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!

 

 

 

carmelized sweet-potato and apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese in a rosemary-buttermilk crust

I’ve been making pie for three days straight trying to get this recipe right, you guys.

First there was the crust. Measurements were off, I overworked the dough and it went flat, too salty, etc . . .

Then once I got the crust right, the filling was wrong. I tried grading the sweet potatoes with the chopped apples but the texture was way off. Plus sweet potatoes are more dense than apples so they cook unevenly. Nasty.

But today, TODAY I GOT IT RIGHT.

 I am so excited about this pie.
It’s just a pie, I know, but in my dream world, when I open a pie shop and farmer’s market, this pie will be on the short and selective menu. That’s how good it is.

Close your eyes for a minute and I’ll take you there. . .

The glass door swings wide and a small brass bell jingles over your head as you cross the threshold. Someone across the room greets you with a smile—a wave maybe—and you instantly feel at home. Your people come here.

The floors are rough planks, comfortable and unpretentious, but the handful of tables are flung with white table cloths. Fresh. Like white linen on laundry day. Rustic chandeliers hang from the pressed-tin ceiling and the generous front windows spill sunshine across the spacious room.

But the smell of the place is what sticks with you. Baked goods. Like Grandma’s kitchen—or maybe your aunt’s. Fresh berry and fruit pies wait under the long glass counter and a chalkboard menu against one of the raw-brick walls assures you the variety isn’t lacking. Three stand out: Rhubarb and current pie with cardamon. Custard pear and raspberry. Caramelized Sweet-Potato Apple with Sharp Cheddar in a Rosemary-Buttermilk crust. You’ll have to think on it. Decisions are hard . . .

Every pie here is made from scratch, the crust mixed up with butter and buttermilk from local dairy farmer’s bounty. The fruit, herbs, and produce that fill the crusts are local and seasonal, and you wonder for a moment if maybe you can just live here. Eat pie forever. The oversized leather chairs in the corner windows would be fine. Add a book, a cup of coffee, and you’ll be just fine, thank you very much . . .
You decide on the Caramelized Sweet-Potato Apple with Sharp Cheddar in a Rosemary-Buttermilk crust. Almost like lunch, right? Pie for lunch. Totally legit. 

Okay. Open your eyes.
I promise to serve your pie warm when you arrive. 🙂 In the mean time, here’s the recipe so you can make your own.

Enjoy!

CARMELIZED SWEET-POTATO AND APPLE PIE WITH SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE IN A ROSEMARY-BUTTERMILK CRUST

Let’s start with the crust. I used the Buttermilk Pie Crust recipe from my last post with the addition of:
1 teaspoon dried and crushed rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon savory herb blend (basil/oregano/onion/thyme)

Mix up two crusts and refrigerate while you work on the filling.

FILLING:
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
6 pie apples (Grannysmith work great!) peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons flour
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Over medium-high heat, melt butter in a flat-bottom pan and brown sweet potatoes until they begin to soften. Add apples and cook, covered, for a couple minutes. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, and salt to the pan and mix until the spices and sugar are well incorporated. Remove pan from heat and transfer the filling to a large mixing bowl. Add flour and mix well until juices thicken. Set aside and allow to cool a bit.

Roll out the bottom crust and press it into your pie plate.
Add cheese to the slightly-cooled fruit, spice, and apple mixture and stir until ingredients are well-mixed. Fill the prepared bottom crust with the fruit and potatoes, roll out the top crust and fit it to the top of your pie. Press the top and bottom edges together and then crimp. Poke a hole in the top crust to vent, and sprinkle with paprika.
Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned over the top.
Allow to cool a bit before cutting—this will help the juices re-incorporate into the filling.

Sour Cream and Buttermilk Banana Muffins with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

You know when you set out to do something super healthy in the kitchen and then it goes completely sideways? My mission: Greek Yogurt Banana Bread. The final outcome: Sour Cream and Buttermilk Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips) and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

Oops.

Also, this brings up a very important question:
At what point does a muffin become a cupcake?
I would like an answer to this or I may not sleep tonight.

I can promise you though, every muffin/cupcake calorie accrued in these incredibly tasty healthy-turned-not-so-much treats earned me glowing smiles, shining eyes, and beaming praise from my people. So I’m going to say it was a successful mission. And hey, there are many different kinds of healthy. My heart was very healthy yesterday. Lots of hugs, sticky kisses, and frosting-bedecked cheeks to smooch. So it’s all good.

Enjoy!

SOUR CREAM AND BUTTERMILK BANANA MUFFINS WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk (make your own!)
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips (white chocolate chips would be amazing too!)

In a large mixing bowl or using a stand mixer combine butter, vanilla, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, sour cream, and buttermilk. Blend until smooth and all of the ingredients are incorporated. Add flour and chocolate chips and blend again. Scoop batter into greased (but un-lined) muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees until golden brown around the edges and across the tops. Roughly 15 minutes, but adjust time accordingly as every oven is a little different.

Remove muffins from baking tin and allow to cool. While they are cooling, you can mix up the frosting.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

3/4 cup frosting
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups (or so) powdered/confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Soften butter and whip with vanilla. Add powered sugar using hand or stand mixer and adjust consistency of the frosting, alternating with cream and sugar, until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and the frosting is to your liking.

Frost muffins/cupcakes generously and sprinkle with raw sugar crystals.

buttermilk ranch dressing

I have the distinct pleasure of weekly access to fresh raw milk from a local farmer friend of mine, and it has been so much fun figuring out all kinds of new ways to use it, besides yaknow, just drinking it. I’ve made yogurt, Kiefer, butter, and I skim off the rich heavy cream for my coffee. I’ve yet to try cheese, but it’s on my list, and today I’m using up the last of the buttermilk from my butter-making this week, in a salad dressing recipe.

If you’ve not made butter before, it’s as easy as (literally) whipping heavy cream. And it doesn’t even have to be raw. Take pint (or quart if you prefer) of whole cream and dump it into a mixing bowl. I use my stand mixer for this job but you can use a hand mixer, or even a glass jar with a tightly sealed lid to shake the cream rather than whip it. Add a bit of salt for flavor and whip on medium high until the cream thickens—first to whipped cream, and then past that to butter—which will separate, leaving behind buttermilk.

You’ll need about a cup or more of buttermilk for this recipe, which you can buy in your local grocery store’s dairy department. Or you can make your own butter, and use the leftover buttermilk. Either way is fine.

Enjoy!

BUTTERMILK RANCH DRESSING

This recipe starts with a base of mayo, and I’ve linked to this whole30 recipe before, but it truly is the most fantastic mayo recipe I’m aware of. It’s the one I return to over and over again. So go ahead and whip up a batch.

Once the mayo is ready, add to it:

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon fresh pressed garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves (or fresh if you have them!)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dry dill weed (or fresh if you have it!)
2 tablespoons white cooking wine
1 cup buttermilk

Blend well and store in an air tight container.

deviled eggs

I didn’t color Easter eggs with my kids this year. I am one third raging Mom guilt, one third relief (I didn’t have to clean up the chaotic mess!), and a final third healthier for not having to digest the dye which somehow manages to seep through the shells into my boiled eggs.
Emotions in thirds.
I love fractions.

So, when it comes to logical conclusions, it made sense to boil all the eggs I had left post Easter, and devil them. Is ‘devil’ a verb? To devil. Yes. Okay. The grammar girl in me is satisfied.

For your own satisfaction: Deviled Eggs, traditional style (and Whole 30 friendly!).

Enjoy!

DEVILED EGGS
 

6 eggs (or more if you’re serving a crowd)
Mayo (this is my favorite recipe!)
a dash of salt
a sprinkle of paprika

Boil eggs until hard. About 1.5 minute per egg, so for a batch of six eggs, 8-9 minutes. Adjust your time accordingly.

Once your eggs are boiled, drain off the hot water and cool them down ( I flood my pot and freshly boiled eggs with cold tap water) and then peel them.

Slice the cooled, peeled eggs in half, the long way, and scoop the yoke into a small mixing bowl. And then using a fork, (or if you prefer your deviled egg filling extra smooth—a hand mixer) mash the yokes until smooth. Add about 1 part mayo per three parts egg yokes. So if you end up with about 1 cup of mashed yoke, add 1/3 cup mayo. Blend well, add a dash of salt until the flavor is to your liking, and then with a small spoon (I use a baby spoon because I have a whole bunch of those on hand), scoop a dollop of yoke back into the empty egg. Do with with all of the eggs—you may have yoke filling left over (perfect for a slice of toast!). Top with a sprinkle of paprika and serve chilled.

 

root-veggie pot pie

I love meals you can make in advance, either days in advance or mere hours.
Basically I love meals that make the dinner hour a little easier. Because at my house it is typically “the bewitching hour” —that mysterious time of day when everyone is transitioning from physical location and varying degrees of emotional stability. (Getting home from school/going to activities, getting home from work/going to meetings, getting up from naps/going to fall-apart on the floor, etc).

That said, even if your house boasts a considerably more calm dinner hour, this recipe is particularly tasty, easy to make, good for you, and pretty. All the necessary qualifications for a great meal.
Enjoy!

ROOT VEGGIE POT PIE 

1 large rutabaga (peeled and cubed)
2 sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 parsnips (peeled and cubed)
4 large carrots (peeled and cubed)
3 turnips (peeled and cubed)
1 cup + vegetable broth
1 onion, (peeled and diced)
1 teaspoon diced garlic
3 tablespoons clarified butter
salt and pepper top taste

CRUST:
1  3/4 Cup flour + 2 tablespoons (or as needed should the dough be too moist).
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

Start with this pie crust recipe and method. Mix it up, use the waxed-paper method to roll out and fit the bottom crust to the pie plate, and set it aside.
I use this recipe and method for every pie I make—sweet, savory, fruit, cream, or otherwise. It’s the only fail-proof pie crust recipe I’ve ever found and I’ll love it forever.

Once all of your root vegetables are peeled and cubed, melt butter in a large fry pan, add garlic and diced onion, and sauté until caramelized.
Then add all of the cubed root veggies, about 1/2 cup vegetable broth, cover, and simmer until broth is absorbed by the veggies. Add the rest of the broth, cover again, and cook. Veggies should be fork-tender by the time the remainder of the broth is absorbed. Feel free to adjust quantity of broth as needed. It will vary a bit based on the size of your veggies. Ultimately, your vegetables need to be tender enough to pierce with a fork but not mushy as they will continue to cook once inside the pie.

Once the veggies are ready and all of the broth is absorbed, sprinkle salt and pepper over the cooked vegetables until the flavor is to your liking. Then gently scrape the vegetable from the pan into the prepared crust. Roll out and fit the top crust to the pie using the waxed-paper method. Trim and crimp the edges, lightly sprinkle to top with salt and pepper, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes—until the crust is golden brown across the top.

Allow to rest and cool slightly for about 40 minutes. This will help the juices be re-absorbed into the cooked vegetables rather than spilling out of your crust when you cut into the pie.

Serve warm.

 

pumpkin-almond fruit and nut

Dear Lara,
Your bars are fantastic. Like whoa. When I stripped sugar and dairy and ALL THE TASTY THINGS out of my life for a while, you were there to pull me out of my emotional slump and remind me it was going to be okay. And you were right.
No apple pie? That’s okay because Apple Pie Larabars.
No chewy nut-ridden candy bars? That’s okay. You and your friend Clif, and Clif’s son Kit, devised a Cashew nut bar. (You are friends, right? Cuz he’s awesome. Or his bars are awesome anyway.)
Coconut cream pie? Coconut Cream Pie Larabar.
Pumpkin spice? Kit’s Cherry and Pumpkin Seed Bar. 
It’s all good!
But Lara, and I really hope you don’t mind me saying this, your bar-count-per-box is way low. Like, for real. It just doesn’t work. I need more than five bars! At least Clif and Kit upped their game a little there. 12 bars per box. On point.
Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I can deal. In fact, I can more than deal!
Because all this to say thank you. Thanks for coming to my hangry rescue more than once and also for the inspiration.
Yah. You inspired me. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Right.
So this is my best compliment then. And I can make more than 5 bars at a time. More than 12 even! So thanks Lara.
Hugs and kisses,
—b

PUMPKIN-ALMOND FRUIT AND NUT BAR

(Inspired by Lara, Clif, and Kit)

1 cup dry roasted almonds
1/2 cup dry roasted and salted cashews
1/2 prunes
1/2 cup figs
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup dry unsweetened coconut flakes

In a food processor, whirl all of the above ingredients except the coconut flakes. Keep in mind that depending on the size of your food processor, you may have to do this in batches.
The mixture should be very thick. You should not be able to really do more than poke it or move it around with a spoon. If it is more malleable than that, add coconut flakes as needed to thicken. If it is too thick, add more pumpkin. When you feel the consistency is good, dump and scrape the mixture into a foil or parchment lined 11×14 cake pan and press into the pan. Be quite firm, packing down the mixture until it is smooth and compressed. Pop the pan into the fridge for a couple of hours and then lift the whole thing from the pan within the foil or parchment paper. peal back the edges of the paper/foil and cut your bars to the desired size. Enjoy!

Ps. Lara, Clif, and Kit have no idea who I am. Neither do their affiliates, companies, organizations, or nutrition-gurus. This isn’t a sales plug so much as a tongue-in-cheek look at my own life-in-food. Kthanksbye.