Add it to jam, dressings, and even popcorn to use this hot sauce in memorable ways

Nothing can turn a plain meal into a memorable one like a good sauce. How about a great hot sauce? How about one you make yourself to satisfy your own palate and the palates of your love ones?

Make up a fine hot sauce from your garden vegetables and then be creative in using it. Consider a few possibilities:

• Add your hot sauce to apricot or peach jam for a sweet-sour sauce or BBQ sauce.
• Add tamari sauce (soy) to what you created with your apricot or peach jam above and now you have a spicy teriyaki.
• A squirt or two of your hot sauce added to your home-made salad dressings turn them into a whole new creation.
• Mix some hot sauce with melted butter to pour on your popcorn. Call me please. I’ll be right over.

You get the picture. Just get cooking! Find a sauce you love and be the Food Artist.

This sauce is inspired by Emeril Lagasse (here). He is a man well versed in spicy foods. Why re-invent the wheel? Of course I made a few changes. You know how that is!

To keep the yellow color and add to the flavor of this sauce, I used sweet banana peppers as well as yellow Santa Fe chilis. Make the sauce as cool or hot as you like. Control the heat in two ways:

1. Alter the hot pepper ratio to the sweet pepper ratio.
2. Remove the seeds and membranes from the hot peppers to reduce the heat. The hottest part of the pepper is on the inside.

Emerile says this sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to six months. If you have garden bounty, you will want to can some of this hot sauce. Just follow the manufacturer’s instructions that come with the canning jars. It’s quite easy.

Why didn’t I do this sooner?!?

Golden Hot Sauce Ingredients

• 1 pound peppers, a mix of hot and sweet
• 8 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup distilled while vinegar

Golden Hot Sauce Steps

1. Wash the peppers and spread them out to dry.
2. Cut off the pepper tops and discard.
3. Slice the peppers in half. Remove and discard the seeds and membranes.
4. Lightly chop the peppers.
5. Heat the coconut oil in a large non-reactive saucepan — avoid cast iron and aluminum pans unless you need these metals in your diet.
6. Add the onion to the hot oil and sauté until the onion turns transparent.
7. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.
8. Add the peppers. Sauté for about 4 minutes.
9. Sprinkle on the salt and pour on the water.
10. Simmer until the vegetables are very soft, about 20 minutes.
11. Puree the mixture in a food processor. Add the vinegar as the machine is running, using the feed tube.
12. Taste and make adjustments for salt.
13. If you are canning the sauce, return it to the saucepan on low heat. Keep the sauce simmering as you transfer it to the canning jars.
14. If you are not canning, put the sauce in a glass jar and allow it to cool before refrigerating.