One of the most bountiful but most unused items in my CSA bag each week has been the hot peppers. I made the mistake of thinking one was a mild pepper a few weeks ago and ended up crying into the sink as I scrubbed under my nails and sprayed water into my burning eyes. Today’s free tip: ALWAYS ASSUME PEPPERS ARE HOT.

Since that incident, I’ve been stockpiling my peppers in hopes of coming up with a better plan than Horrible Pain A La Face. So when I found myself adding my beloved sriracha to an omelet for the third time in a week, a red hot little light bulb went off over my head.

In case you are unfamiliar, this is what sriracha looks like:

I would show you a picture of what it tastes like, but that might be to racy for this website. Let’s just say it’s like sassy little angels dancing on my tongue and making my diet food tastes a lot less like diet food.

So what better to do with my abundance of hot peppers than make my own hot sauce?

Simmering

My homemade sauce is surprisingly similar to the bottle sriracha in taste, although it has the pepper seeds in it (like the chili sauce version I also have in my fridge). You could seed the peppers before cooking and run it back through the food processor post-cooking to get a smoother texture, but it would be less spicy.

Homemade Sriracha
Based on the recipe found here

Ingredients:

Approximately 16 hot red peppers*
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 T vegetable oil
15 oz can tomato sauce (I used Hunts)
1 small can tomato paste
1 T fish sauce
2 T soy sauce (I used low sodium)
3 T rice vinegar
3 T sugar

Cut the stems off the hot peppers. Be sure to wear gloves when you’re using them, or at least scrub your hands REALLY REALLY WELL afterward. Mince them well (I used my mini food processor, but don’t put your face right over it when you take the lid off because the fumes are STRONG) and set them aside.

Add the oil, minced garlic and minced shallots to a saucepan over medium heat and saute for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste and peppers and stir it all up well. Increase the heat a little bit and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for approximated 8-10 minutes until sauce is saucy and well combined. The bits of pepper will start to fall apart a little.

Remove from heat and let hot sauce cool completely.

*I don’t know exactly what KIND of peppers these are, but you could use whatever you want. Just remember you’re making sriracha, not the kind of terrifying sauce they put on wings for Man vs. Food. Don’t kill anyone.

Enjoy on eggs, potatoes, pizza, french fries, fish, chicken, steak, tacos, or any food served on a Navy submarine (says my husband). It’s pleasantly hot in small quantities, mouth burning spicy by the tablespoon, and I love it so much I plan to take my jar with me on vacation. I’m not even joking.

Tons of photos comin’ attcha! Prepare yourselves!

Sunday:

I banished all the shoes to the back porch to try and get some of the patio dirt out of the house.

I made E go through my summer cookbooks & mark recipes he'd like to try

Bitey McBiterson

Monday:

I bought Little Evan a balloon as a "Thanks for behaving well even thought mommy is a freaking idiot" present. I lost my wallet (AGAIN) and dragged both kids all over creation looking for it. I found it.

Sad baby tears - don't worry, this was after I put a boob in her mouth & she stopped crying.

I own stretchy headbands to match any possible outfit.

We drove through downtown where some film company was making a zombie movie. I was disappointed we didn't see any zombies.

Tuesday:

Washing hands is the best part of using the potty.

I declared this the time out chair and used it. A lot.

Beautiful day for a walk. My favorite house in my neighborhood.

I'm so happy summer is here.

At Town Farm Organic to pick up our CSA share

Wednesday:

I acted fancy for a playdate at my house and made a fruit plate. My kid was STOKED.

Fat baby loves her blankie, even though it was 96 degrees.

As soon as Little Evan sees a cart like this at the store it is ALL OVER. He starts screaming for the "SEAT! SEAT!!!!"

This was the first time I've ever grilled anything myself. These brats were delicious.

Thursday:

I put her down next to the blanket on the left. WHO MOVED MY BABY?

Reading "Caps For Sale" to himself. "Red hat, blue hat, no no no, monkey AHAHA!"

I've been a spray painting fool when it comes to stuff for the patio.

AND NOW SHE'S SITTING UP TOO. STOP IT WITH THE GROWING UP.

Friday:

I am using the boppy the EXACT SAME WAY as I type this caption right now.

"Stop sitting on Caroline! That's your sister, not the dog!" - things I did not know I had to say to my child

BIKE BIKE BIKE BIKE. We're still working on the fine art of pedaling.

One last trip to the local nursery for a few more plants.

The name of that wine is "Relax". Enough said.

Saturday:

When you get up at 5:45, sometimes laying on the floor is necessary.

Despite the threat of rain we took advantage of Connecticut's Open House day & checked out Gillette Castle.

Happy baby is happy.

It’s been a week of ups and downs (and I don’t just mean the temperature) but it’s definitely ending on a high note with the castle visit – despite E’s job making him go in today. Boo. But it’s kind of cold and drizzling so at least we aren’t missing perfect boating weather. I would definitely call it excellent napping weather, so as soon as I can convince this baby to just STOP TRYING TO CRAWL for a few minutes I will be catching a few zzzz’s. Hope your weekend is full of fun and naps too!

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

I wasn’t going to blog today because I’m deep in my knitting and trying to finish up three different projects to post pictures of later this week. But what I need to share with you is SO IMPORTANT I have set aside my needles for a few minutes and rushed to the computer. The information below may just change your life. I’m not even joking.

Here’s my super important announcement:

GO BUY ONE OF THESE IMMEDIATELY.

That magic little device is a VeggieChop Vegetable Chopper. I bought mine from Williams-Sonoma a couple years ago, with a gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket and a hatred of chopping onions that bordered on total obsession. I HATE the cutting-stuff-up part of cooking. HATE IT. But this thing has totally changed the way I make dinner. It’s easy, uses no electricity, effective and dishwasher-safe. I want to mail one to every single mom I know to help save them precious minutes during dinner prep.

And if you’re like me and get sudden, urgent cravings for fresh salsa, it is a LIFESAVER.

I had all this stuff in my fridge: tomatoes, cilantro, red onion, garlic

Throw in a good pinch of sea salt, some lime juice and a dash of hot sauce…

…and you just pull the handle. It’s like starting a teeny tiny lawnmower (there’s a video on the Williams-Sonoma site). You can pull just two or three times to get a rough chop or lots and lots of times for a fine chop. I think I probably pulled 5 or 6 times. Took less than 30 seconds.

It was the most delicious salsa I’ve ever had. I ate the whole bowl while writing this. I ran out of chips and just used a spoon. True story.

This post is not sponsored or endorsed by anyone. I just want your life to be full of delicious salsa and chopped onions that don’t make you cry too.

This is half Rachael Ray’s Thai Chicken Pizza and half California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Pizza with a dash of “oh crap I don’t have that in my fridge, what can I use instead?” I never get tired of making or eating it, and it’s the perfect meal to share with a toddler – lots of nice little bite sized things. Just watch out for the peanuts.

Suzanne’s Thai Chicken Pizza

1 store-bought thin crust pizza crust
1 bottle duck or plum sauce
Sprinkle red pepper flakes
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons peanut butter (we only ever have crunchy)
A couple of good dashes of Tabasco
A couple of good dashes of grill seasoning (whatever you happen to have in the pantry)
3-4 thin cut chicken breasts
2 tablespoons apricot preserves (honey works too)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup mung bean sprouts (they’re next to the tofu at my Stop & Shop)
4-5 scallions
Cilantro
Peanuts

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the pizza crust on a rectangular cookie sheet and stretch it so it fits exactly. Pour the bottle of duck/plum sauce over the crust like it’s tomato sauce. Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and then the cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

In a medium sized bowl or dish, mix the vegetable oil, peanut butter, Tabasco, and grill seasoning. Toss in the chicken and stir it all around to coat well. Heat up a grill pan (I just use the thing I use for grilled cheese)(I cannot remember what that kind of pan is called) to medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for a couple of minutes on each side. This is the reason I use the thin sliced chicken – it doesn’t take very long and it’s hard to accidentally leave a raw spot in the center. When it’s cooked, slice it up into bit sized pieces.

In another bowl, mix the cider vinegar and apricot preserves. Add the shredded carrots and toss it all together so they absorb some of the liquid.

Now chop up your scallions and cilantro. I love scallions so I tend to use a LOT and I don’t chop them up super small.

Once the pizza is done, top it with the chicken, then the carrots and mung beans, then the scallions, cilantro and peanuts.

The original recipe claims it feeds 4 people but E and I usually eat all but one or two small pieces, especially now that Little Evan can eat a whole piece on his own. A lot of the toppings tend to fall off during the hand-to-mouth transfer so keep a fork handy to shovel them back on. Enjoy!

These are actually meals from the last 2 1/2 weeks, because even though they were all PLANNED for one week there were several nights I was sick/didn’t feel like cooking so we had take-out. And by take-out I mean fast food. But doesn’t “take-out” sound so much nicer? Like maybe it was stir fried veggies over brown rice instead of cheeseburgers and fries.

It’s always cheeseburgers and fries.

All my recipes this week came from Rachael Ray’s Express Lane Meals. Despite not being able to stand RR’s voice on TV for more than 20 seconds and her super annoying habit of calling things like PB&J “American nut spread with fresh fruit preserves on a sliced whole grain loaf”, her recipes really are both fast and easy and written for someone who isn’t very confident in the kitchen. I’ve had and liked this cookbook since college, but hadn’t made any of these before (besides the pizza, which I don’t even use the book for because I’ve made so many changes. Recipe coming on Friday!)

1. Steak, Fried Onions, and Potatoes Salad Bowl with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (I substituted some homemade rosemary potatoes for the potato sticks in the salad)
2. Inside-out Pizza-dilla Margerita (see what I mean about the fancy names?)
3. Taco Salad – Our easiest favorite meal. Make taco meat as directed on envelope of taco seasoning. Dump over Fritos. Add various taco toppings. Eat too much.

4. Teriyaki Chicken with Warm Ginger-Carrot Slaw
5. Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Tortellini – That’s not QUITE the recipe from the book but it’s close. I also discovered I still hate tortellini from a Very Traumatic Childhood Experience and if I make this again it will be over ravioli instead.
6. Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage with a Ricotta Surprise
7. Thai Chicken Pizza – Linked to Rachael’s recipe, but mine is WAY better

After seeing the total lack of veggies in my Volume 3 set of recipes, I decided to make more of an effort this week. Since there is at least one veggie in every meal (as long as I can count tomatoes) and toddler ate both the carrot-ginger salad and the spinach from the tortellini I consider it a success. Plus I totally ate the broccoli, even though I HATE broccoli. Turns out broccoli cooked in sausage fat is much better than steamed broccoli. WHO KNEW?