Green Tabasco-Style Hot Sauce

While on our recent road trip, Mr P. and I stayed a night in a re-purposed pottery shed, now a delightful guest cottage.  The owners had just rescued a young sheep, as a companion for their other young sheep, so I got to feed this gorgeous baby her bottle.  So cute!  And she was amazingly strong.  And her wool was incredible - so tough, and firm, like nothing I had ever felt before.  I think they said she was a mini-Dorset sheep (or was it a Babydoll sheep?), grown for its meat usually.  They are not going to eat her, don't worry! 

interior of the cottage/pottery shed

This recipe is from a book called Giffords Circus Cookbook, by Nell Gifford and Ols Halas.  (I had a quick read of this fascinating book, which was lurking in the cottage bookshelves.)  This is a real circus and restaurant that travels throughout the U.K.  Nell who was also an artist sadly died in 2019 from breast cancer.  Her niece took over the circus, after Nell died.  I can hardly get my head around a travelling circus/restaurant (!), much less a woman who painted sixty paintings in a year before she died.  And guess what?  She was the half-sister to Emma Bridgewater!  I love Emma's pottery pieces, and as you may know, I have a small collection of her mugs and plates.  Mm, that reminds me I still want to buy one of her eggplant dishes ...

the book!

Makes 1 small bottle (maybe 250 mL?):

ingredients:

200 mL/7 oz white wine vinegar

2 tsp sea salt flakes

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped

100g./3.5 oz green jalapeño chillies/peppers, de-seeded and thinly sliced  see Notes

Method:

Put the vinegar, salt and garlic into a small saucepan, and bring it to the boil

Throw in the chillies, boil it for a minute or two, then take off the heat and let it rest for ten minutes (at least)

Blend this in a food processor (till smooth, says Nell)

Pour this green mixture into the sterilised bottle, seal it and store in the fridge (Nell doesn't mention the fridge till after you open it, but we live in hot and humid Queensland)

Nell also says it will keep in the fridge once opened for a week, but I have had it there for seven weeks, and still all good!  It tastes bloody good, I must say

ingredients gathered

macerating the chillies

the yoghurt cure!

We tried everything on my hand for the burn - milk, ice, water ... only the yoghurt left on for a couple of hours actually helped!  And I barely touched the chillies with my knife hand. 

really hot and delicious!

Notes:

I kept in some of the seeds, 'cos we like it hot!  As some readers will know, when I was chopping up the jalapeños for this, I foolishly only wore a glove on one hand, not the knife hand.  Oh silly me!  I had never realised properly before that chilli burns like fire! - and for hours.  So don't do what I did; wear the gloves!

I would love to make this again, but with red jalapeños.  I think that would be a fabulous change-up.

chillies!

I nearly forgot to tell you the story of the disasters when we stayed in the cottage.  We were seated at the table on wooden chairs, one of which decided to die, and threw Mr P. on the ground!  And then one of the lamps died, and he got an electric shock from it when we tried to check out what was going on with it.  I'm pretty sure there was a third disaster, but I've blocked it out :=)  Oh yes, I remember - the air con kept turning itself off, and the outside sensor light kept going on whenever we went to the fridge.  Interesting! :=)  But no worries.

the Bonville Headland Lookout at Sawtell, NSW

This Headland looks to the south, showing a beautiful sandy beach.  My previous photos were of Boambee Headland Lookout, looking north.

The owners of the Pottery Shed are very interesting people; she is English and he is American and they live here in Australia.  The cottage sits on their 1.5 acre rural property in the Boambee valley, near Coffs Harbour.  We have stayed there twice now, and will happily go back.  Not an ad by the way; just happy we stayed there.  And we didn't give a hoot about the accidents; we had a fine time!

(Joining in with Jo from Brookford Kitchen Diaries for BKD Cookbook Club.)

Moroccan-Style Tuna With Eggplant And Spicy Yoghurt

We like to eat fish in this household.  We have salmon once or twice a fortnight, (tinned) tuna for lunch once or twice a week, and I also enjoy some tinned sardines now and then.  Meat on the other hand - mm, probably a bit of beef mince once a month!  Hubby and I were both vegetarians in our youth (quite separate to each other).

To be honest, I think this was the first time I had ever cooked with fresh tuna.  I do enjoy a bit of sashimi, but sadly am a bit wary these days due to getting food poisoning from some salmon.  But I am very happy to have fish lightly grilled or baked, like this dish.   

we had the tuna with rice vermicelli noodles

Speaking of all things fish, reminds me of a trip to China years ago, where we were given a dish of ... jellyfish (?) in a clear, sweet liquid.  Of course, there were also chicken feet, and things of which we knew not.  Will never forget the sight of a businessman in his suit, briefcase in one hand, and live, squawking hen in the other.  I'd imagine his wife was awaiting the chook so she could start dinner ...

(Recipe from Belinda Jeffery's Utterly Delicious Simple Food.)

Belinda gives this recipe for 6 diners; I reduced it to 4, so pretty much halved the other ingredients

Serves 4:

ingredients:

Tuna marinade:

1-2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cummin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

a big pinch of cayenne pepper, or chilli flakes

1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

30 mL/1 hefty ounce of lemon juice

120 mL/4 oz EV olive oil

sea salt flakes and black pepper, to taste

Spicy yoghurt:

200g./7 oz plain Greek yoghurt

1 very tiny clove of garlic, finely chopped

40 mL/1.4 oz EV olive oil

1 tsp ground cummin

sea salt flakes

The Tuna and Eggplant:

4 tuna steaks around 100g./3.5 oz each (or bigger, if you fancy)  see Notes

600-700g./21-25 oz eggplant

80 mL/2.8 oz EV olive oil

mint or coriander leaves, for garnish

lemon wedges, to serve

ye olde eggplant

not a hint of soap here :=)

Method:

Start early! - make the marinade a couple of hours before you want to cook the fish

So, grab a large bowl, chuck in the marinade ingredients, give it a good whisking and then: leave the tuna in a flat (non-reactive) dish, pour over about a third or so of the marinade (you want the fish all covered), cover the dish with clingfilm or a lid, and let it rest easy for a couple of hours in the fridge (and Belinda suggests giving the steaks a turn every so often)

The rest of the marinade goes into a jug, and into the fridge

Now the eggplant: 

Oven on to 220C/430F to heat up; and line a large baking tray with baking paper

Slice up your eggplant lengthwise into quarters, then wedges

Chuck 'em into a bowl, and toss with the olive oil, then on to the tray in a single layer

Bake for around 30 minutes or so, till golden-brown (and turn 'em over halfway thru' the cooking time)

While this is happening, mix up the spicy yoghurt and put into the fridge while you get on with cooking the fish

Either whack the steaks onto your BBQ, or grab a grill pan, and cook till as tender as you care for - Belinda suggests 1 to 2 minutes per side!  You may want more cooking time

Now put a steak on each plate, pour over a bit of the marinade from the jug, and serve with eggplant and lemon wedges 

who, me?  Yep you Mr Tuna!

Notes:

Belinda suggests making this recipe for 6, using "6 tuna steaks", without giving a weight, but Googling shows the average weight of a tuna steak is around 180g./6.5 oz.  I just happened to only be able to buy small ones!  But grab some bigger pieces, or a couple more steaks to feed another two people (and increase the amounts for the marinade and yoghurt accordingly, if so)

ingredients gathered

prepare your marinade

pour the marinade over the fish

looking golden and delicious

spicy yoghurt at the ready

Mr P. grills the tuna (in his bare feet)

strew (is that a verb?) the coriander leaves over the eggplant

feeling hungry ...

nearly ready to dig in!

dig in!

and/or throw on some mint

In My Kitchen - March 2026

You know I have to say it!  March?!  What the? ...  I've barely recovered from Christmas - hehehe.  It's interesting lately checking out the early morning and late afternoon sunlight these days though.  You can see that the sun has moved to the north, and the light is starting to change depth and colour.  Autumn!  Oh yes please.

Well, what a week.  Mr P. has had another injection, and I've had my six-monthly dental checkup.  Oh the fun!  We often joke that getting older means having a favourite chemist, and discussing all your ills with your friends.  Ah well, I had bookclub too; I made a Nigella Lawson Quadruple chocolate loaf cake to take with.  I love the chocolate syrup poured over it, and sometimes use the syrup recipe for other cakes.  So good!

    

bonus photo of the sea at Sawtell on our recent roadtrip

In My Kitchen:

you can never have too many (Greek) chilli flakes! 

oh not another (food-related) book?  But yes!  It's Alton after all!

and another tumbler?  Also yes!  But the turtle ... :=)

of course I made more mango chutney!

lots of it!

This was made with gifted mangoes from our new neighbour's dad's garden (I think).  Otherwise, I don't know where he got them from :=) 

a few goodies from Tasmanian Gourmet Online

and I made spicy tomato relish

I bought some condiments (olive jam is great on pizza)

I made savoury mince for a cookbook club post

see those crisps?  Spicy crayfish.  So delicious!

We headed to the local Asian grocery shop, so I could stock up on some of my fave treats.  Pocky is always a winner, though they didn't have my favourite dark and nutty ones. 

and the curveball! - a gorgeous old inkwell with copper feather

This lovely little artwork is by Terina Smith Recycling Artist.  I have a couple of old inkwells so was very happy to add this one to my collection.  Terina created the copper feather (copper? I think so), which sits inside it.  I just love it!

c. Sherry M.

    

Be a part of our friendly IMK community by adding your post here too - everybody welcome!  We'd love to have you visit.  Tell us about your kitchen (and kitchen garden) happenings over the past month.  Dishes you've cooked, preserves you've made, herbs and veg. in your garden, kitchen gadgets, and goings-on.  And one curveball is welcome - whatever you fancy; no need to be kitchen-related.  

The link is open from the first of the month to midnight on the thirteenth of the month, every month.

Options for adding your post to IMK:

1. Add via the Add Link button at the bottom of this post.  Instructions can be found on the sidebar of this page, under the  Add your IMK link OR:

2. Comment on this post, providing a link to your post so I can add it manually to the list below OR:

3. Email me: sherrym1au@gmail.com, with your link or any queries about the link process, or if you would like it to be added after the 13th ('cos I'm happy to add it for you later)

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter