Better Than Store Bought--BBQ Sauce

Aliment, copyright 2012

     I am the first to admit that some things are just better when I'm not the one who made it! It's not that I'm not a good cook, but I am not a trained chef and sometimes I don't have the time, tools, or gumption for putting on my apron and whipping up deliciousness--sometimes, store bought is not only more convenient...but tastes better because it wasn't made by someone like me who is doing a half- (ahem) -butt job of it while simultaneously trying to breastfeed an infant and help three older kids with homework. That being said, I've recently realized that while some products might make claims "Just like mom used to make!" or "Better than home-made!" those are usually over-estimations of the products actual greatness. Not only that, but certain things that I've always assumed were easier/better/cheaper when store bought aren't actually. A good recipe can be easy to follow, taste better, cost less over the long run, and if you tweak it just right...it can be healthier too. I, for one, like knowing what's in my food.

     So today marks the first day of a new little series here on Aliment called "Better Than Store Bought", where from time to time we will share with you our versions of foods that you might usually buy for the sake of convenience, and we'll prove to you that it can be easy, fun, and even more delicious to make it yourself! 

     I'm going to kick things off with  

Barbeque Sauce 

     This is one thing that I have always bought ready made. I never even put much thought into what goes into BBQ sauce that makes it taste so dang delicious. Recently we were out of the sticky, spicy, red stuff though and I had a craving. I didn't want to go out to the store so I did a little digging to find out if maybe, just maybe, I was luckily enough to have enough ingredients on hand to make my own. Mind you, I was also in a creative mood with an unusual amount of free time on my hands...and I assumed that this would take some time. I cannot tell you how quick and easy it was to make my own BBQ sauce...actually, I can...IT WAS SUPER QUICK AND EASY!!! We're talking minutes, people!

     While, for copyright reasons I cannot share the exact recipe that I used and fell in love with, I can tell you that it basically contained certain amounts of:

tomato puree, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder (and 1 or 2 other things.)

     I can also tell you where you can get the recipe: I found it in the fabulous Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook, by Kim Barnouin (page 147, Shhhh!! Don't tell!)

     The photo at the top of this page is the stash that I made from the above mentioned book (which is one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, by the way, Kim Barnouin is the real deal...smart, sassy, and serious about good health! I highly recommend you check her out here.)

     If you are itching to make some BBQ sauce now and cannot wait long enough to get to your library or click over to Amazon and purchase the Kindle version

here:

then here are a couple of other recipes I found online that are probably good too...maybe...there are no guarantees....seriously, you should get the book!

How to make BBQ Sauce--video & recipe

Recipe & Yummy ideas for usage

 

     You can see how I used my batch of home-made BBQ sauce by clicking here. Until next time...

Bon Appetit,

Tamar