoise. :) Use liberally over any greens!

Homemade Steak Seasoning/Horseradish Sauce

Wow. My husband whipped up a delicious dinner tonight! Yes, he cooks too, only his kitchen is in the back yard... Tonight we had steak with "Outback"-style seasoning and a horseradish-dill dipping sauce. If you enjoy the taste of Outback steaks and Tiger Dill sauce like we do, you will LOVE this healthier homemade version!

Steak seasoning:

2 t fine sea salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
dash coriander
dash turmeric

Mix spices well.
Sprinkle generously on both sides of steak and let sit 10 minutes before grilling.

Horseradish Sauce:

1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c prepared horseradish (I used Gold's Horseradish- it was the ONLY one at the store with no preservatives or MSG!)
about 1 t dried dill weed (taste and add more, if desired)

I ate this sauce on my very rare steak tonight, and it was like eating a little bit of heaven!
Enjoy!

Note: You can google any of your favorite chain restaurant's recipes to find copycats. I have done this with salad dressings and meat seasonings. Then, all you have to do is substitute real, healthy ingredients and make it better at home! (For instance, substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil, sea salt for processed salt, or butter for margarine- it's that easy!)

This post is part of Monday Mania on the Healthy Home Economist

Homemade Mayo

Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a jar of store-bought mayonnaise? I was surprised to find that some of them (such as the "light" and "olive oil" varieties) actually label some ingredients as "not usually found in mayonnaise"... I feel the correct label would be "not usually found in food"! If you want a real, nutritious mayonnaise, you're going to have to make it yourself. Here is an easy-peasy recipe that I highly recommend:





1 egg + 1 egg yolk (farm fresh, pastured eggs are the best)
1 t Dijon mustard
pinch of salt- I use Redmond's Real Salt available at health food stores
1 T apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)- I use Bragg's Organic, raw vinegar from Publix
1 c light-tasting olive oil (or a mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil)





Put all ingredients except oil into a small food processor and blend. While blending, add your oil by drips- my processor has small openings at the top into which I pour the oil slowly. As soon as all the oil is incorporated, stop blending. Easy-peasy, right?!




Here's the finished product. It took me less than 2 minutes from start to finish to make a jar of mayonnaise that will last for about a week and a half. My boys looove their mayo. You can see by this picture just how creamy and thick it came out.



My sons wanted poor-boys for lunch. Ham, mustard, cheese and homemade mayo makes for a de-licious sandwich! Let me know what you think of homemade versus store-bought. I think you'll be surprised how good homemade can be.