How to Freeze Asparagus

By some great stroke of luck, I ended up with 7-8 pounds of Michigan asparagus this year. I brought home the first 4 pounds after a May visit with my family in Indiana. Our little family enjoyed it in salads and stir-fries, grilled, and steamed. Then my parents came to visit a couple of weekends ago and my mom brought her portion of asparagus that she "just hadn't had time to use". She left it with me, and I decided to freeze it for later (we've eaten a lot of asparagus lately!)

Asparagus freezes well and thaws out just fine for a side dish or use in recipes. Nothing is as good as fresh of course, but when the price of asparagus shoots (Ha ha. Shoots. Get it?) up after the growing season is over, having asparagus in your freezer is a nice, inexpensive asset.

I've been freezing asparagus since my 4-H days when I exhibited it as a Food Preservation project at our county fair. It really is a simple vegetable to preserve. And with a small amount like this 3-4 pounds, it really takes very little time to take it from "fresh to freezer".

You start by heating a large pot of water to boiling for blanching the vegetable. Why blanch? Here's a quick explanation (from my post about freezing sweet corn):

Blanching vegetables destroys enzymes, changes the texture and sets the color. For extended storage, like freezing, destroying the enzymes improves the keeping quality of the vegetables. The same enzyme that causes fruits and vegetables to ripen also cause them to rot. Blanching before freezing is not necessary, but blanched vegetables will look and taste fresher for a longer period of time.

After you put the water on to boil, wash the asparagus to get all of the sand and soil off.

Snap off the "woody" bottoms if there are any, then sort the asparagus into piles by stalk size: small, medium, and large. The reason for sorting by size is that the blanching time varies based on the size of the stalk.

I forgot to take a picture of the blanching step, but here's the break down: You just drop the stalks into the boiling water for the required amount of time.

Large stalks- 4 minutes
Medium stalks- 3 minutes
Small stalks- 2 minutes

Remove the asparagus from the water and quickly drain.

Then drop it into an ice water bath to quickly cool and stop the cooking process.

Once the asparagus has cooled, drain it again.

Then pack the asparagus into labelled (it's always easier to label a bag before filling) freezer bags. I like to fill each bag half-full (because I'm an optimist!) while holding it upright, then lay it down flat, spread out the asparagus, and squeeze out any air before sealing. This creates a product that freezes quickly, hence preventing the formation of large ice crystals.

Freeze the bags flat until solid, then stack them however you please to save space in your freezer.

Note: You could also slice the asparagus into pieces before blanching. Sliced asparagus make for a speedy addition for stir-fry, casseroles and quiches, or soup.

Whether you are growing your own or you find a great deal at the Farmers' Market this season, be sure to put some up for later when the prices "shoot" up!

Our Garden and Summer Squash with Noodles

A dream of mine was realized tonight when we finished planting our first garden. While house hunting last fall, one of our criteria was a lawn big enough for the kids to run and play with room for garden. Well, we moved into our new home in February and now we finally have a garden!

My family raised a big garden every summer. I have many memories of my parents, sisters, and I working together to plant, weed, harvest, and preserve the contents of that garden. There was nothing better than the fresh produce that we hauled out of our garden. And after hours spent canning and freezing, that garden fed our family all year long. Sure, I may have wished that I didn't have to help out once or twice or even  did a little complaining back in those days. But there was definitely a sense of accomplishment when I looked at the jars of vegetables all lined up on our canning shelves and the stacked bags of corn and peas in our freezer at the end of  the growing season. Now I'm looking forward to passing on that sense of pride and acheivement that I realized from growing my own food and also making some new memories with my daughters. 

It took 3 days to create our garden where there had only been grass before, but after planning, tilling, spreading topsoil, planting, and constructing a fence, I am pretty proud of our family's first backyard garden. While there may have been some blood shed, lots of sweat, and a nasty sunburn involved, I'm sure that all of the hard work will just make the fruits of our labor taste even sweeter.

Here it is:

This garden isn't nearly as large as the one I grew up with. It's just 12 X 30 feet. But I think it's a good place to start. I'm hoping to preserve green beans, peas, salsa, pickles, and banana peppers this summer to eat all through next winter.

Here's a shot of the front half of the garden:

You can't tell yet, but in the front I planted leaf lettuce, spinach, radishes, peas, and green beans. Then I put in 18 tomato plants; everything from salsa and canning tomatoes to a couple of heirloom varieties and a cherry tomato plant. Bringing up the rear of this portion of the garden are 5 types of pepper plants- ranging from sweet bell peppers to the hottest one I could find. Oh, and I planted a couple of cabbages too, but they didn't make it into the pictures.

Then there's the back half:

These are all of the vining plants: pickling cucumbers, zucchini, acorn squash, and even some pumpkins. My oldest daughter insisted that we had to plant sunflowers, so they will make up the back border of our garden.

I'm pretty sure that the fence my husband built isn't tall enough to keep the deer out (we have a lot of deer who think that our backyard is their personal pasture), but I'm hoping the mixture of putrefied eggs, dried blood, and garlic oil that I sprayed around fence will deter them. (I bought the mixture- just in case any of you were thinking that I've been drying blood in my food dehydrator and rotting eggs in my garage. Gross!) Wish me luck! I'm so excited about my garden, that if that doesn't work, I may just set up camp out there and attempt scare the critters away all night...

Before I head out of grab my camping gear, I'd like to to share a recipe.

Recently, I threw together a pasta with summer squash. Hopefully, in a couple of months, I can make this with the zucchini from my garden! I had pasta leftover from the Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce I served last week, so I decided to use up the leftovers by tossing them with some sauteed summer squash. It was so simple to make and totally delicious.

I began by heating some olive oil in a skillet. Then I sliced up a zucchini, a yellow squash, and half of a sweet onion. I added them to the oil and sprinkled on some seasoning salt.

Cook until the veggies start to caramelize a bit, turning a nice brown color. 

Then stir in some wide egg noodles and toss them around until incorporated into the mixture and heated through.

Dish it up with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and that's dinner!

Summer Squash with Noodles

1 small to medium firm zucchini
1 small to medium yellow squash
1/2 medium sweet onion
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
seasoning salt
1 cup wide egg noodles, prepared according to package directions
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, for topping

Heat oil in a large skillet with sides. Add sliced zucchini, yellow squash, and onion. Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Saute until the vegetables begin to brown and are tender. Toss with cooked noodles and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Since I spent the weekend working out in the lawn and garden, I didn't have time to come up with a meal plan. Here are some upcoming posts to look for on Krista's Kitchen:

How to Freeze Asparagus

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

Thai Shrimp Curry

I hope that you are all enjoying the first days of June!

Spectacular Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce

I found this super-hearty, intensely-flavored, crock pot pasta sauce in the April/May edition of Taste of Home magazine.

Most crock pot recipes are simple "dump and cover" recipes. This one is a little different. It requires chopping and browning and lots of ingredients. While this sauce is not the typical, no-fuss, crock pot recipe the result is SO worth it! It's my new favorite spaghetti/pasta sauce recipe.

The recipe begins by browning bulk Italian sausage and ground beef (I used ground turkey) with onion, celery,  green pepper (which I omitted because I didn't have one) and garlic.

In between breaking up and stirring the browning meat, I readied the other ingredients. I began by measuring out the sun-dried tomatoes. I happen to really love sun-dried tomatoes. Traditionally, I stir them into cream sauces to intensify the overall flavor of a dish. This was the first time that I have used sun-dried tomatoes in a tomato-based sauce. I partially attribute the use of sun-dried tomatoes (and the addition of tomato paste) to the thick, concentrated tomato flavor that this sauce provides. You need 1 cup of the wrinkly, sun-tanned "fruits", not packed in oil. (Bonus: sun-dried tomatoes are less expensive when purchased this way).

I added the sun-dried tomatoes, (snipped into little pieces with kitchen scissors), minced fresh parsley, rosemary, a bay leaf, salt, and pepper to the bottom of my crock pot.

After adding the sausage mixture to the sun-dried tomatoes and herbs, I also dumped in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chopped marinated artichoke hearts.

*The recipe calls for 3 cans of diced tomatoes. Usually I keep my pantry stocked with diced tomatoes as they are such a recipe staple. However, when it came time to assemble this recipe, I could only find one can of "plain" diced tomatoes. Not in the mood to run to the store, I substituted a can of mild Rotel diced tomatoes (with green chilies) for one of the missing cans, then I measured an equal amount of prepared spaghetti sauce (also from a jar) to replace the final can. So my recipe would read: I can diced tomatoes, 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies and 1-14.5 oz can of spaghetti sauce.

I also substituted plain tomato paste for the recommended Italian tomato paste. I added a teaspoon or more of Italian seasoning from my spice rack to make up for the missing Italian flavor in the tomato paste.

When all of the ingredients were stirred together in the crock pot, the recipe instructed to put on the lid and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. Mine did NOT cook for this long. At around 6 hours, I checked on the sauce and realized that it was burning at the bottom and around the edges. And not just a little bit...parts of the sauce were black and stuck to the bottom of my slow cooker. I turned off the crock pot and scraped the bulk of the sauce away from the burned parts (discarding the charred stuff, of course). When it was time to serve dinner, I simply re-heated the sauce. From my experience, every slow cooker is a little bit different (for instance, mine always cooks a little bit fast), so if it's possible, check your sauce around the 4-5 hour mark. 

This makes a super thick sauce (as you can probably tell from the picture below). Nothing at all like spaghetti sauce from the jar...

Because the sauce was so thick and rich, I decided to give it a larger surface to stick to. I went with a wide egg noodle instead of spaghetti. The big noodles provided more surface area to accommodate the hearty sauce...

Before serving, I sprinkled mine with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Honestly, the flavor of this sauce is so satisfying, it does not need the aid of cheese. But I'm a creature of habit...

Here's a shot that I took after I "trashed" my pasta by tossing it around with the sauce and had taken a few bites. The robust sauce clings to each noodle and is certainly "hearty". It definitely doesn't leave you wanting for anything more, including flavor and/or substance. This is a pasta sauce that will fill you up and leave you completely satisfied. Unlike many of the watery spaghetti sauces from a jar (where you feel like you can still eat dessert after or crave a snack a few hours later)...this sauce is sure to carry you through til' breakfast the next day!

This recipe made more than enough for my family of 4 (with 2 small children). I froze half for another meal and we still had leftovers!

Meaty Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce from Taste of Home12 Servings Prep: 35 min. Cook: 8 hours

Ingredients
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
1/2 pound ground beef
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (6 ounces) Italian tomato paste
1 jar (7-1/2 ounces) marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), chopped
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

•In a large skillet, cook the sausage, beef, onion, green pepper,
celery and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink;
drain. Transfer to a 4-qt. slow cooker.

•Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10
hours. Discard bay leaf. Yield: 12 servings (2-1/4 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 3/4 cup equals 180 calories, 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 27 mg cholesterol, 708 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 1 high-fat meat, 1/2 fat.

My adaptations:

* I omitted the green pepper because 1) I didn't have any AND 2) Although I enjoy their flavor, green peppers always give me "tummy trouble".

* I subbed 1/2 lb. ground turkey for the ground beef because I already had some browned that needed to be used up. If you really want to lighten up this recipe, try Italian turkey sausage too. Turkey sausage is a great way to substitute turkey for beef, because it is so seasoned that no one seems to mind (or notice) the difference.

*Rather than chop the sun-dried tomatoes, I snipped them into little pieces with my kitchen scissors. (It was faster and easier!)

* I only had 1 can of diced tomatoes, so I used "Mild" Rotel tomatoes with diced green chilies and prepared spaghetti sauce from a jar to make up for the other 2 cans.

* I didn't have any "Italian" tomato paste in my pantry, so I used regular tomato paste and then added in some Italian blend seasoning from my spice rack.

Where I've Been All Weekend plus Texas Sheet Cake and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

I was flattered when Julie from The Sporadic Cook wrote me last week to ask if I would be the featured "7 Sporadic Questions" blogger this month. When I have time to read other blogs (which never seems to happen lately), The Sporadic Cook is one of the blogs I always visit. I love the honesty in her posts and of course, all of the delicious recipes. One of the questions that she sent to me was "When you think of your childhood, do any favorite dishes come to mind?"

Julie's email came just as I was planning the menu for our Memorial Day cookout. It inspired me to plan a menu that mimicked the cookout food that I ate at the cookouts and summer parties my parents hosted when I was young. My parents enjoy entertaining as much as I do and our house was always a flurry of activity. I used to love those get-togethers. Used to? Okay, I still love to go home for a cookout on the farm.

The menu came together quickly in my mind. Of course there would be burgers, brats, and hot dogs with all of the fixings. As for sides, nothing says summer to me like corn on the cob. It's finally readily available (for a good price) at my local supermarket. So I boiled a couple dozen ears and put out butter and salt for guests to season as they pleased. Then, there is my all-time favorite pasta salad, simply named Rotini Salad after the type of noodle used. Finally, for dessert, homemade ice cream and Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake.

Sheet cake and homemade ice cream were the dessert staple at almost every summer gathering of my childhood. (Sheet cake, ice cream, and/or STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE, that is. But the shortcake really deserves a whole post of it's own) The sound of our ice cream maker motor grinding away over the wooden bucket on our back porch while my sisters, cousins, and neighborhood friends ran around screaming and laughing in the background is definitely on the playlist of the soundtrack of my youth.

Since my parents were on their way over for a weekend visit, I thought that the sheet cake/ice cream combination would be the perfect dessert to serve in their honor. While I'm on the subject of my parents, I want to give them a shout-out and a BIG thank you for all of their hard work last weekend. They arrived with a truck load of tools, equipment, plants, and my 5-year old nephew sometime after midnight on Friday night. On Saturday morning we began an intense 2-day yardwork session on our new lawn. Our new home sits on an acre of land and includes many flower beds, brick walkways, koi ponds, and tons of trees. We moved here in February when everything was covered with snow. We thought that we had an idea of what we were in for this summer... Ha! I am thankful for a big, beautiful lawn, but it IS labor-intensive!
 
Now that the spring rain has fallen (we had rain, rain, and then MORE RAIN here in Ohio) and the temperatures have finally heated up, the landscaping, (seemingly neglected while the house was on the market) was turning into a jungle! I had cleared away a crazy amount of dead "stuff", trimmed back the shrubs, drained and dredged the koi ponds, and planted flowers in the weeks leading up to my parent's visit. Still, the property needed some serious TLC.  With my parents working side-by-side from morning until after dark for 2 days straight with my husband and I, the lawn finally underwent a noticeable transformation. Trees were trimmed and cleared, our front fountain is now running, the deck has been power washed, you can finally see the beautiful brick walkway around the house, gutters are cleaned, the outdoor lighting is now up and running, and the flower beds are weeded, organized, mulched and actually look like landscaping rather than an overgrown jungle. Sure, there is still a ton of work to be done with the ponds, our garden, and the beds at the back of the yard. But around the house it truly looks like the "after" shot on an HGTV program. (I really wish that I had taken "before" pictures). Hooray!  So a BIG thank you to my mom and dad. Mom, I really am sorry about that wicked case of poison ivy that you took home with you (I'm suffering right along with her on that one! I am the Calamine queen today.). And Dad, I am sorry about your back. Hopefully you both recover soon. : )  Next time I promise we will just go sight-seeing, do some shopping, and maybe go to a movie. Love you guys!
 
By the time that our cookout with old and new neighbors rolled around on Sunday night, we were almost too tired to party. Almost. In the end, we had a lovely evening. Lots of friends and food and the kiddos had a blast playing together in the backyard. We topped off dinner with the desserts of my childhood: Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream sundaes. Then we finished the night with a second round of dessert by the fire with some S'mores. It was everything a Memorial Day Cookout should be and it certainly reminded me of those summer parties from my youth.
 
I didn't take any step-by-step photos while preparing the recipes, but here are a few that I did take the time to snap before diving into my own dessert.  It was dark by the time that I got around to taking most of these, so I apologize for the picture quality.
 
Here are my parents, baby-sitting the ice cream freezer while my youngest looks on. I love that I get to pass on this tradition to my children!
 

Here's a picture of the "soft serve" ice cream in the bottom of our ice cream maker.

I remembered to take a pic of the sheet cake after I'd already begun serving it. I like mine sprinkled with chopped pecans, but I only sprinkle them over half, out of respect for my anti-nut guests and the kiddos.

The sheet cake is the base for my ice cream sundae. I put a piece in the bottom of a bowl.

Then top with ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, more chopped nuts (dry roasted peanuts) and a cherry, of course!

Here are the recipes:

Mom's Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks butter
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Heat the butter in a sauce pan. Stir in cocoa powder and hot water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, combine the buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda. Add the cocoa mixture to the flour and sugar and stir until combined. Stir in the buttermilk mixture. Add a tablespoon of vanilla. Pour into a greased jelly roll pan or a large cookie sheet with sides. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until the center tests done. Cool on a rack.

Icing:

1 stick butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 tablespoons milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Bring the butter, cocoa powder, and milk to a low boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, then the vanilla. Pour over the warm cake and spread. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.

Tips:
* Begin making the icing when the cake comes out of the oven. By the time the icing is ready, the cake will be cool enough to ice. You don't want the cake piping hot, but you don't want it completely cooled either. The icing spreads more readily if the cake is still warm.

* Don't walk away from the frosting when boiling the butter, cocoa, and milk. You don't want to burn it!

*Add more powdered sugar, if needed. The icing should not be too thin, but it should fall reading from a spoon or be a pouring consistency.

* Cool the cake before cutting and serving.

Here is the recipe that my mom adapted from The Amish Cookbook titled:

Dairy Queen Ice Cream

For a 1-1/2 gallon ice cream freezer

2 quarts milk, scalded (I used whole milk)
4 packets Knox gelatin
3-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 can evaporated milk
3-5 tablespoons vanilla extract

Soften the gelatin in 1/2 cup hot water. Scald milk by bring it to almost a boil. (This can be done in the microwave.) Whisk the softened gelatin into the milk. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Cool. Add in the cream, evaporated milk and vanilla. Chill for 5-6 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

Tip:
Whisk the hot water into the gelatin to soften, making sure that there are no lumps, then let it sit while you scald the milk. Thoroughly whisk the gelatin into the milk, again, making sure that there are no lumps.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful long weekend!

Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chile

I returned from my last trip to Indiana with a stack of my mom's cooking magazines (she saves her subscriptions for me after she reads them...or doesn't have time to read them) and 4 lbs. of asparagus that my uncle brought back from a trip to Michigan. This was perfect timing, because most of the spring edition magazines feature recipes with asparagus, like this yummy pork stir-fry that I found in the April issue of Bon Appetit.

As for the rest of the asparagus, we've steamed it for a side dishes, blanched and chilled it for a snack, and I even found a cool idea for shaving raw asparagus with a vegetable peeler and making it into a salad. I've made 2 salads this way and have not remembered to take a picture, so if you're a fan of asparagus, definitely check out the link. It was delicious! I really thought that I would freeze some of the asparagus for later, but we have eaten our way through that 4 pound bag pretty quickly. I have just a handful left that I'm saving to grill over the weekend. 

How do YOU like to eat asparagus?

While  you think about your answers, let's take a look at the Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chile... 

First, I diagonally sliced about 12 oz. of asparagus into 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces.

While I was in "chopping mode", I went ahead and minced a jalapeno pepper, mashed some ginger, and sliced a couple of green onions. When you're making a stir-fry it's nice to have all of the ingredients ready to toss in...

The recipe called for 12 oz. of ground pork (preferably coarsely ground). I didn't have any ground pork. What I did have was a 1 lb. piece of pork loin.

I cut it up into little pieces and tossed it with a tablespoon of soy sauce, a tablespoon of rice vinegar, and tablespoon of cornstarch.

With all of the ingredients chopped and ready to go, I fired up the stove and heated a couple teaspoons of toasted sesame oil in a skillet. Then I added in the asparagus, pepper, and ginger. Toss for a few minutes until the asparagus is tender-crisp. Then remove the veggies from the skillet.

Heat another teaspoon of sesame oil in the same skillet and add the pork. Stir fry for a few minutes until the pork is browned.

Add the veggies back into the skillet and then pour on the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey. Stir-fry a little longer, until the pork is cooked through. Toss in the green onions and salt and pepper (if needed) to finish.

I served mine over rice. As a fan of stir-fry,  I'd definitely make this one again!

The jalapeno that I used was surprisingly hot. It made the stir-fry too spicy for our daughters to enjoy. Luckily I had extra asparagus, so I steamed a batch their dinner. Here's a picture of one of the half-eaten asparagus and rice dinners that I served to the kiddos. It totally makes me happy that they love asparagus too!

* Asparagus makes for great finger food for kiddos. If they're not sure about it at first, let them dip it in ranch dressing. Once they develop a taste for a new vegetable, they might enjoy it without the aid of condiments down the road. It's all about setting up healthy habits for the future!

Here's the recipe:

Spicy Pork with Asparagus and Chile from Bon Apettit

Ingredients
•3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
•1 tablespoon Shaoxing Chinese rice wine or dry Sherry
•2 teaspoons cornstarch
•12 ounces ground pork (preferably coarsely ground; sometimes labeled chili-grind)
•3 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
•12 ounces thin to medium asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on extreme diagonal into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces
•1 red jalapeño chile, minced with seeds
•1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
•2 tablespoons oyster sauce
•1 teaspoon honey
•2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
•Fine sea salt
Ingredient info: Oyster sauce is available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Preparation:

Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch in medium bowl. Add pork; toss to blend. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in heavy large wok or deep skillet over high heat. Add asparagus, chile, and ginger. Toss until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer asparagus mixture to plate. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to wok. Add pork mixture and stir-fry until browned, using spoon to break up pork into small pieces, 2 to 3 minutes. Return asparagus mixture to wok. Add remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey; stir-fry until pork is cooked through, adding water by tablespoonfuls if dry, about 2 minutes. Add green onions; toss to incorporate. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Nutritional Information
One serving contains:
Calories (kcal) 285.6
%Calories from Fat 57.4
Fat (g) 18.4
Saturated Fat (g) 6.0
Cholesterol (mg) 66.6
Carbohydrates (g) 9.0
Dietary Fiber (g) 2.0
Total Sugars (g) 4.4
Net Carbs (g) 6.9
Protein (g) 21.4
Sodium (mg) 1287.7