With a knowing nod to Halloween, this week’s intended drink was The Zombie, a cocktail that reportedly rose to fame at the 1939 World’s Fair. It has everything we need: it’s historical, it involves a ridiculous amount of rum, and it’s garnished with real fruit so it’s, um, healthy.

Unfortunately, poor planning on my part paired with a never-before-heard-of ingredient (falernum, anyone?) resulted in shelving The Zombie until next year. Plus, we should give our livers a break, shouldn’t we?

In house building news:

The city started work on moving the sewer pipe. A voicemail from an elated neighbor with play-by-play commentary of big trucks delivering big pipe, followed by seeing real evidence of stuff gettin’ done made for a lovely start to the week – but then it rained and it rained some more and then the rain stopped but the work site was too muddy to continue digging and progress came to a stand-still so our excitement was short-lived. It seems this is the rhythm of building a house. It’s probably best to hunker down and ride the ebbs and flows to avoid more seasickness.

You know what else made me queasy this week? Reports that a hot sauce plant in California might close after complaints of noxious odor and burning nostrils by local residents. My Facebook news feed was full of gasps and woe and panic, which is understandable considering Huy Fong’s Sriracha is practically life-sustaining.

A judge recently ruled to allow the plant to continue operating through a November 22 hearing, so with the fate of the plant still in question for a few more weeks, I’d like introduce to you a way to make your own if something dire happens at that hearing.

Last year, the brains behind Reclaiming Provincial posted a recipe that rivals Sriracha and it’s worth bookmarking for future need. Fair warning – the main ingredient for this recipe, red jalapeño, is almost as elusive as falernum. This hot sauce recipe also requires fermentation, which sets it apart from other Sriracha-like recipes floating around the web. It takes a bit longer to make than those other recipes, but the aroma that fills your home as it’s doing its work is well worth the extra step.

Click here for the homemade Sriracha recipe.

The only change my family made to the original recipe is the vinegar used. White distilled vinegar, which the recipe calls for, is great and it results in a light and bright flavor, but we’ve found we prefer champagne vinegar (apple cider and white balsamic were far too heavy and threw the balance off).

Of course there’s no substitute for a big bottle of Huy Fong’s magic, but I’m hopeful you’ll find it comforting to know you can survive the Sriracha Apocalypse if necessary. Zombies not included.

The plan was to feature a different pet on the label of each batch, but most of our dogs are afflicted with a dire case of “Miley Cyrus tongue” so our cat, Taco, has been the face of our homemade Sriracha for the last two years. Plus, our shorthand name for this stuff is Taco Sauce, which sounds a heckuva lot better than Lewis Sauce, or Polly Jean Sauce.