The inlaws were over for a visit this weekend. We wanted to bring them someplace special. We loaded up the Chilemobile and headed to the City. We brought them to “Ferrry Plaza’ in San Francisco, California. The ‘Ferry Plaza’ is a World Class Food Destination. There is a farmers market, food shops, restaurants, and anything your heart desires that is food-related. It is a Disneyland for Foodies. Ms. Goofy and I frequent the market at least once a month. There is so much to see and so much to buy! We arrived at the market at 9:00am, and it was already getting pretty crowded. We walked by the Rancho Gordo booth and a Hot Sauce grabbed my eye.

I am no stranger to Hot Sauces. I grow numerous varieties of peppers. This year, I will be attempting to grow the Bhut Jolokia. It is a pepper from India that is 5 times hotter than a Habanero. I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I may make pepper spray to repel elephants. Ms. Goofy and I have attended several Hot Sauce Conventions. I have to have a chile fix daily. When I see a unusual or different sauce, I will have to try it. Rancho Gordo makes quality products so this purchase was a no-brainer.

The first thing I noticed about this sauce was that it had separated. A quick shake of the bottle took care of this. I poured some sauce in a spoon and gave it a quick smell. I smelled cinnamon and cloves. The sauce was not very thick. You could see chile pulp and seeds. I gave it a taste. I tasted cinnamon and cloves with just a little heat (my heat tolerance is pretty high, so a little heat probably would register medium for a novice.)  The bottle lists: Chiles, Vinegar, Spices and Salt. The vinegar taste was faint. I would guess there might have been a little cumin in there somewhere. Rancho Gordo’s web site says this sauce is made from the deArbol chile.

I liked this sauce. It was a little unique because of the cinnamon and clove taste. The heat level was low to medium. I had some with some chicken and rice, and it complemented my meal. I will purchase this sauce again.

Do you have an Uncle Ben? We all have a favorite Uncle that has a secret recipe or way of cooking. Does he share his secrets with you without having to kill you? Well I am trying a box of rice from my ‘Corporate Uncle Ben.’ He has released two new recipes. They are boxed rice and spices all in one. You only have to follow the intructions for perfect rice.

I got a press release and an opportunity to read all about Uncle Ben’s new rice. The nutrition facts are very healthy! If you are on a Low Fat and/or Cholesterol type of regime, the numbers are impressive. There was no mention of bacon at all. The only thing now is, how does it taste?

Ms. Goofy and I followed the Instructions to a T! We added 2-1/4 cups of water with 1 Tsp butter and let it simmer for 25 minutes. We let it rest for another 10 minutes (not in the instructions).

We were sampling the “Herb Roasted Chicken” flavored rice. Ms. Goofy was not impressed. She said it did not have a lot of flavor and she did not like the texture. It was to chewy for her. She also said the flavor was bland. There was no herb flavor that shined.

What do I think? I grew up on boxed Macaroni and Cheese. I always like convenience foods like this. You can always add stuff to this mix. I was not impressed by the flavor and thought it was bland as well. I think this is a vehicle for kicking up a notch. If it is was on sale, though, I would buy it.