In this installment
Blake’s Roasted Garlic Mustard
If there’s one thing I know it’s the taste of a good mustard. You learn a few things after working thirty years in a deli and more than a few of them working on the sandwich line where mustard and discussions about mustard were a daily occurance. In otherwords: I have opinions about mustards. Strong opinions…and I’m very positive about this one. But then again, who doesn’t love the flavor of roasted garlic with a tangy kick of mustard?
This mustard comes to us from apple people, actually. Blake Farm has been growing vegetables and fruits since the early 40s right here in the middle of our fair state. But the one thing they’re really known for is their apples. They were at the forefront of the hard cider renaissance and they grow more than 40 varieties of apples in their orchards. Chances are, if you’ve heard of Blake Farm it’s because of their hard cider being available in 18 states and counting.
But no…there are no apples in this mustard, I was just trying to show you they’ve been in the food and produce business for four generations and over those 80+ years they’ve learned some things about non-apple related foods, too. In short: they know what they’re talking about.
I’ve been trying to find a nice spot for this mustard for a few months now and I settled on November for a couple of reasons:
1) Thanksgiving is coming and there’s gonna be leftovers so we might as well start planning our sandwiches now.
2) There’s something warm and inviting about the punch of garlic and the smooth bring combination of garlic…especially this time of year.
3) This mustard goes beyond sandwich spreads. Consider making a vinaigrette with olive oil, vinegar, and a tablespoon of this. Whip it up and serve.
There’s a lot of familiar flavors around Thanksgiving. This mustard will help spice things up a little.
Alaskan Bullwhip Kelp & Piri Piri Sauce
Speaking of spicing things up, I introduce Alaskan Bullwhip Kelp and Piri Piri Sauce. I think it’s good to start with what the heck piri piri is before we get down to brass tacks with the bullwhip kelp.
Piri Piri (or peri piri or similar variations) is a hot sauce made from an off shoot of the malagueta pepper that originated in South Africa. It was during a time when Portugal had colonies all over the world, so the signature hot sauce spread to. There are foods and sauces today that are based on the piri piri hot sauce the Portuguese brough with them. Not a lot of good comes out of colonization, so if there’s a bright spot like a hot sauce we’re still talking about 200 years later, it should be noted. I don’t think the Portuguese ever made it all the way up to Alaska, but that’s where we take the next step in our hot sauce excursion.
Bull kelp—what the folks at Barnacle Foods refer to as “bullwhip kelp”—is having a moment lately all thanks to folks like the cold loving harvesters up in Alaska working with Barnacle Foods! Kelp like this is becoming an important sea crop and is incredibly sustainable. It grows fast, it’s packed with nutrients and all sorts of things that are good for us, and it doesn’t taste too bad! As a matter of fact, the deepness of the flavor and the umami notes that come through really balance the spicy notes of the piri piri. I mean, this is spicy stuff but that shouldn’t be a surprise. Still, “balance” might be a relative term. I always use it when I think of a food that has lots of different flavors going on that all work well together.
As I age (nearly 50 now) I find that I use more and more hot sauce because it makes things taste better. Maybe my tastebuds are wearing down after all these years, so a little jolt of capsicum from the pepers helps them stand up straight and take better notice of what they’re tasting. Whatever the reason, it works. I hope it works for you, too.