Accidental Ketchup

Last week, I was craving BBQ ribs. I dug up an old recipe, hand-copied by a friend from his Grandma's collection.

I've made the O'Connor family BBQ ribs in the past, with consitently great results. This time, though, I lacked one key ingredient - ketchup. I haven't had ketchup in my pantry for over a year, ever since we switched to salsa to cut down our sugar intake.

So I improvised.

I opened a can of roma tomatoes and started adding my favourite flavours: cloves, ginger, smoked paprika, ground mustard seed. I mixed the concoction with a hand blender and let it simmer until it thickened slightly.

Wow! My accidental ketchup was surprisingly good. The tomatoes were naturally sweet, so I didn't need to add extra sugar. The sauce made a delicious marinade and dipping sauce for the ribs.

I had a jar of leftover sauce for the week. I used it on sandwiches, grilled vegetables, chicken and meatballs.

Sometimes the best recipes are the accidental ones.