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There Will Be Pickles

refrigerator pickles

While I can honestly say that while my freezer isn’t absolutely stuffed full of fruit and vegetables for the winter it is getting chaotically crowded. I’ve spent a few hours each week throughout the summer months preparing green beans, zucchini, peaches, strawberries, blueberries…etc. for the freezer. You may recall my epic tomato canning adventure last year and do I regret that I’ve not yet had the chance to repeat it…perhaps I’ll get a few done this weekend.

Last weekend I made refrigerator pickles, which I love because they’re not processed in a canner so they retain their color, crispness, and flavor. Typically I try to let them sit in the frig for at least two weeks before I pop one open for snacking…but I admit it’s difficult to wait…they are that good. Once they’re opened I usually try to eat them within two weeks. The cool thing about these pickles is even though they aren’t canned, the hot pickling brine creates a vacuum seal as it cools thus allowing these pickles a long life in the cold refrigerator. Not that they’ve ever lasted past the year-end holidays.

Refrigerator Pickles (makes two quarts)
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Pickling Brine
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
2 – 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup sugar
Allspice, whole. 4-6
cloves, whole, 2-6

Vegetables to Pickle
Beets, cooked whole, peeled, and slice
Green beans, washed, heads snapped off
Zucchini, washed and sliced

Seasoning Vegetables
1 onion, sliced and then separated
1 -4 jalapeño peppers

2 one quart canning jars with lids

Put all the ingredients for the pickling brine into a pan and heat to a boil. The quantity of garlic, allspice, and cloves is up to you. If you like big flavors add more, if you have a shy palate perhaps you might like less.

Prepare the vegetables your using and then arrange them in the jars, alternating layers of the vegetable with the onions and the jalapeños filling the jar to the top. Pour the hot pickle brine into the jars. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 7 to 14 days before serving.

September 9, 2008 | Filed Under Local, canning and preserving, food, low carb, low cal, quick and easy, recipe, vegetable | 7 Comments 

Be my baby bok choy

bok choy

Remember those green beans I put in the freezer last summer? The technique of freezing them fresh without blanching them first was absolute perfection. But alas, those beans are gone and I’m in need of something green. I grabbed some bok choy at the Co-op and it was flavorful and delicious…stir-fried with garlic, tons of ginger, a dash each of rice wine, soy sauce, and chili oil.

What are you eating for vegetables?

February 25, 2008 | Filed Under Wisconsin, canning and preserving, food, ginger, low carb, low cal, quick and easy, recipe, vegetable | 6 Comments 

Seeing red

tomatoes, canning tomatoes

I purchased 140 pounds of roma tomatoes and yesterday I processed them into 80 quarts of ground tomatoes and tomato halves to be used over the next year. Alex helped by riding with me to get the tomatoes and then loading and unloading them in and out of the van. GH helped me round up my supplies and made an emergency trip to the hardware store for canning domes. Powered by extra espresso and a well loaded iPod I managed to make short work of these babies and finished the job in 6 hours.

tomatoes, canning tomatoes

For those of you that haven’t canned tomatoes and are curious I’ll give you a quick overview of my technique*.

  1. Load dishwasher with jars and lids and run on the sanitize cycle with heated dry.
  2. Wash the tomatoes.
  3. Cut their heads off.
  4. If processing as ground tomatoes run them through the food processor, skin and all. Fill jars. Add a dash of lemon juice and salt.
  5. If processing as half tomatoes, cut them in half and stuff them into the jars and top off with a mixture of water, salt, and lemon juice.
  6. Clean the rims of the jars and place a hot dome lid on top of each. Screw on the ring.
  7. Using a steam canner load 7 jars in and bring to boil.
  8. Once you’ve got a good boil, set the timer for 30 minutes.
  9. When the timer goes off remove the jars, refill canner and process another batch.

*NOTE: my technique is not similar to the USDA or FDA methods or recommendations…I’ve done it this way for years with great success.

September 2, 2007 | Filed Under Local, canning and preserving, ethical eating, favorite products, food, food storage tips, fruit and nuts, humor, instruction, surveys, vegetable | 11 Comments