Not surprisingly, cookbook author Danielle Walker makes her own condiments. Why? They deliver better flavor than mass-produced products, and in the case of tomato ketchup and barbecue sauce, a better sweetener than high fructose corn syrup, and less sweetener.

Danielle is following up on her the Paleo Diet-focused Against All Grain (10 months on the New York Times Best Sellers list) with the upcoming Meals Made Simple (out September 2nd, but you can pre-order now).

You can make your own ketchup in just five minutes of prep time, plus 45 minutes of cooking. How can you resist the opportunity to impress your palate, your family, your friends?

After you’ve made your first batch, you can experiment with your favorite seasonings: chipotle, curry, garlic, horseradish, jalapeño, sriracha, whatever.

Danielle chose honey as the sweetener in her recipe, but you can use agave (just use half the amount, since it’s twice as sweet), maple syrup, even cane sugar.

RECIPE: HOMEMADE TOMATO KETCHUP

Ingredients For 2 Cups

Make it yourself! Photo courtesy Danielle Walker.

1. PLACE the oil in a deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, until fragrant.

2. ADD the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and reduced by half.

3. REMOVE the onion, cloves and allspice. Bring to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.

Variations

Make the ketchup without the cloves and allspice. You can divide it into half cup batches and flavor them accordingly (seasonings provided per half cup of ketchup).

 
Your own blend: Anything goes!

Here’s a way to enjoy Happy Hour in the heat: Turn your favorite fruit cocktail into an adult ice pop.

We started with the Margarita, re-interpreting the Strawberry Frozen Margarita as a Strawberry Margarita Ice Pop. You can substitute the fruit and spirits to adapt your favorite cocktail.

Prep time: is 15 minutes plus freezing time (overnight).
RECIPE: STRAWBERRY MARGARITA ICE POPS

Ingredients For 8 – 10 Pops

Truly frozen cocktails: Strawberry Margarita Ice Pops. Photo courtesy Driscoll’s.

1. BRING water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar is dissolved. Cool completely.

2. PURÉE strawberries in a blender or food processor. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to yield 1-1/2 cups purée.

3. COMBINE strawberry purée with sugar syrup, lime juice, tequila and orange liqueur. Pour into ice pop molds.

4. FREEZE for 2 hours, then sprinkle the base of the pops with salt and add the sticks. Let freeze at least 12 hours longer or overnight until frozen solid.
  

Doesn’t this salad from Florida-based Peach Valley Café burst with summer?

Blueberries, mandarin segments, strawberries, frisée and baby greens are garnished with shaved Parmesan cheese, toasted almonds and homemade peach ginger dressing.
 
 
You can add or substitute any other seasonal fruits: bananas, peaches, kiwi or other favorites.

GINGER PEACH DRESSING

Ingredients

 
Mix, match and enjoy.
 
 
>>> THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MANDARINS & ORANGES <<<
  

Morning Rounds: the deliciously better
alternative to breakfast pastries. We’re
addicted to them. Photo courtesy Ozery
Bakery.

 
And you can buy them online by the case—which is no problem, since the preservative-free, perishable breads should all go into the freezer anyway.

It’s as close as you’ll get to guilt-free bread.

From that first bite of fragrant, chewy bread, they began baking their own flavorful bread for their sandwiches, and began selling the bread in the sandwich shop. Then, the bread started outselling the sandwiches, with many customers ordering bread in bulk and spreading the word.

Gourmet and health food companies began knocking on the door. A breakfast bread was created: Morning Rounds, a fusion of the family’s homemade pita baking techniques and Canadian tastes for muesli and fruit.

And now, the four-product line is available in the U.S., at natural food stores like Sprouts and Whole Foods Markets.

Morning Rounds are a fruit and grain bun, evocative of fruited English muffins. The sweetness of the fruit makes them an easy replacement for doughnuts, muffins and breakfast pastries.

You can enjoy them from the bag or toasted, plain or spread with butter or jam. The flavors include Apple Cinnamon, Cranberry Orange and Muesli; we find the Cranberry Orange to be addictively delicious.

Each contains 5g of protein, 170 calories, and is a source of fiber, iron, calcium, Vitamin B, antioxidants and folic acid. The company also bakes mini Snacking Rounds in the same flavors.

OneBun thin, whole grain buns were invented as a healthy alternative to classic burger buns.

They’re soft, flavorful and pre-sliced rounds, named OneBun because this one bun can be use for sandwiches, burgers, homemade pizzas, dips, even taco fillings.

Choose from OneBun Multigrain*, OneBun Organic (plain), OneBun Sprouted and OneBun Whole Wheat. Another benefit: The halves are much thinner than traditional hamburger buns or sandwich breads, saving calories—just 100 calories for both halves.

Freeze, Don’t Refrigerate

Since the breads contain no preservatives, the best way to keep them fresh is to freeze them right away. Freezing quickly locks in the moisture.

It’s easy to restore fresh-baked flavor and texture: Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, microwave for 10 seconds or pop into the toaster oven to toast or warm at 400°F for a minute.

Never refrigerate bread. Refrigerators work on the principle of drawing out heat, which removes the moisture along with it.
 
OZERY BAKERY CRACKERS

Crispy Pita Snacks are very flavorful and crunchy in Cranberry Pumpkin Seed, Organic Spelt With Flax, Organic Wheat and Rosemary Garlic. Use them as dippers, with soup, or snack from the bag.

Skinny Dippers are lavash strips in Flax and Honey, Multi Grain and Honey, Organic Spelt and Organic Whole Wheat. Pair them with cheeses, soups or spreads.
 
*More than a simple combination of grains, the blend includes with flax seeds, sunflower seeds, barley, millet, triticale, cracked wheat, and rye.

We really enjoyed this simple snack idea, a mock bruschetta (the bread for bruschetta is grilled, not toasted), which tops a OneBun with goat cheese, ribbons of fresh zucchini, lemon juice and olive oil.

RECIPE: ZUCCHINI & GOAT CHEESE BRUSCHETTA

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. THINLY SLICE the zucchini with a potato peeler. Place in a bowl and add lemon juice, olive oil and seasonings. Mix well.

2. PLACE the goat cheese in a bowl and mash it with a fork.

3. TOAST the OneBun, spread with goat cheese and then top with zucchini ribbons.

Chai tea is just as refreshing when iced.
Photo courtesy Republic Of Tea.

If you enjoy a hot cup of chai tea in the cooler months, brew it and ice it for summer. Here’s a recipe from the Republic Of Tea.

To add another dimension of flavor, the recipe uses maple syrup as the sweetener (that’s real maple syrup, not pancake syrup, which is artificially flavored corn syrup).

If you’re not not keen on maple, use honey, half as much agave*, another sweetener, or no sweetener at all.

RECIPE: ICED CHAI TEA

Ingredients For 4 Six-Ounce Servings

 
Here’s a recipe in case you want to make your own masala chai tea blend from scratch.

1. BRING 2 cups of water to a boil and pour over tea in a heat-resistant pitcher. Allow to infuse for 5 minutes, then remove the tea.

2. STIR in the maple syrup until dissolved. Let the tea cool to room temperature.

3. ADD the milk. Then chill first, or pour over ice to serve immediately.

Find dozens more iced tea recipes at RepublicOfTea.com.

 
*Agave nectar is about twice as sweet as sugar, honey and maple syrup.