Those aren't always the same thing.
For example, I love making cookies. But after they're made, I'm perfectly happy to eat one and go on my way. If it's a cookie I particularly love, I might eat a few more over the next few days, but cookie-making is more about the making than about the eating.
Then there are things I want to eat. But often they're things I'm not quite prepared to make right away. Some entree might look fabulous, but I might not have the right cut of meat, or some other critical item. And when I'm browsing though a cookbook, I want to make things NOW and not after I've gone shopping.
And then there are the things I want to blog about. Okay, well, scratch that. If it involved food, I blog about it.
My first choice was ketchup. Yes, ketchup. I've made ketchup before, but it ended up being more like barbecue sauce. Which is okay, but not when you really want ketchup. I had planned on picking up a flat of tomatoes at the farmer's market, but an early snow meant that tomatoes weren't quite as plentiful as I hoped for. So I scratched that idea.
Cranberry liqueur also sounded great, but it needed to steep for a month. I still plan on making it, but it didn't look like a good blog subject since I wouldn't be done with it for a looooong time. So that one's on the to-do list.
And then there was the pickled butternut squash. I've never had pickled winter squash, and I happened to have squash on hand. But it didn't quite fit with the other things I planned on cooking over the next few days. That one's on the back burner for another day, too.
And then I saw it: ketchup's best friend.
Yep, mustard.
Most of the mustard recipes I've seen start with powdered mustard. This one started with mustard seeds. Bingo!
The beauty of this recipe is that it's pretty customizable. It calls for mustard seeds, but didn't specify - so I used half yellow and half brown. And the flavor is going to be different depending on what kind of vinegar you use. It calls for a white wine vinegar, but I'm already imagining it with a raspberry vinegar or a cider vinegar.
Mustard
Adapted from Home Made by Yvette Van Boven
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and pepper, to taste
For a smoother mustard, let the mustard seeds soak overnight in the vinegar before processing. It's not necessary, though.
Place all of the ingredients in your food processor and process for 6 minutes - or longer - to make the mustard as smooth as you like it.
Transfer the mustard to a jar. Seal and refrigerate. You can use it right away, but it gets better with a little time.
Disclaimer: I got this book at not cost from the publisher for review.
Cookistry went on hiatus for a while, but I'm back and blogging. Possibly sporadically, but I plan on updating it more than in the previous years. Thanks for reading!
