Spring Traditions - Barbecue Sauce

There are a few things that happen around our house each Spring that lets you know that summer is on the way: our vegetable garden gets planted, the garage freezer gets defrosted and reorganized, the familiar cloud of smoke that encompasses David as he mows the lawn with the tractor. Our neighbor across the street knows it's Spring when he gets a call from David telling him he and the tractor are stuck in the mud again ... but I digress.

A number of years ago, when David first got his smoker, we started experimenting with it and one recipe which we've come back to time and time again is a Kansas City Style barbecue sauce that he found as part of a ribs recipe. We've gotten to the point where we just make a double batch at the beginning of the summer and freeze it, so we'll always have some on hand. David decided he wanted to smoke some ribs for the kids birthday in a few weeks, so I have a triple batch brewing on the stove now.

The ingredient list is long but it really is a simple recipe. It tastes sooo much better than bottled sauce. I started leaving out the habanero sauce so it wouldn't be too spicy for Madeleine.

Kansas City Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Coke
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar -- firmly packed
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 can tomato paste -- (6 ounce)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon New Mexico red chile powder
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper -- freshly-ground
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1 tablespoon summer savory
1 tablespoon marjoram
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 dashes Tabasco Habanero Sauce

Mix all ingredients together and simmer over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Welcome May!

It was a nice, sunny morning when we got up this morning so I packed up the kids in the car, grabbed the stroller and headed over to the town next door. They were having city wide garage sales, the first Farmer's Market of the season and there was a book sale at the local library.

We bought about 15 new strawberry plant to add to our garden, 12 or so new books (cookbooks, kids books and a few books for me), orange juice, a cookie and tattoo and Madeleine had a flower painted on her face all for about $20. Not bad for a Saturday morning.

The Farmer's market was pretty small but it was only the first of the season. I hope it grows as the season goes on because it is literally 10 minutes from the house which is nice. I have limited space to grow anything so it is nice to have a place close by to supplement from. Or in the case of last year, the entire garden tanks and you have to buy all your vegetables anyway. Seriously, even the zucchini didn't grow last year, that's how bad it was. It never really got very hot, which was nice for being at home with a brand new baby but not so good for the garden.