Refrigerator Pickles

Look at this. It’s the last day in July. I can’t even.
This summer got away from me in a flurry of summer storms, and random illnesses, old house issues, and remodel projects. Blogging had to take a necessary backseat to survival for a little bit. But look! Here are some pickles. The world is feeling right again.

Women have been preserving fruits and veggies and meats and all manner of foods for decades. They learned from their mothers who learned from their mothers, and as a result, some of us were lucky enough to have mothers who canned. But the rest of us have had to try and pick it up on our own here and there, throwing in heathy doses of apprehension along the way. What if I do it wrong? What if I poison my family? What if I break jars while boiling them and get glass in everything?
Enter Refrigerator Pickles.

Refrigerator pickles are one of those preserving miracles that feel a little like cheating. Canning without canning! It’s awesome. It’s also a great place to start if you’re new to preserving and nervous about the process. No boiling jars, no bacteria fears, and yet, boom. Preserving!

I have a crazy batch of cucumbers in my garden this year and they produce the most adorable little cucumbers. But they are very seedy. I hate seedy pickles. So instead of slicing my cucumbers or even chipping them, I cut them in half, scooped out the seeds, and sliced them up. Feel free to experiment a little when contriving pickling recipes. I like garlic dill with a hint of sweetness, but not sweet like bread-and-butter pickles. This recipe reflects my preferences. Try it and then adjust to your own likes and dislikes!

I started with a dozen cucumbers, 6″ to 9″ inches in length. Once sliced, they filled five quart jars. The brine recipe is built for five jars of pickles, so adjust accordingly if you have more cucumbers.

 

REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

12 cucumbers, 6″ to 9″ inches in length.
4 cups of water
2 cups white vinegar
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
Garlic (enough for 2-3 cloves per jar, or a heaping teaspoon of diced garlic per jar)
Big bunch of dill
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds per jar
1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns per jar

In a saucepan, boil 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water, salt and sugar until they dissolve. Remove from heat and add the remaining water and vinegar—preferably cold so as to cool the boiled mixture down to room temp. If the brine goes into the jars over the cucumbers hot, they will get soft instead of staying firm and crunchy in your fridge.

Fill each jar equally with cucumber spears, or chips, or slices—whichever cut you prefer. Don’t pack them too tightly as the breathing room will make the pickling process more effective. To each jar add garlic, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and several heads of dill. Just cram them right down in the jar with the cucumbers. Don’t worry about looks here. It’s more about making everything fit. Fill the jar with the brine (cooled to room temp) until the cucumbers are just covered. Tightly cover with either a plastic lid or a metal canning jar lid and band, and gently shake to distribute the dill, mustard and peppercorns. Repeat with each jar and then refrigerate for at least 7 days before opening a jar to sample.
The pickles will keep in your refrigerator for four to five weeks.
Enjoy!

 

 

 

corn salsa with cilantro

Summer is about being outside. Because around here, winter lasts for like nine months. Not even kidding. So when it warms up, we go out. We cook outside, work outside, play outside, sleep outside, and eat outside. Grilling becomes second nature and any side dish that pairs with the dark earthy taste of charbroil, makes for happy tastebuds.
This corn salsa makes for especially emotive tastebuds. Because cilantro.
Cilantro, to me, takes like summer. Fresh, clean, bright. The more the merrier!
This salsa can be paired with a bowl of tortilla chips or served all on it’s own as a side salad.
Enjoy!

CORN SALSA WITH  CILANTRO

2 15oz cans of yellow corn, drained
1/2 red onion, diced
2 sweet red peppers, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, diced
1/4 cup lemon juice (or lime!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

In a large mixing bowl gently blend the corn, onions, peppers, black beans, and cilantro. A soft spatula works best—you don’t want to smash the beans and corn together. Set aside.
Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a small dish or dressing jar, and then drizzle over the corn mixture. Stir well to coat and then refrigerate before serving.

 

making butter

So this isn’t really a recipe post as much as a reflection post . . . because one doesn’t really need a recipe for making butter.
To make butter: Pour whole cream into a bowl, add a dash of salt, whip the daylights out of it, and presto: Butter.

But the actual act of making butter connects you to something else. Something beautiful and nourishing and transformational. Is that an exaggeration? I don’t know. But making butter, for me, feels like all of those things.

As I sit on the counter, watching my stand mixer do the work housewives before me grew blisters for, I marvel at their tenacity. Their determination to do something good for their people. And gratitude is the only word I can think of. I’m thankful for them. For these women, all of them, who came before me to make the world what it continues to become. I’m thankful they cared enough about their people to do the work, day after day. To nourish and feed and love and build life out of nothing. Do to transformational work—in the kitchen and out. I think it fair to call butter making an allegorical act. A work that tells a story. In making butter, one useful nourishing thing is changed into another useful nourishing thing. And isn’t that what it is, to parent and cook? To wife and partner? To work and build and grow? We change ourselves, and those around us, with small daily acts, from one thing into another.

So as you go about this week, take a minute. Pause. Remember. You’re making butter. In and out of the kitchen. As men and women ages before you have done. The unseen, blister-growing, heart work that transforms lives. Well done. Churn on.

easy egg-drop soup

Sometimes you need a bowl of soup. A quick one.
But soup is notorious (or is nefarious a better word?) for being best when cooked for all the hours over low heat.
Whatever.
I don’t have time for that when I’m hangry. (My auto-correct keeps trying to change that to “hungry” but I really do mean hangry).

So here you go. A soup that takes literally five minutes, one sauce pan, and an egg to whip up. “Easy” seems too descriptive a word. But “tasty?” Now that word doesn’t even come close.

Enjoy.

EASY EGG-DROP SOUP

 In a saucepan heat 2 cups of chicken stock to boiling. Add a dash of salt. Turn burner off.
In a small bowl, whisk 1 egg until frothy and then gently and slowly pour the egg into the hot (but no longer boiling) stock. stir gently with a soft spatula and then let sit for three minutes. Serve topped with diced scallions or other favorite herb blend.

making steak

I love a good steak. I don’t eat a ton of red meat, but sometimes I crave a steak like whoa.

I have been around the block searching for the perfect cut/brand. I’ve made and have eaten a lot of organic grass-fed steaks prepared in many MANY different ways. I’ve worked with local butcher shops and grocery store meat departments, and I’ve worked with farmers and hunters, all in an effort to find a consistently good, reasonably priced steak—beef, bison, venison, or elk.

My goal has been to find a cut/brand of meat I can return to and always end up with a fork-tender, juicy steak on my plate at the end of the night. You’d be surprised how difficult this is! *feigns fatigue* It’s a tough job but someone has to do it.

I am happy to report that I’ve finally stumbled upon a consistently good steak. Please note, this is not an affiliate post. I’m gaining absolutely nothing in mentioning brand names here. This is for sharing purposes only: When you find a good thing, don’t keep it to yourself, right? So here goes.

No Name Steaks. Petite cut.

I know. I know. Your eyebrows are furrowed. Frozen steaks that come in a box? Really?
Really.
Guys, I’m picky. I like my steaks rare/med-rare and it can’t taste old or gamey. I don’t want stringy or mealy meat. I need to be able to cut it with a fork or slice it super thin without having it fall apart. I’ve taken time to arrive at this decision, I’ve cooked and served exclusively No Name steaks for over a year now as I have come to this decision, and I don’t share it lightly. So there you go! They are found in almost every grocery store across the country.

On to the recipe!

The methods for preparing a steak are endless and if you google “steak” you’ll come up with enough reading material to last you the rest of your life. So forgive the addition to the glut, but if you’re looking for a totally basic, perfect-every-time, weekday-steak cooking method, this is it.

Start with a hot skillet.
When cooking meat, cast iron wins every time. Melt one tablespoon clarified butter in the bottom of the pan and coat evenly. You’re going to sear your steak, but you don’t want it sticking to the pan. If you like garlic or onions on your meat, now’s the time to throw some in the pan. They can cook right along with your meat.

Once the pan is hot (medium-high) lay your cuts in the bottom of the pan and let them sear (bubbling and hissing against the pan) for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Then with a tongs, turn and sear the other side. Again, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I like my steak rare/med-rare, which means the inside of the steak is still red and juicy, but hot. This takes about 4 minutes per side. My husband likes his a little more done. about 5 minutes per side. However you like your steak, it’s going to be a personal preference thing and you’ll have to figure out exactly the time it takes, per side, to cook your steak to your liking. You can cut into your cooking steak to examine the color/doneness of the meat while it cooks and determine what works best for you.
And here is a rough guide (from howtocookasteak.com) that will also help.

When your meat is cooked to the desired amount of doneness, remove it from the pan, set it on a cutting board and allow it it sit for 5-8 minutes, resting and redistributing the juices. This is the perfect time to sear a few vegetables (in the same pan you just cooked your steak—yay cooking juices!) or cook a soft egg to throw on top of or beside your steak.

Steak is mostly about preference. So experiment, have fun, and enjoy!

vegetarian chili

Everyone has that one recipe that tastes like it took hours of prep work and days over the stove to bring to fruition. This is one of those . . . bonus: it makes a TON of food, so it’s perfect for that church potluck, family dinner, neighborhood get-together, or football party. FYI: Even though it tastes homemade, absolutely everything in this recipe (if you so choose) comes out of a can. (You can totally soak and cook all of your own beans, use frozen corn or corn from your garden, and stewed/roasted fresh tomatoes, if you’d rather. And admittedly, that would be a healthier route). It’s completely up to you!
If you like a little protein in your chili, brown up some spicy Italian sausage, burger, diced steak, chicken, or tofu, and toss it in the mix.
Enjoy!

VEGETARIAN CHILI

2 cans black beans
2 cans chili beans
2 cans whole-kernel corn
1 can baked beans
3 cans diced, fire-roasted tomatoes
1 jar of salsa
3 cups vegetable broth

Over medium heat, empty all the cans and broth into a large soup pot, stir and heat through. Allow to cook on low for an hour or so to incorporate all the flavors. Adjust spice to your liking with pepper/chili pepper/salt/fresh garlic.
Serve hot with grated cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt, and diced scallions.

 

 

cheddar, garlic, and dill biscuits

Savory bread is the bomb.
I know people don’t say the bomb anymore, but it really is.
Honestly, I don’t even know what people say anymore. I’m getting old. (Please enlighten me, Internet).
Anyway.
These biscuits are savory and cheesy and delicious and EASY to whip up. Even in the wild rumpus of dinner-making madness. Also, they pair perfectly with Fire-Roasted Cream-Of-Tomato Soup or Roasted Acorn Squash Soup. Either one. Both. NOMNOM. The bomb.
Sorry.
I’m old.

CHEDDAR GARLIC AND DILL BISCUTS

This is one of those recipes that works best with a few extra tools, though they aren’t necessary. If you have a stand mixer, definitely use it. It will save your arms. Also one of those nifty scoops. What do you call these, even?

 They release the dough which is soft and super-sticky, in a nice neat dollop on your baking pan. —I like as little as mess as possible.

1 cup butter, softened
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon dill weed
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 3/4 cup flour
1 3/4 cup whole milk

In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, blend dry ingredients and cut in softened butter until well incorporated. Add milk and mix vigorously until a very soft dough forms and all of the dry ingredients are completely blended.

Scoop dough in roughly two-inch sized dollops onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown across the top.

Keep in an air-tight container as they will dry out quickly.