sprinklefingers

i feel like a jerk. i wrote that post about peach preserves yet failed to address a key ingredient in it: raspberry balsamic vinegar.

first up, fruity-flavored balsamic vinegars are available in the vinegar section of your market. they’re a bit spendier than regular style vinegar…and you’ll want to make sure you’re actually going to use it if you buy it. yes, it lasts forever…but there’s also a way around all this: making it yourself.

i have both store-bought fruity vinegars AND homemade fruity vinegars in my pantry. of course the homemade versions (if started with a quality vinegar,) are much more delicious than the store bought…but at the same time i don’t want you to think i’m completely nuts with my suggestion that you make your own fruity vinegar. i realize there are only so many hours in each day. (no, really, i do.)

BUT, making your own is so easy. and so quick. i’d say if you took your eyes off facebook for, say, 6 minutes, you can make your own fruity vinegar. [and don’t deny the facebook thing. i know all about it, and i’m just as guilty as you are…]

raspberry balsamic vinegar
recipe can easily be doubled or tripled or…

you need:

• 1 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup slightly mashed fresh raspberries (measure after they’ve been mashed.)

to make the vinegar:

1. pour the vinegar into a clean, sterilized jar (you can sterilize it by boiling it in water for 10 minutes.)
2. plop in the berries.
3. place the lid on the jar and store in a dark place for 2-3 weeks.
4. after 2-3 weeks, strain the vinegar through a bit of cheesecloth and store the vinegar in a lidded jar or bottle.

see! so easy…there’s literally nothing to it. and you didn’t miss old facebook at all, did you?

[ps: after you make this vinegar you should so totally update your status to let your friends know all about it.]

i’m kind of on a meat kick right now. and i’m always in the mood for vinegar, especially balsamic, so seeing hugh’s column today in the guardian really made me happy. i am making these ribs in the extremely near future and i will tell you all about them.

oh, also! i made pretzels today. actually, my kid made pretzels and i stood by trying to make sure he didn’t burn down the kitchen. they were only okay* pretzels, which has nothing to do with the fact that a 3 year old made them. we just have more work to do on the recipe. and we’ll DO that work and soon we’ll tell you all about it!

*the fact that they were ‘only okay’ didn’t stop us from eating 2 each. that’s 2 full size pretzels (like mall pretzels, people!) each.