Given our dire financial situation at the moment I've been going to Surf Coast Feed Me, a charity that collects and receives deliveries from supermarkets and small businesses of food that would normally go to landfill. It's not just for the abject needy - more of a way for people to supplement their food budget in this cost of living crisis.
When you get to the counter, they weigh your bag or box, and you pay what you can afford, which keeps things going - I generally pay a few dollars per box.
There is ALWAYS wall to wall bread, from sourdough to Turkish bread and hamburger buns, so I always grab a few loaves for the freezer. I make bread a few times a week but if I don't have time or we have guests or Jamie's eating a lot of bread it's awesome to have that on hand. It really does help. There's also sweets like cinnamon buns and donuts and apple slice.
There's also a fruit and veggie wall and a fridge with things like salad and milk products. Yesterday I got half a celeriac, a parsnip, a quarter of a cabbage, a pepper and six jalapenos and a stick of lemongrass, plus some potatoes.i even got a small mango that was slightly bruised but I knew exactly what to do with it!
The premise is you take just enough for the day as it's open every day. That way there's enough for everyone. And if you have surplus veggies from home you can drop them off as a donation.
Two weeks ago I got four habaneros, which I decided to make hot sauce out of. I love doing this hot sauce and always do it with jalapenos, but this time I decided to experiment. I knew the chilli would be hot, so I added some veggies to the brew with a plan to add mango to mellow it out.
Habanero and Mango Hot Sauce
2 cups of of salt
3 tsp salt
1 chopped carrot
Half chopped red onion
1 stick celery
3 - 4 habanero chilli
Half a red pepper
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 - 4 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar
Chop the veggies and chilli and add to brine. Add a big cabbage leaf to press down over the lot so everything is submerged underwater.
Leave for two weeks. May develop some white stuff which is fine. This is part of fermentation. It'll have a lovely smell like a fermented chilli sauce!
Strain and put everything in a blender with about 2 tbsp of vinegar, juice of a lime and a mango. Blend and taste. The acid will mellow out the heat. Add more vinegar to taste or some sugar if you like it sweeter.
Strain through muslin and blend again with xanthan gum. Add to bottle. It will thicken a little more and mellow after a day or so but if too thin for your liking return to blender and add more xanthan gum.
Delicious! Do you make your own chilli sauce?
With Love,
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