The original recipe has a name I cannot pronounce. I tasted a roasted red pepper spread at my ex BF's place the first time, and the recipe came from his father. The original recipe is from the former Yugoslavia, don't know which side. It is made by roasting peppers, tomatoes and eggplant if you care for them. Skinning them comes next and you then grind them with a meat grinder, more interesting than puree. Here is the thing though. The last part of the recipe calls for mashing raw garlic with salt, lots of both, than mixing with the pepper and some oil. The taste is to die for, much better even than this spread, which is pretty good. My alternative to this, since it would not be safe to can, is to mash a bit of garlic with a bit of salt and a teaspoon of oil and add it to some of this here pepper spread when I want to eat it, almost like the original. It is amazing with sausages, spread on bread and with omelets too. Actually, I could eat the original with anything. Oh, and I think the oil emulsified with the peppers because the texture was much thicker. Anyway, thought you guys would like to know... Marie (now going to eat some of my wonderful spread)

We really enjoy this spread and use it like bruschetta or on those little, crispy bagel rounds you can buy at the deli. Of course, it works with the ubiquitous crackers and cream cheese, and it's smashing on a turkey or ham sandwich. In fact, one of my favorite ways to use it is on a veggie sandwich.....croissant spread with soft cheese, cucumbers, red onions and roasted red pepper spread. Life is good. Deborah

My side by side fridge and freezer is fairly big. Used to have a 30"x30" chest freezer years ago, but you needed to stand on your get to get to the bottom of it, and it would frost up about every 3 months. The newer freezer is slightly larger than the older one. The heat coils usually on the back are embedded inside the box, so the sides and to fell very warm to the touch. I also added a freezer alarm that shows temp and signals of its above 25 degrees. The alarms have saved me a lot of grief. Hope you have a good viable sourdough culture! I had posted a few times about how to keep them going for many years. I make a batch from my starter and mix only flour and water into it, nothing else. I like the starter to be quite thick as opposed to a batter. After 2-3 days if its not bubbling well, I take some of a dried batch I have stored in a plastic bag in the fridge, then I just add a bit of my dried culture and it usually starts right up within a few hours. After a 1-2 days, I spoon out a small amount and spread it on a sheet of plastic wrap to dry out. After a day of drying, it gets crumbled and placed in the fridge for quite some length of time, as it keeps very well that way. The rest of the bubbling mixture gets a cup taken out and put back in the fridge for the next time. The rest, gets mixed with more flour (sometimes whole wheat) and water. Another 2 days pass and its usually ready for the bread making. I do add regular yeast too, but thats only for the quicker rise I like to see. I know someone who adds sour cream to their bread. Very crusty and sour! Might make a batch of bread this weekend, and use a little buttermilk in the dough just to give it a bit smoother/finer texture. My herbed butter was made last summer and I used fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, and lots of garlic. It all went into a small food processor to be finely chopped, then I added chunks of butter and some olive oil. I don't mix too much longer as butter will soften and melt a bit. I have these Japanese sushi molds that I line with plastic wrap and place a spoon of the mixture in each compartment. Its covered with wrap and a small plastic cover is pressed on, molding it into a small rectangular shaped cube. I place in the freezer and let them harden and then pull out the wrap from the plastic mold and cut them into individual chunks then back into the the freezer. When I do the turkey its usually just a big breast and rib meat (healthier with less fat). The herbed butter gets stuffed under the skin on top of the breast. I also posted my way of doing stuffing with sausage meat and chestnuts, as well as mixed breads. I will probabaly add a few dried cranberries to it as well as they give a nice burst of tart/tang when you eat some.

Yes! Thank you! I also tripled the acid. So I thought it would be safe. I think I'll label it "Tangy" roasted red pepper spread. LOL! It still tastes good but there's definitely a tangy taste to it. I appreciate the speedy response! I'm just about to can it!