1. How do I know if the sauce I make requires a water bath? You use only an approved and tested recipe for whatever you plan to make and the recipe tells you how to process and how long to process. 2. Will a hot water bath create a vacuum on the typical hot sauce bottle lids? Those usually have a plastic seal. No, plastic are seldom vacuum seal caps and plastic will not stand up to the 212 degree water. Safe canning requires you use approved canning-safe containers and lids. Whether safe bottles are available to you or not, I can't say but safe small jars are readily available anywhere canning supplies are sold. They are what most of us use to preserve our hot sauce in. If you don't want a tomato-based sauce, many other tested and approved recipes are available via the sites already linked for you above. Dave

I like to go by a tested recipe first to get a baseline reference. After that, I'll tweak it or radically change it to suit my taste. Oooo Smokemaster, yes, Jerk! If anyone's game, I've found this recipe comes as close to authentic Jamaican Jerk than any other I've tried. I always end up doing two versions; one with two Scotch Bonnets for the GF and one with 12 for me ;-) The recipe is from a... wait for it... Weight Watchers recipe book. Here's a copy of the original recipe. I use it without any changes, it's perfect as is IMHO. Works for pork or chicken. Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin This fiery barbecue was invented by the Maroons, or runaway slaves, as a means of preserving meats without refrigeration. The more Scotch bonnet peppers you use, the more authentic the flavor. Use one pepper for a mildly spicy dish and four for a very spicy dish. (To approximate the heat of the authentic jerk marinade, you would have to use 12 Scotch bonnet peppers.) Here, we butterfly the pork to increase the surface area for the marinade to penetrate. This recipe will also work with pork loin and chicken breasts, wings and thighs. 2 cups coarsely chopped green onions 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion 2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves 2 teaspoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground allspice 2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 - 12 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers, seeded and chopped 1 (1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed Cooking spray 1. Place first 15 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Pour into a large zip-top plastic bag. 2. Slice pork lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open halves, laying each side flat. Slice each half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side; open flat. 3. Add pork to marinade in bag; seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 3 to 24 hours. Remove pork from bag; discard marinade. 4. Prepare grill. 5. Place pork on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes on each side or until meat thermometer registers 160F (slightly pink). Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 ounces pork).

Natal, no worries, just regular foil worked! But for anyone using foil in a pinch, I turned the timer on and only let the hot pecans cool on it for about 55 seconds (recipe says 1-2 minute cool down period). I scooped them off with a spatula before they had a chance to start to cool, harden and stick. However, I did just notice that my finished pecans are darker than yours in your photo. So maybe the foil deflected more heat or something & toasted them more? I wondered if I shouldn't reduce the oven time a bit, they were smelling aromatic after about 10 min. They were good, didn't taste burned, but maybe they would've been even better. I bought enough for several batches but before I make more I think I'll get some parchment paper.

Years ago...my little one, who is now mid 50's!! was a very picky eater and hated all things breakfast. When I asked what he wanted, he would say "chips and dip". So I got out my blender, put in a bunch of cottage cheese and some blue cheese ( remember the cobbler's children should never go barefoot!) a bit of garlic powder and some dry parsley and maybe a dash of worchestershire. and serve it with whole grain "chip" sort of crackers. It was a pretty healthy breakfast for a 4 yearold....lots better than Captain Crunch or other sweetened cereal.