Author: Rodney Jacobs

Bacon Fried Corn

Posted on by Rodney Jacobs

Bacon Fried Corn

A sweet and savory dish for the griddle that is always a hit.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 6 slices Bacon Cut into about 1/2" pieces
  • 1 whole Onion Diced
  • 1 whole Red Bell Pepper Diced with no seeds
  • 2 lbs frozen corn
  • 2 tbsp Lime Juice
  • Chile Marguerita seasoning to taste
  • 1/2 Cup Cilantro Roughly chopped. Stems and all.

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the griddle to medium-high.
  • Add bacon and cook until crispy. Remove from heat but leave the grease.
  • Add the onions and red bell peppers and cook until the onions are soft. Let them char a little.
  • Before the onions are fully cooked, add the corn. Let this cook until you start to get a little charring.
  • Now it's time to add the bacon back in and mix it all together. Add a good squeeze of the lime juice and the chili marguerita seasoning.
  • Remove from heat and serve hot.

Notes

This was an instant favorite in my house and is what people ask me to make for every pot luck.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Roasted and Pickled Jalapenos

Posted on by Rodney Jacobs

Oh boy have we got a treat for you today! 

I’m always amazed at the impact that our surroundings and local culture have on us.  From the accent or way that we talk to the foods that we love and can’t do without.  Even the way that the foods are prepared are different if you go to different parts of the country.  If you ask someone from Texas the best way to prepare a brisket, you’ll get a different answer than if you asked that same question in Georgia.

I grew up in California near Pasadena.  The culture in the area has a strong hispanic influence.  One of the things that I learned was that I absolutely love the taste that roasting gives vegetables. 

We enjoy a good salsa in our home and what better way to prepare than to pickle some roasted jalapeños?

To make these, I heated the oven to 400 degrees and lined a baking sheet with parchment paper(to make clean up easy).   

I put about 10 jalapeños on the baking sheet and coated lightly with olive oil and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes and turning them about halfway through the cook. 

Once they were lightly charred, I took them out and let them cool for about 5 minutes.

 

While the jalapeños were cooking, I started making the brine.  I added the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a small saucepan and heated it until the salt and sugar were dissolved. 

I peeled and crushed four garlic cloves with the side of my knife.

Once the salt and sugar were dissolved, I added the remaining ingredients to the brine.  I didn’t have the coriander seeds, so I substituted some cilantro stems that were going to seed (the cilantro seed is known as coriander). 

I let the brine simmer for about 5 minutes to blend all of the flavors and took it off of the heat. 

Alright, we’re almost finished.

 

I prefer the sliced jalapeños, but it would be perfectly okay to leave them whole and stuff them into a clean quart jar.  Pour the brine over your jalapeños, making sure to get the seeds that settle to the bottom of the pan. 

 

After the jar cools for a while, place it in the refrigerator for at least a day to let the flavors get all the way through the jalapenos.

These make a great topping for burgers, adding to salsa, toppings for your salad, etc… 

 

What’s your favorite food to top with the mild kick of jalapeños?           

    

 

Roasted and Pickled Jalapeños

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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Condiment
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 1 Quart

Ingredients
  

  • 10 fresh jalapeño peppers
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt Pickling salt if available
  • 2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Olive oil for roasting

Instructions
 

Roasting the Jalapeños:

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
  • Wash the jalapeños and pat them dry.
  • Place the jalapeños on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
  • Lightly coat the jalapeños with olive oil.
  • Roast in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, turning them halfway through, until the skin is blistered and charred.
  • Remove from the oven and let them cool. Once cooled, remove the skins if desired (they should peel off easily).

Preparing the Pickling Brine:

  • In a medium saucepan, combine the white vinegar, water, sugar, and salt.
  • Add the garlic, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and bay leaves.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.
  • Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

Pickling the Jalapeños:

  • Slice the roasted jalapeños into rings or leave them whole, depending on your preference.
  • Place the jalapeños in a clean, sterilized jar.
  • Pour the warm brine over the jalapeños, making sure they are fully submerged.
  • Allow the jar to cool to room temperature.
  • Seal the jar with a lid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using to allow the flavors to develop.

Notes

Storage:
The pickled and roasted jalapeños can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Make sure the jalapeños remain submerged in the brine.
Serving Suggestions:
Use the pickled and roasted jalapeños as a topping for burgers, sandwiches, tacos, or salads.
Add them to charcuterie boards or serve as a spicy snack.
Incorporate them into salsas or dips for an extra kick.
Enjoy your flavorful pickled and roasted jalapeños!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

How I got here

Posted on by Rodney Jacobs

How I got here

The name of the hospital where I was born includes the word Sanitarium… and there are times that I think I’m headed back to where I came from.  I have lived through some trying times, and feel that I am a stronger, better person because of them.  

I came from a loving home with two loving parents.  We didn’t have much in the way of luxuries, but we never went hungry.  My mother worked as a secretary, and my father pumped gas, worked as a mechanic, and spent some time casting concrete forms.   

Growing up, we weren’t able to afford to have others do work for us, so we figured out how to do things for ourselves.  One summer, my dad had an idea for an in-ground pool, so he got some shovels, and my brother and I started digging.  The ground was really rocky, so it quickly became a major project.  Our home was built in a former riverbed and there are a couple rock quarries close by that have been pulling sand and gravel out of the ground for many decades.

I think we dug down about 30″ and 18′ across.  There were boulders that were too big for us kids to lift out.  

We eventually got the hole completed, and the pool was set and filled.  We enjoyed that pool for many years, and doubly so, as we took pride in a job well done.  

 

Fajitas on the Griddle

Posted on by Rodney Jacobs

 

Fajitas on the Griddle

At our home, summer unofficially starts on Cinco de Mayo.  Being from Southern California, we were influenced by the culture of the area.

This weekend, we had some friends over and made fajitas with homemade flour tortillas.  We bought pre sliced steak and marinated it for a couple hours. 

The marinade recipe is below.

  • 1/4 cup soy sauce or coconut aminos (full of flavor with less salt)
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil 

Mix it up and set aside about 1/2 cup of the marinade for later.  Add the marinade to a 1 gallon bag with the steaks making sure that all of the meat gets coated.  You should let the meat marinate for 2-12 hours.

While that marinated, we put our friends to work mixing up some tortilla dough.  We wanted about a dozen tortillas, so we mixed up a batch using the recipe below.

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6-8 Tbsp butter flavored shortening
  • 1 cup water (hot from the tap)

In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the shortening and mix with your hand until it is well combined with the flour mix.  You should end up with lots of small crumbles and no clumps.  

Next add the hot water and it will make a wet dough similar in texture to sourdough.  Keep mixing it with your hand until all of the water is absorbed, then turn it out onto the counter and knead the dough until it gets a fairly smooth texture (3-4 minutes).   

Use a dough scraper or any knife to divide the dough into 12 equal parts which can be rolled into balls with your hands.  Put them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and put them into the fridge for 30 minutes.  

We have a tortilla press, which works great for corn tortillas.  We added some sheets of paper to make the tortillas thinner and it worked well.  No tortilla press?  No problem, you can roll them nice and thin into about 8″ rounds on a lightly floured surface.  

Cook them in a hot skillet (medium-high on my stove) until they bubble up and start to char.  Flip and repeat, and you have some yummy tortillas.  

With the tortillas going, it was time to cook the fajitas.  We had the griddle heated to a fairly high setting and a light coating of avocado oil was added.  We roughly chopped 1 whole onion, one red  and one yellow bell pepper with the seeds removed.  

I cooked the meat first, letting it cook until the bottom was lightly charred and juices formed on the top, then turned it over.  This is a thin cut of meat, so it cooks really quick.  I then cut it into slices right on the griddle and put them into a bowl and set aside. 

Next I threw on the onion and let it start cooking.  You want this to get nice and soft.  I also put the bell peppers on to get some nice charring on them.  After about 5 minutes, the onions were ready, so I mixed them with the bell peppers and added one finely diced jalapeno pepper.  I also seasoned with salt and pepper.

We’re almost done and it smells amazing!

I added the meat to the veggies, mixed it up to blend all of the wonderful flavors and then transferred it to a serving dish.

 Serve hot off of the griddle with the homemade tortillas and enjoy!

Farm to Table

Posted on by Rodney Jacobs

Farm To Table

We were in Idaho in the Fall of 2020 and were priveleged to visit Hansen Farms in Minidoka County and see the harvesting of potatoes in one of their fields. It was an enlightening experience, and we wanted to share some of the information that was given to us. Please enjoy the video and ask questions in the comments. We will try to provide answers to all questions.