Spicy Cherry Catsup

Dear Lauren,

Sometimes you just wanna change things up a bit.

Especially in the summer, right?

I thought this recipe sounded fantastic. So I made it and I was right.

Mothers always are, right?

Spicy Cherry Catsup.
Can we just spell it ketchup? Or is that only for Heinz? How about catchup? Or how about we just eat and forget about spelling.

This was so easy!

Just add your ingredients in the food processor (or blender, your choice).

And then cook it for 5 minutes. That's it!

I'm having some on a Veggie Burger, a turkey sandwich, and some roasted red potatoes and onions. Not all today.

Spicy Cherry Catsup
a recipe by the Chukkar Cherry Company in the Pike Place Market cookbook & tweaked by me 

1/2 cup dried cherries (I used Trader Joe's Dried Bing Cherries.)
about 1 1/2 cups of apple juice (you can use water), for soaking only
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 jalapeños, or 1 jalapeño and 1 serrano pepper, or 2 serrano peppers (you pick) - membranes removed, some seeds left in, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
2 pinches Kosher salt
4 turns of freshly ground pepper

Soak your cherries in apple juice or water. Strain. (Drink the water or the apple juice, don't waste it! You won't be using it in the recipe!)

Put all the ingredients (not the apple juice or water you discarded) in the food processor or blender and blend til smooth. Stop a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides.

Scrape out the contents of your food processor bowl into a small saucepan and heat over low, stirring constantly until your red mixture turns a dark maroon (Look at the difference in color between the 1st and 3rd photos and you will see what I mean). Put the catsup in a ball jar and let it cool. Refrigerate. Will last a week.

Love,