veggies

Pickle Pickle Who’s Got the Pickles?

Some of us adore pickles and some dislike them.  If you are a pickle fan read on.  If not, read anyway as these are far better than the tired flabby canned pickles found at the grocery store.  A good gardening friend gave me this recipe.  It is really easy and rather fun to construct.  Even better is that you can pickle most any veggies. I have tried zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, green peppers and red peppers.  Of course, cucumbers are in there too!

You do need a couple grape leaves.  You might be able to find a neighbor with a grape vine.  I am betting you could use wild grape leaves from a state park or along a country road.   They really add to the authenticity of it so snag a few from somewhere.

Also needed are 3 dill heads (the flowers of a dill plant).  This might be more problematic but if you know a real gardener, aka someone like me, you can beg the dill heads as frankly they are not used much for cooking and I was happy to give some to the friend who gave me this recipe.  Grow your own dill for next summer; it is so easy to do and it does reseed and come back year after year.  Dill is lovely in potato salad and in other salads like my stuffed tomatoes which I plan to blog about later this week!

Refrigerator Pickles

2 cups white vinegar

¼ cup salt, I used kosher salt in mine

4 cups water (I used 3)

¾ cup sugar

3 garlic cloves cut up

3 dill heads

2 grape leaves

Bring the first four ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan and let cool fully.  Put the other three ingredients in the bottom of a gallon jar.  Cut up your veggies and pile in the jar.  Top with the vinegar mixture. Put on the lid. Put in the fridge and let marinate for 3 days before trying it.

I have done pickling cucumbers, short zucchini spears, broken up cauliflower heads, thin slices of white turnip and peppers.  I want to try broccoli next!  Maybe celery?

My grandson Aiden who is almost four clamors for the pickle jar to come out when he eats meals here.  I say, eat your food and you can have some pickles! He gobbles up his food and waits expectantly for me to fish out a pickle or two.

I like how fresh they are and how crunchy the pieces still are. Plus they have no additives or preservatives.  You can keep adding veggies as you use them up.  I think the tough part is fishing them out of the jar.  The other day I lost a fork in there but luckily it didn’t go to the bottom of the jar; a cuke round stopped its descent! Now, go pickle fresh veggies and have some fun with it….

Originally posted by me late last summer 2014.

Pretty Tasty Pickles You Can Make in a Big Jar

Some of us adore pickles and some dislike them.  If you are a pickle fan read on.  If not, read anyway as these are far better than the tired flabby canned pickles found at the grocery store.  A good gardening friend gave me this recipe.  It is really easy and rather fun to construct.  Even better is that you can pickle most any veggies. I have tried zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, green peppers and red peppers.  Of course, cucumbers are in there too!

You do need a couple grape leaves.  You might be able to find a neighbor with a grape vine.  I am betting you could use wild grape leaves from a state park or along a country road.   They really add to the authenticity of it so snag a few from somewhere.

Also needed are 3 dill heads (the flowers of a dill plant).  This might be more problematic but if you know a real gardener, aka someone like me, you can beg the dill heads as frankly they are not used much for cooking and I was happy to give some to the friend who gave me this recipe.  Grow your own dill for next summer; it is so easy to do and it does reseed and come back year after year.  Dill is lovely in potato salad and in other salads like my stuffed tomatoes which I plan to blog about later this week!

Refrigerator Pickles

2 cups white vinegar

¼ cup salt;  I used kosher salt in mine

4 cups water (I used 3 as my jar was slightly smaller than a gallon)

¾ cup sugar

————–

3 garlic cloves cut up

3 dill heads

2 grape leaves

Bring the first four ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan and let cool fully.  Put the other three ingredients in the bottom of a gallon jar.  Cut up your veggies and pile in the jar.  Top with the vinegar mixture. Put on the lid. Put in the fridge and let marinate for 3 days before trying it.

I have used pickling cucumbers, regular cukes, short zucchini spears, broken up cauliflower heads, thin slices of white turnip and pepper strips.  pickle jar  I want to try broccoli next!  Maybe celery?

My grandson who is three and a half clamors for the pickle jar to come out when he eats meals here.  I say, eat your lunch and you can have some pickles! He gobbles up his food and waits expectantly for me to fish out a pickle or two.

I like how fresh they are and how crunchy the pieces still are. Plus they have no additives or preservatives.  Naturally gluten free is important to those of us with celiac or wheat allergies.

You can keep adding veggies as you use them up.  I think the tough part is fishing them out of the jar.  The other day I lost a fork in there but luckily it didn’t go to the bottom of the jar; a cuke round stopped its descent! Now, go pickle fresh veggies and have some fun with it….

Originally posted late in July 2014 but I figured you were ready to make some pickles this summer so I posted it again!

I Be Feeling Sick Chicken Soup!

When you feel ill, like with the flu, a cold, an icky stomach bug, or if you get glutened, you want to eat something warm and soothing.  Something healthy that will stay down and feel happy in your tummy.  Something like homemade chicken soup.  That is where I was at when I made this Oriental chicken soup.  I was gutened by something the day before and still felt not well enough to eat regular food.  So I whipped up a small batch of fresh soup with homemade chicken broth I had leftover from this past weekend. This soup took less than 30 minutes, some of that actively chopping and some just allowing it to cook. Just the ticket when you are under the weather and have no pre-made soup to reheat: whip this up and you are set for several delicious meals.

I suppose you can make this soup with canned broth; be sure it is gluten free if you have celiac disease like I do.  Homemade is going to make it more flavorful but sometimes you just don’t have time to make fresh broth.  And if you don’t like sesame oil leave it out.  The pea pods, onion, ginger, garlic, parsley and celery leaves are very healthy additions and they each add great flavor. Ginger is particularly good if your tummy feels poorly. I often keep a bit of it frozen in a freezer ziplock baggie so it is there for a quick grate into a dish. I like the pad thai noodles; made of rice so they are easier on the tummy than egg noodles.

Don’t freak out if you only have one carrot or don’t want as much of any ingredient; make it your way.  I sometimes fail to measure as I make soup so some of these ingredients are a bit fluid.  As a young adult I would ask my mom to give me her recipes and got very frustrated by her un-measuring way of cooking.  These days I estimate or eyeball some ingredients.  Use your good judgment and what you have on hand in your pantry/fridge.

If you don’t want meat in it; leave it out. If I am really ill I do that; easier to digest without that protein. You could buy a rotisserie chicken but if you are gf; check the labeling; not many stores make gf rotisserie chicken. I used leftover roasted chicken breast from a family supper. Roasted chicken has a lot of flavor compared to steamed or poached.

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Angie’s I Be Sick Chicken Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

2 carrots, washed but unpeeled, sliced into rounds

2 celery stalks diced including the leaves; separate them from stalks

1 garlic clove, peel and mince

About 2-3 tsp coarsely grated fresh or frozen ginger

1 quart of chicken broth

1 tsp. sesame oil

A handful of pad thai rice noodles

½ cup pea pods

½ to 1 tsp. sea salt

1 to 1½ cups diced chicken breast

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan; I used a two quart one.  Add the diced onion and carrots.  Cook the soup, stirring frequently; about 2-3 minutes.  Add the celery stalks and the minced garlic clove, cook approximately 3 more minutes.  Add the broth which you have heated.  Stir and add the fresh ginger and sesame oil.

Heat 1.5 cups of water in a microwave safe container and add the rice noodles.  I like to break them up somewhat or they are a mess to slurp down. Up to you! Let them stand ten minutes while the soup cooks.

Cook the broth and veggies 8 minutes, add the celery leaves and pea pods which you coarsely chopped.  Cook 3 more minutes.  Add sea salt to taste and the chicken breast.  Stir and heat a minute or two.  Taste and adjust the salt. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Pour in bowls.  I topped mine with some pea pod micro greens I grew in a pot at my kitchen windowsill.  Perfect meal when you want to sooth an iffy tummy.