Spicy Pickled Tomato Dirty Martini

A martini with a delicious difference, this spicy pickled tomato dirty martini is garnished with easy-to-make quick pickled grape tomatoes. The pickling liquid with rice vinegar and fish sauce also has a welcome hot kick from minced fresh chili pepper.

As promised on my post yesterday, here’s how you can enjoy a dirty martini made with the spicy pickled grape tomatoes I shared. I left mine to marinate in the refrigerator for two days before unsealing the jar and making my martini.

If, like me, you are a fan of more savory than sweet cocktails, you are going to love this one. It's the same recipe my husband uses to make my dirty martinis with anchovy or tuna stuffed olives and olive juice so until the pickled tomatoes are ready, use olives!

Spicy Pickled Tomato Dirty Martini

The ingredients list below makes one lovely chilled martini. The measure of 1 jigger = 1 fluid ounce or 30ml. You can, of course, increase the amounts to make two or more. The capacity of your cocktail shaker is the limiting factor.

Ingredients
2 jiggers vodka
1 jigger extra dry vermouth
1 1/2 jiggers juice from spicy pickled grape tomatoes
4-5 small ice cubes

To garnish: 3 spicy pickled grape tomatoes

Method
Spear at least three spicy pickled grape tomatoes with a long cocktail pick and rest them in a martini glass.

Put all the martini ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake for a minute or two, until the ice has a chance to melt a little and chill the liquid. Strain into your martini glass.

So good. Enjoy!

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Spicy Pickled Grape Tomatoes #FoodieExtravaganza

Spicy pickled grape tomatoes are a tasty addition to salads or to serve alongside fish or chicken. The natural sweetness of the grape tomatoes are beautifully complemented by the rice vinegar, salty fish sauce and hot chili pepper. My favorite way to use them is in dirty martinis!

Savory cocktails aren’t as popular as the sweet ones but I must admit they are my favorites.  I’ll take a Bloody Mary over a daiquiri any day of the week. I am especially fond of dirty martinis made with the juice of olives stuffed with anchovies or tuna, garnished with the olives themselves, of course. It’s like a snack and a drink if you use enough olives.

This month my Foodie Extravaganza friends are all sharing recipes for pickling or using pickles in celebration of International Pickles Week so I decided to pickle something I could use in a dirty martini. Grape tomatoes are perfect, as it turns out, especially if you add some fish sauce to the pickling vinegar.

Spicy Pickled Grape Tomatoes

This recipe is adapted from several I found on the interwebs. I had no idea people actually pickled tomatoes until I started to search for pickles that look pretty in drinks! These little guys are good in salads and would also be great accompaniments to fish or chicken. Or just eat them straight out of the jar.

Ingredients
20 grape tomatoes – about 1 cup or 140g
3 tablespoons fish sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 Thai chili, minced

Method
Prick the tomatoes through and through with a toothpick.

Mix the fish sauce, rice vinegar and sugar in a microwavable container or a small pot. Heat the liquid up till hot but not boiling, about 130°F or 54°C. This is just hot enough to be uncomfortable if you put your finger in it. Add the minced chili pepper.

Put the tomatoes in a half pint canning jar and pour the warm pickling juice over them.

Seal tightly. Leave to cool.

Refrigerate for at least a day before eating outright or using in another recipe. Stay tuned tomorrow for my spicy pickled grape tomato dirty martini recipe.

Enjoy!

Sneak peek of the martini!

Many thanks to our host this month, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Check out all the other recipes with pickles we are sharing today.

• Dill Pickle Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Making Miracles
• Fried Chicken Sandwich with a Spicy Bread and Butter Pickle Coleslaw by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Hot Pepper Vinegar by Palatable Pastime
• Indian Raw Papaya Pickle by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Japanese Pickled Ginger by Caroline's Cooking
• Lime & Beer Pickled Red Onions by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips by Pandemonium Noshery
• Pickled Pork Tongue by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pickled Star Gooseberry by Sneha's Recipe
• Spicy Pickled Grape Tomatoes by Food Lust People Love

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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Sweet Potato Sprouted Spelt Muffins #MuffinMonday

Sweet potato sprouted spelt muffins are made with brown sugar and lots of sweet golden raisins. They make a delicious tea time snack or tasty breakfast. Like most muffins, they freeze well and can be thawed and ready to eat with a quick zap in the microwave.

It’s Muffin Monday again, folks, the last Monday of every month when I share my own muffin recipe and several delectable others from my Muffin Monday group friends.

As I imagine you all are, right round the world, we are baking with what’s left in our kitchens. I could easily have called these sprouted sweet potato muffins because my taters are seriously sending out shoots. The one I used here had tiny sprouts that I trimmed off but another one is a candidate for cutting up and planting. If only I had good soil!

If you don’t have a sweet potato, substitute carrots in the same approximate amount.

Sweet Potato Sprouted Spelt Muffins

My sweet potato was about 9 1/3 oz or 265g in weight before peeling and cutting off the rough ends. If yours is a little bigger or smaller, no worries.

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
2 cups or 240g sprouted spelt flour
3/4 cup, firmly packed, or 150g light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 cup or 240ml milk (I use 2% fat)
1 cup or 150g golden raisins, optional

Method
Peel your sweet potato and cut it into chunks. Discard the fibrous ends. Boil until tender.

Put the golden raisins in a heatproof bowl.

When you drain the hot water off of the sweet potato chunks, pour it into the bowl with the raisins. Leave them to plump up then drain when the water is cool.

Mash the sweet potato with a fork or potato masher until fairly smooth. Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your sprouted spelt flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, cooled mashed sweet potato, oil and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Fold in the golden raisins.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven leave to cool for a few minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely muffins we are sharing today!

• Celebratory Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolate Coconut Banana Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Mocha Muffins from Making Miracles
• Coffee Cake Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Sweet Potato Sprouted Spelt Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Toffee Mocha Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tomato Basil Muffins from Palatable Pastime 
• Wild Violet Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page<

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