Carolina Sauce Newsletter: It's Raining Saucy Savings!

They say that April showers bring May flowers... Well, it's raining saucy savings here at Carolina Sauce, in April AND May! Check out our newest sauces and use the new coupon code AprilShowers (no space!) to get **7% off ** your product total at the Carolina Sauces online store. This special coupon discount is good on ALL Carolina Sauces products including our newest products and already-reduced sale items, through the end of May (expires at midnight on May 31st, 2012). As always, the AprilShowers coupon doesn't apply to products purchased from other partners, such as BBQ Accessories or Meats/Cheese.

May 1st is right around the corner, which means you'll have another chance to win FREE sauces and seasonings by playing the Crock Pot Game on the Carolina Sauce Company Facebook page!  We post a new game on our Facebook page on the 1st of each month. Simply follow the rules and post your answer, and we'll select a winner each month to receive a free product, gift certificate, or other zesty prize. The next Crock Pot Game will be posted on May 1st, so make sure to "Like" us on Facebook in order to play.  You'll also find additional coupons, special offers and private sales when you click on the "Coupons" tab (with the green dollar sign) on our Facebook page.

April's New Products

 

Everything we've added this month is edible and full of zesty flavor (unlike last month's focus on inedibles like BBQ Accessories and Wood Chips), with a mix of brand-new items and new larger sizes of old favorites:

*Dave's Insanity Private Reserve, 2012 Edition: It's here, it's on sale, and you can save even more with our April coupon! This limited-edition collector's item is individually numbered & signed by Dave, packed in the infamous wooden coffin with yellow caution tape, and made with Ghost peppers, habaneros, tabasco peppers & chile pepper extract for unforgiving heat

*Bone Suckin' Beef Jerky: All-natural USDA beef is hickory-smoked and seasoned with that famous tangy Bone Suckin' flavor for an award-winning high-protein snack that's gluten-free, too

*Deano's Sea Salt Jalapeno Chips: Thinly-sliced jalapenos are specially fried for a crispy crunch and seasoned with sea salt for a savory, spicy-hot and healthier alternative to potato chips

*Melinda's Black Pepper Ketchup: This classic all-natural pepper-spiced ketchup will perk up burgers, fries, scrambled eggs, meatloaf and anything else that could use some grown-up tomato flavor

*El Yucateco Hot Sauce in 8-oz bottles: By popular demand, we now have the larger, 8oz bottles of El Yucateco Green Habanero Salsa Picante and El Yucateco Red Habanero Salsa Picante, classic Mexican hot sauces previously available only in small 4 oz bottles

*Marie Sharp's Hot Sauces in 10-oz bottles: Also by popular demand, we've added the larger, 10-oz bottles of five of the best-selling flavors of Marie Sharp's Caribbean hot sauces from Belize, including the original Marie Sharp's Habanero Hot Sauce, the spicier Marie Sharp's Fiery Habanero Hot Sauce, the super-hot Marie Sharp's Belizean Heat, the exotic Marie Sharp's Nopal Green Habanero Hot Sauce made with prickly-pear cactus, and the ultra-hot Marie Sharp's BEWARE Hot Sauce made from select red habanero mash and capsicum oil for a relentless burn

We'll continue adding new sauces & condiments, including some delicious salsas & unique hot sauces, so you'll want to bookmark our New Products page to watch for new arrivals. We'll also have some great new items for National BBQ Month in May, including steak branding irons, specialty grillers for chicken wings & jalapenos, and more, plus seafood, Mediterranean products, etc.

Zesty Cooking Tips: Garlic & Ginger Pastes, Garam Masala

Indian, Thai and other spicy Asian cuisines often list "ginger paste" and "garlic paste" as ingredients. Instead of buying an expensive jar or tube of these pastes from a specialty store, make your own at home for a lot less money. It's very easy, and you can store the homemade pastes in your refrigerator for a month or in your freezer for much longer. To freeze, I scoop 1-teaspoon portions onto a piece of wax paper and lay flat in my freezer until frozen, then remove the portions into labeled zip-top freezer bags for storage in the freezer.

To make garlic paste, simply blend 4 oz peeled garlic cloves with 1/4 cup water until pureed. For ginger paste, substitute 4 oz peeled & chopped fresh ginger root and use the same ratio & process. You can multiply the amounts to make more, too.

Garam Masala is a classic blend of Indian spices that adds flavor & heat to many dishes. Garam means hot, and Masala means spices. Like curry powder, which is also a blend of different spices, there are many different versions of garam masala. Unlike curry, which is added early in the cooking process, garam masala is usually added at the end of cooking or sprinkled over food as a garnish. Here's a simple Garam Masala blend that uses common spices. Dry-roasting brings out deep rich flavors that will continue to develop over time. Homemade garam masala will keep for several months in an airtight glass jar. Stir into cooked rice, sprinkle over roasted potatoes or season grilled chicken, shrimp or vegetables with garam masala for a zesty change of pace.

Ingredients
8 to 10 dried red chiles of your choice (depending on your heat preference)
2 1-inch sticks of cinnamon
2 small bay leaves (or 1 large)
2 Tbs cumin seeds
2 Tbs coriander seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Dry-roast the chiles, cinnamon sticks & bay leaves in a large, heavy pan (cast-iron is great, DON'T use a non-stick coated pan like Teflon) over medium-low heat until you can start to smell them, about 2 minutes.  Add the remaining spices EXCEPT the ginger and continue to dry-roast, shaking the pan gently from side to side, until the spices darken and become aromatic. Remove from heat, allow to cool a little, then place in a spice grinder. Grind to a fine powder, transfer to a lidded glass jar, add the ginger, cover and shake to mix well.

"Like" Us on Facebook!

If you're not already our Fan on Facebook, you're missing out on exclusive coupons, FREE shipping offers and other special discounts available only to our Facebook fans!  To become a Fan, simply click on this link: Carolina Sauce Facebook Page, and then click the "Like" button.  You can then click on the "coupons" tab to see the current deals.  We also play the monthly Crock Pot Game, post recipes, link to interesting articles & pages about food & cooking, provide product info, share mouthwatering photos, and ask fun Questions where you can cast your vote.  We want to hear from you, too, so please leave us a comment on our Facebook page, and feel free to share your food photos, recipes, BBQ/food blog, and other zesty stuff.


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Zestfully yours,
Gloria