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Totally Awesome Red Chile Sauce

May 14, 2025

 

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This is my new all-time favorite red chile sauce. 

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It's made using 3 different chiles, giving it a wonderful spicy depth of flavor. This totally knocks the socks off all the other sauces I've made over the years. 

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In the saucepan are guajillo, ancho, and chiles de arbol, onion, and garlic with enough water to cover the chiles. 

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Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to a strong simmer. Since the chiles tend to float, it's necessary to weigh them down with a small plate or bowl to help keep them under the water. Don't cook them any longer than 15 - 20 minutes because any longer than that, the chile water can become bitter and you need it to make the sauce. 

Once the chiles are softened, add the chiles, onion, salt, and garlic to the blender jar along with about half a cup of the water to start the blending action. 

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As the chiles are blending, add more water and or chicken broth to reach your desired consistency. If you like it spicier, add more chile water than broth. I usually start using equal amounts of chile water and broth, then add more chile water if it's not spicy enough or broth if it's too spicy. 

If after blending you still have bits of chile skin in the sauce so you'll need to strain it for a smooth sauce. 

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After blending and pouring the sauce into a jar, I decided it was a little too thick, so I added a bit more chile water to the jar and stirred it around. 
Perfect!

I snagged this off of ArnieTex on YouTube https://tinyurl.com/f6cxrmfs

Red Chile Sauce

15 Guajillo chiles

2 ancho chiles

4-5 chile de arbol

1 whole small onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, smashed

2t salt

Remove the stem and seeds from the chiles, then rinse the chiles under cool running water.

Put the chiles, onion, and garlic in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Place a plate or bowl on top of the chiles to keep them under the water, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Place the chiles and about ½ a cup of chile water into a blender jar, add the salt. Start the blender on low, slowly increasing to high. Stop the blender intermittently to check the consistency of the sauce. More chile water and or chicken broth may be added to reach your desired consistency and spice level.  Taste as you go.  

Source: ArnieTex YouTube
 

And that's that!

Posted at 11:29 AM in Mexican, Sauces | | Comments (0)

Fresh Lemonade

April 15, 2025
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Freshly whirled lemonade in the Vitamix

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Looks like I bought my Vitamix in time for some summer refreshments

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Just 5 ingredients for a quick and easy refreshing drink

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Start with 2 cups of water and a tablespoon of lemon zest

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then drop in one peeled lemon

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a tablespoon of honey or 3 pitted dates

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a cup of ice cubes

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and let 'er rip

Coming soon, lemon ice cream Mmmmmm

Fresh Lemonade

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (480 ml) water
    1 T lemon zest
    1 lemon, peeled
    3 (45 g) dates, pitted (or 1 T honey) 
    1 cup (130 g) ice cubes

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure the lid

  2. Start the blender on it's lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed. Blend for 30 seconds

And that's that!

Posted at 02:13 PM in Beverages, Vitamix | | Comments (0)

Carrot-Ginger Soup

April 09, 2025
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Silky, smooth, and deeeelicious.

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I decided to try the soup making capabilities of my new Vitamix blender. To say I'm amazed is an understatement.

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The ingredients are olive oil, carrots, ginger, onion, broth, salt, and pepper. The recipe calls for parsnip; I didn't have one, so I used sweet potato. 

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Put the ingredients in the blender in the order listed in the recipe.
Crank that puppy up and let it rip, 

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and in a few minutes, you have piping hot, creamy, delicious soup. 
The soup was so hot I couldn't eat it right away. I took its temperature, it was 181*

Next time, I'll make some crutons to top it off.

Enjoy!

Carrot-Ginger Soup


Prep: 10 minutes Processing: 8 minutes Yield: 5 cups (1.2 liters)

3 Tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil

3 cups (380 g) chopped carrots

1 Tablespoon chopped yellow onion

1/3 cup (50 g) chopped parsnips

3 cups (720 ml) low-sodium vegetable vegetable broth

1 thin slice (5 g) fresh gingerroot

 ½ teaspoon sea salt

 ¼  teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives

Place the olive oil, carrots, onion, parsnips, broth, ginger, salt, and pepper into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure the lid.

Select Variable 1. Turn the machine on and slowly increase the speed to Variable 10, then to High. Blend for 8 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the vented lid.

Serve garnished with the chives.

Amount per 1 cup (240 ml) serving: Calories 160, total fat 8 g, saturated fat 1 g,

cholesterol 0 mg, sodium 290 mg, total carbohydrate 16g, dietary fiber 5 g, sugars 2 g

protein 9 g

Source: The Vitamix cookbook. Jodi Berg, President and CEO of Vitamix
 

And that's that!

Posted at 04:45 PM in Soups/Stews, Vitamix | | Comments (2)

Nduja Pasta

April 02, 2025
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What is Nduja? It's an artisanal spicy Calabrian Spread that also makes an awesome pasta sauce.

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 Here's more information about Nduja. The link is to Wikipedia.

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I ordered the Nduja from this company because Pasta Grammar highly recommends them.

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This spread is tasty on crusty bread,  and it can also easily be incorporated into other recipes. It will be a great addition to my breakfast egg muffin sandwich.

Now, on to the recipe, but first, put on a large pot of water to boil.

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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, one large enough to hold the pasta. Sauté the onions until tender, add the nduja, and stir until it melts. 

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Now add the tomatoes and some salt, stir, stir.

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Then add the cooked pasta and a splash of pasta water if needed. 
I served this alongside a pork chop, and green salad. Deeeelicious. 

Enjoy!

Nduja Pasta

160 g short dry pasta (we recommend paccheri, ziti, penne lisce, or similar) 
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 medium red onion, sliced 
1/4 cup 'nduja 
1 cup whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with a fork
- Salt

Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over a medium flame on the stovetop. Once it begins to shimmer, add the onion and sautèe until tender. Add the 'nduja and stir frequently until it melts.

Add the tomatoes and a large pinch of salt, to taste. Stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, when the water comes to a rolling boil, salt it generously and add the pasta. When the pasta is very al dente (usually about a minute before the provided instructions), use a slotted spoon to transfer it into the sauce. Stir all together over high heat until the 'nduja sauce evenly coats the pasta.

If the pasta is still too al dente (undercooked) for your taste, simply add a small ladleful of the pasta water into the sauce and continue to cook as the moisture boils off. Repeat as necessary until it is cooked to your liking.

Serve immediately. Buon appetito!

Source: Pasta Grammar  

  

And that's that!

Posted at 02:01 PM in pasta | | Comments (0)