Home accessories: homemade

Welcome to Foodie Friday's 4th anniversary party.

Does anyone remember that first event? I managed to lose every link, and my hands shook

as I typed them back into Mr. Linky.

My dear friend Susan, the author of the blog Between Naps on the Porch, stayed up late,
emailing instructions and encouragement.

Even now, I always have a few moments of utter fear before I hit the "publish" button for each FF post. I worry that I have
added the wrong code, that my Internet connection will fizzle, or that the Inlinkz site will be offline.

Luckily, my son, Bandwidth, offered to co-host the party. He has a degree in biochemistry and is a true foodie.

This week, Bandwidth made homemade Worcestershire Sauce, using an easy recipe that beats any store-bought brand. (I helped!)

Prep time: 5 minutes.

The aroma is subtle and fresh as a bouquet of wildflowers. The taste is perfectly balanced.
Bottled brands can have a sharp, sinus-clearing smell, and the vinegary tang can overpower
many recipes.

A homemade version is sublime.

It might seem complicated to make, but the recipe is fast and simple. You probably have many ingredients in your pantry
(except for two--we ordered ours through Amazon. And, despite the oddness of these ingredients, the sauce smells ambrosial).

Homemade Worcestershire Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Tamarind extract or concentrate

1 tablespoon Thai Fish Sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon molasses

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

fresh lime juice (1 lime)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Into a saucepan, add all ingredients.
Whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil,
stirring constantly for three minutes.

Cool. Strain sauce through a sieve,
the pour liquid into a sterilized jar.

Cap and refrigerate. Keeps 3 weeks.

Yield: approximately 3/4 cup

Printable Recipe

Printable Shopping List

Shopping Sources for Ingredients:

Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce ($3.59, 7 oz)

Thai Fish Sauce ($1.99, 23 oz)

Tamarind Concentrate ($5.99, 16 oz)

Tamarind Concentrate ($3.99, 8 oz)

During grilling season, homemade Worcestershire is a must-have condiment.

Photos by MLee West

. . .

Did you miss the great recipes at last week's Foodie Friday?

Here's our Pick of the Week:

That Skinny Chick Can Bake's

Strawberry Shortcake with White Chocolate Whipped Cream

just blew us away. It's the perfect spring or summer dessert.

You can find the recipe at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Foodie Friday Linky Party Guidelines:

**Be a friend of Rattlebridge in some capacity
(blog friend/follower,
Pinterest, Twitter,
Facebook, or Google+).

**Visit at least three other Foodie Friday participants
and leave comments. We're a friendly, social group
and love to chat
about our favorite subject: food.

**Let us know that you're participating in Foodie Friday
by leaving a comment--this is a good place to describe
your recipe in luscious detail, as the thumbnails
don't allow room for description.

**If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday,
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** Your post must include a link back (or "backlink")
to Foodie Friday.

We've provided a new, easy link up button.

The cut-and-paste code is located on the sidebar.

** By adding your link to Foodie Friday, you are granting us permission

to include a photo of your FF recipe (and a link to your blog post)

to the "Pick of the Week" feature. We also select random FF recipes

every Thursday night and Friday for a shout-out on Rattlebridge Farm's Facebook page,

Twitter, and Pinterest.

** If you love gorgeous food photography,
you're welcome to visit the "Consuming Passions"
group board at Pinterest, which can be found HERE.

** If you are visiting from Pinterest,
you are always welcome to pin Rattlebridge's photographs.
On Foodie Friday, please do not pin from Inlinkz's thumbnails.
To prevent copyright issues, visit the source blogs
to pin and credit the bloggers/photographers for their work.

**Beginning next week, we're testing a new (optional) feature. You can still link up with a non-themed recipe.

** Foodie Friday Theme Parties **

April 18 -19th: "Burger Party"

April 26-27th: "Spring Salads"

May 2 - 3rd: "Rise 'N Shine Breakfasts"

May 9 -10th "Your All-Time Favorite Recipe"

As with all Foodie Friday events, we like to keep them flexible, stress-free, and fun. Your participation in a theme party is optional. You can link up a non-themed recipe. Older posts are welcome, too. So, if you posted a salad recipe last month, you could link to the salad party on April 26-27. If you aren't in the mood for salads, you may post whatever you please.

We'd love to hear your ideas for a theme party.

The blog is under construction at the moment,
and we're looking forward to a new look!
Thanks for visiting!

To participate in Foodie Friday, locate the blue Inlinkz icon
and follow the directions.
Click HERE for a detailed Foodie Friday tutorial.
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please visit http://support.inlinkz.com and the Inlinkz help team
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Kendall Lane Designs traditional landscape

traditional landscape design courtesy of Houzz

Imagine a warm, breezy April morning. You open the gate and step into the herb garden. The air churns with spicy, tart aromas. Bees circle the lavender. Tarragon grows in a patch of sun, giving off the poignant scent of anise, Rosemary (for remembrance) grows in spiky heaps. The basil is blooming. You brush your hands over the mint and imagine making sweet tea and jelly. You pinch a sprig of oregano--it will be perfect for flatbread pizza tonight. Don't forget a handful of dill for the potato salad.

A Classic Country White Garden traditional landscape

Courtesy of Houzz: Traditional landscape design by New York landscape architect, Deborah Cerbone Associates, Inc.

Herb gardens can be lush and formal, sprawling and weedy, or contained in pots. As my grandmother used to say, "The herbs taste the same."

Courtesy of Houzz: traditional landscape design by minneapolis general contractor John Kraemer & Sons.

courtesy of Houzz

Photo: Rattlebridge's herb garden.

No matter if you grow your own herbs or buy them at the market, you can make flavored vinegars. This is an inexpensive, easy way to enhance flavor. Imagine spiking potato salad with chive-dill vinegar. Delicious!

How to Make Herbed Vinegar

1. Place herbs in a sterilized glass jar. Use a bamboo skewer to arrange herbs in the bottle.

2. Pour vinegar into a saucepan and heat gently to 80 degrees. Do not boil.

3. Place a funnel in the top of the jar and add vinegar. Don't be afraid to mix flavors.

4. Cap bottles. Steep in a sunlit window for two weeks. Gently turn bottles every day

5. Uncap bottles, remove herbs, and strain. Return vinegar to clean bottles.

6. Add a fresh herbal sprig and recap bottles.

Ideas:

Dill vinegar--add lemon zest

Tarragon--add chives and basil

Rosemary--add garlic (spear garlic with a bamboo skewer for easy removal).

Upcoming Event:

Read about the THE TEENY TEMPLETON COOK OFF

on the April 20th Foodie Friday. A great giveaway!

Thank you for stopping by Foodie Friday today. If you are contributing a recipe to this week's linky party, locate the blue Inlinkz frog (below, left) and follow the instructions. You might notice a red "X" on your submission--only you can see the "X." It allows you to delete your link if you'd like to edit or change your photo.

The Foodie Friday Button:

If this is your first time to participate in Foodie Friday, or if you aren't sure how to add a permalink, a short tutorial is available. If you are linking a recipe to Foodie Friday, a FF button can be found on the sidebar. If you'd like to add it, simply copy-and-paste the code beneath the button (located on the right-hand sidebar).

Please Read:

I'm happy for you to "pin" my original photos to Pinterest. However, the photographs in Foodie Friday's thumbnails belong to the bloggers who posted them. To visit these blogs, click on the Foodie Friday inlinkz icons and read their policy on Pinterest. Please pin from the source blog, not the blog that's hosting a linky party. Thanks!

Happy Recipe Hunting!