Friday, February 08, 2013

Ketchup on a Recipe Card


Everyone one of us has experiences or life situations that become markers of our passage through life. They might seem simple or insignificant at the time, but as time passes and you reflect on your journey, you realize that certain events or experiences help you mark significant milestones on your life timeline. It's fun to reminisce about early life experiences that may have been pushed to the back of your mind. Sometimes an object, note, or card can spark a memory that you may have forgotten. Simple things can bring such a response.

Today I found a recipe card in one of my mother's notebooks. She's been gone for nearly ten years now. I keep her journals and notebooks in my bookcase and enjoy going through them. They remind me of her and the things she enjoyed and of how she thought. The recipe card took me back to a time when I was a teen-ager. Our family traveled across the USA by car for two months. Our travel trailer was pulled along behind us and we visited many interesting places along the way. One place was New York City. We spent a week as guests of family friends who gave us a grand tour of the city. Every single day we visited someplace new! And the recipe that triggered this memory? It's for something our family calls "New York Ketchup". Our host took us to a small vegan restaurant in the city. It was owned and managed by an actor in the musical "Hair". The hairstyle in the postcard above reminds me of him. The hairstyle was the very same!  We enjoyed delicious plant-based burgers and he thoughtfully shared this recipe with us before we left. I hope you enjoy it too! We call it...


New York Ketchup


1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 - 25 oz. can tomato puree
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lemon
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 stalk celery

Place all ingredients in a blender. Mix until ingredients are homogeneous. Enjoy!


This really is a tasty, homemade ketchup!

8 comments:

  1. So nostalgic.. I felt like I was along on the ride... Lovely, loving posting!

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  2. That photo made me laugh because, believe it or not, my daughter just sent me an old photo of our family that I had never even seen before and my hair looks just like that. Of course, it looks just like that (more or less) this morning, too!

    Your family journey across the U.S. would make for some lively posts I'm sure. Thanks for the recipe...it does sound very good. How much does it make and how long does it last?

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  3. Nice post, La Tea Dah. The things we have that are connected with special memories are quite precious.

    So glad you kept your Mom's journals, etc. Susan

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  4. What a great post! I love stained recipe cards. I know some of mine have "additions" from the kitchen. My sister has my mom's recipe cards. Mom has been gone 16 years. I hope my girls will want to keep mine and smile or write a blog like yours someday.
    Love,
    Linda

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  5. I have to admit this is the very first time I've seen a recipe for ketchup! It really looks like a tasty combo for sure!

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  6. What wonderful memories.
    Each of us do have our own individual memories, so different from everyone else. I am finding even two sisters can see the memories differently. The homemade ketchup does sound good.

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  7. Anonymous6:12 AM

    Enjoyed your post. How fortunate for you and your family to have shared such a memorable vacation. It is always special to have keepsakes to remember our loved ones.
    Rochelle, ATAA

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