7. Make my own condiments: ketchup & mustard

They're a handsome couple, aren't they? I just love condiments so much. 

I spent my morning cooking up these two little guys, which I have been meaning to make myself for a long time. This task is also on my list of  Twenty Four Things To Do Before I Turn Twenty Five!

I've been having trouble tracking down a recipe for both mustard and ketchup since they are so flexible. There seems to be an infinite number of ways to make them. I decided to embrace that and just wing it when I had to.  I found this ketchup recipe on Saveur and had to make a few changes. I used regular white vinegar since I'm out of apple cider, I threw in some extra molasses since I only had light brown sugar, and I nixed the jalapeno (didn't have it either). I really enjoyed cooking the tomatoey mixture down to ketchup because the smell was so strong! It reminded me of ketchup I used to buy in Nicaragua, which was so vinegary and savory. 

While it was cooking I caught up on a television show that I'm embarrassed to talk about (I swear it isn't Glee) and crushed up some mustard seeds with a mortar and pestle while I sobbed as Mr. Scheuster proposed to Emma (I swear it isn't Glee).

My mustard recipe is taken from Vanilla Garlic and I love it because after you break up the seeds, the preparation is very low maintenance!

Pour in some vinegar, water, cold white wine, mustard powder, salt and honey, and let it sit in the fridge for two days so the bitterness calms down. In just a few days I'll have a deliciously strong mustard!

But back to the ketchup! It's hard to just take a taste of ketchup without anything to dip in it. So I pounded out some chicken breasts and fried them in bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. I've never made chicken cutlets before but I've eaten them countless times as a kid with tons of ketchup. Just the smell of them cooking in the olive oil felt like being back in Tracy's house with her mom's incredible Italian food. Crispy, thin, salty, breaded cutlets...

YUM

But again, back to the ketchup! It is delicious!! But totally different from Heinz. It is sweet from the molasses and cinnamon with a robust flavor and a very different texture. These are the beautiful things that happen when you leave out high fructose corn syrup. Texture! Depth! Flavors! Magic!

There you have it. Two of my very best friends who will go sit in the fridge to get better with age. 

7. Make my own condiments: ketchup & mustard