A Not Ketchup fruit ketchup #giveaway to celebrate the Not Ketchup Tour O' Texas

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I just flew back from the Not Ketchup Tour O' Texas, and boy, are my arms tired.

{ba-dum bum}

Seriously though...my arms are tired. As are my legs, my feet, my back, and my brain.

My 12-year-old son and I went to Texas to demo Not Ketchup, my new line of artisan fruit ketchups, at all nine Central Market gourmet superstores. Nine stores in five cities in 12 days. At each six-hour demo, we gave out between 500 and 800 samples.

I'm not great at math, but I'm pretty sure that adds up to four aching feet, 12 hours of staring into space and babbling incoherently, and three or four well-deserved naps this coming weekend.

The trip was a huge success. Central Market's customers loved Not Ketchup and bought a ton of it. My son Weston was the best sales associate ever - he charmed the pants off every customer we met. We got comments on Facebook from Central Market customers like this:

And this:

Now we're home and I'm catching up on client work, Not Ketchup work, and blogging. While I'm getting some great new recipes ready for you, I thought I'd share the Not Ketchup love with a little giveaway. There are a bunch of ways to enter - see the entry form below.

The lucky winner gets:

• A Not Ketchup 4-Pack Sampler, including one bottle each of Cherry Chipotle, Smoky Date, Blueberry White Pepper and Spiced Fig Not Ketchup (retail value $36)
• A Not Ketchup t-shirt (the same one the kids are wearing in the photo above, size XL)
• A nifty Not Ketchup squeeze bottle, good for squirting Not Ketchup decoratively onto your burgers, steak, chicken, sandwiches, sausages, cheese plates and more

Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pulled pork baked taquitos

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If it were January, I'd be making some New Year's resolutions.

Work less. Pay more attention to the kids. Stop multitasking. Breathe. Exercise. Cook dinner. Blog more!

But it's June. I can't work less or important things won't get done. My kids are busy themselves, thank goodness, too busy to realize just how distracted I've been. Multitasking feels essential. I'm breathing and occasionally exercising. Cooking dinner? A few times a week, better than nothing.

But hey, at least I'm here writing this post.

On Memorial Day, for the first time in months, we had friends over for dinner. I made pulled pork and (of course) served it with a Not Ketchup bar. Guess what? All four flavors taste great when mixed with slow-cooked shredded pork shoulder. My favorite for pulled pork is Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup, with Spiced Fig Not Ketchup a close second. Blueberry Not Ketchup always has its fans. And Smoky Date Not Ketchup is a good all-around choice too, especially for kids who might not like the spices in the other flavors.

The next day I mixed the leftover pulled pork with shredded Mexican blend cheese and rolled it up in flour tortillas, then baked them until crispy. It was one of those forehead-smacking moments: Why haven't I ever thought to do this before? They were tasty and so much fun to eat - especially when we dipped them into guacamole and more Not Ketchup.

Of course, you can put just about anything inside a tortilla and roll it up. Beans, cooked vegetables, leftover rice, chopped rotisserie chicken. Just mix it with some shredded cheese before rolling and baking. And serve a delicious dip on the side.

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Pulled pork baked taquitos

by Erika Kerekes June-2-2014

Mix pulled pork with shredded cheese, roll it up in flour tortillas, and bake in the oven until crispy. Serve with a fun dip on the side, like guacamole, salsa, or Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup sauce.

Ingredients

• 3 cups pulled pork, cooled
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 8 flour tortillas
• Guacamole and Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup, for dipping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spray the foil lightly with cooking spray.In a medium-sized mixing bowl, blend the pulled pork with the shredded cheese with a large spoon.Lay one tortilla on a cutting board and spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling lengthwise on the bottom third of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling. Lay the taquito on the baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.Bake the taquitos until golden brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately with guacamole and Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup on the side.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 8 taquitos

Arianna Trading Company organic tomatoes: A "good news, bad news" story

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GOOD NEWS: Last week I got to see my friend George Menzelos of Arianna Trading Company. George has been importing the most beautiful single-estate organic olive oil from Greece for a few years now, and this year he's also bringing in organic tomatoes, currants, and a sesame herb salt. George left me samples of all his products to inspire my cooking and, we hoped, a blog post or two.

BAD NEWS: After George's visit, I got buried in work, both for a new client and for Not Ketchup. A few days after I saw George, I was stuck in my home office until after 10pm. I didn't even have time to make dinner for my family.

GOOD NEWS: My 15-year-old son Emery decided to make dinner. He cooked up penne pasta with a rich tomato meat sauce. Emery even brought a bowl down to the office for me.

GOOD NEWS: That was the most delicious bowl of pasta I've ever eaten - not only because my child made it for me (what mother could resist the charms of that?) but because the tomato sauce was sweet, thick, and intense.

BAD NEWS: A few hours later I realized that I might have heard Emery say something like "I decided to make pasta because you had all these tomato products." I went to the refrigerator. George's tomatoes were gone. And on the drying rack I found this:

BAD NEWS: I hadn't taken any pictures and we'd eaten all the pasta. Hard to write a blog post without pictures.

GOOD NEWS: I found some leftover sauce in the refrigerator, so I photographed that instead. It was so delicious that I ate it the next day straight from the plastic container with a spoon. Cold.

GOOD NEWS: See the line above about "the most delicious bowl of pasta I've ever eaten."

Arianna's organic strained tomatoes will be available very soon - and when they are, I suggest you run right out and get some (keep an eye on the Arianna website to find out where to buy them). Here's what George says about his organic strained tomatoes:

Our organic heirloom tomatoes are hand-picked ripe from the vine, then peeled, seeded, and strained by mechanical means in an allergan-free facility. These GMO-free "true breed" tomatoes have been cultivated by the Gousiaris family in the village of Ilias in central Greece for over 100 years. It takes 5 kilos of tomatoes to produce about 1 kilo of our strained tomatoes, which are pasteurized in the jar the old-fashioned way. They are tomatoes your grandmother would love.

CONCLUSION: Emery's pasta was indeed a happy accident. I'm thrilled that I'm no longer the only cook in the family, but clearly I need to get better about labeling the food in the refrigerator if I need to keep it for blogging!

Passover matzoh kugel with bananas and chocolate chips

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I can't seem to escape the combination of bananas and chocolate. Not even at Passover.

Then again - why would I want to?

Banana chocolate chip bread pudding is a favorite in our house. (By the way, there's a reason I named it Better Than Make-Up Sex Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding. Because it is.)

The matzoh left over from last night's Passover seder got me thinking: Could I make a Passover dessert with bananas and chocolate chips?

Here you go. You can thank me later.

P.S. I made this version dairy, but if you wante a pareve dessert kugel to serve after your seder meal, substitute coconut milk or almond milk for the half-and-half.

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Banana Chocolate Chip Passover Matzoh Kugel

by Erika Kerekes April-15-2014

Just like our favorite banana chocolate chip bread pudding - but made with matzoh for Passover. This delicious Passover dessert will get you through a week without bread with no problem at all.

Ingredients

• 4 squares matzoh
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 ripe bananas
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• whipped cream (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, crush the matzoh into little pieces with your fingers. Warm the half-and-half in a measuring cup in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove until hot but not boiling. Pour over the matzoh pieces. Let sit 30 minutes.To the bowl, add the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the bananas, either slicing them or crushing them with your fingers as you put them in the bowl. Pour in the chocolate chips and stir again.Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.Spray a medium-sized baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the matzoh mixture and smooth the top. Let sit in the pan another 15 minutes.Bake the matzoh kugel for 45 minutes, until the edges and top are golden brown and the center is set. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if you like.

Details

Prep time: 35 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 20 mins Yield: 8 servings

California Sunshine breakfast sandwich with pesto and peppers

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For many years I made my boys a hot breakfast every single day.

But as they've gotten older and I've gotten busier, I've left them to their own devices in the mornings more and more.

They're pretty self-sufficient on school days. Neither kid loves cereal, but between leftovers, toast, smoked salmon (the elder), Nutella (the younger), and the Keurig, they do pretty well.

One morning not long ago, I saw my older son rummaging dejectedly through the refrigerator and took pity on him. While he got his stuff together, I threw together a quick open-faced breakfast sandwich: a Stonefire Mediterranean Pocket Pita with pesto, a fried egg, and a quick saute of colored bell peppers. It tasted great and looked even better.

Every time I see this photo it reminds me of mornings in our Santa Monica kitchen: sunny, bright, warm, and cheerful, with a pure golden light that slants in through the southeast windows. Thus the name: California Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich. May it bring sunlight and warmth to all of your kitchens too.

Disclosure: Stonefire sent me their flatbreads to try. I have to tell you - they're fantastic. The pita bread is soft, pillowy, with just the right amount of chew, and it's not dry at all. We also enjoyed the naan and pizza crust, but the pita was the hands-down winner. Other than the free bread, for which my family was very grateful, I got no compensation for this post. We ate the samples faster than I could photograph them. Luckily, Stonefire pita is now available at my local Costco, and possibly at yours too. 

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California Sunshine Breakfast Sandwich

by Erika Kerekes April-9-2014

Pesto, a fried egg, and sauteed tri-color bell peppers top a soft pita bread for this delicious breakfast sandwich that looks like California sunshine.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup mixed color bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 pita bread round
• 1 Tablespoon basil pesto sauce
• 1 egg
• chives, for garnish
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

In a small nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers; cook until wilted and starting to brown around the edges, 3-4 minutes. Put the pepper mixture on a plate.While the peppers are cooking, put the pita in the toaster. Toast until warm and soft. Spread the pita with the pesto sauce.In the same skillet in which you cooked the peppers, crack the egg. Fry the egg until it is done to your liking.To assemble the sandwich, slide the fried egg onto the pita and top with the pepper mixture. Garnish with the chives and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Yield: 1 sandwich