Pickles Revisited

Most of my family LOVES pickles...and I must admit that I'm willing to take that to extremes sometimes. As my husband commented to the FB universe this summer..."My wife will pickle anything".
He's pretty close to the truth.

When it came harvest time this year - as characterized by having so much produce in the house that it causes fear and induces dreams of never eating anything but again - it is time to pickle.
To save some time for myself this year I used only the 2 brines that I used last year and posted here. What I changed was the veggies I used.

Into the Sweet'nSalty Brine I tossed:
Cauliflower florets
Zucchini
Kohlrabi
Daikon Radish
Beans
Pepper Slices

The Garlic Dill Brine got:
Cauliflower
Cucumber
and Beans

The beans were blanched after last year's beans shrivled after a few months. They were still tasty but didn't look very pretty. And, since I'd never pickled cauliflower before I did 50/50 blanched vs raw.

I have also made a late addition to the Garlic Dills....after picking the green tomatoes off of the vines at the end of the season, I put all of the green cherry tomatoes into the brine. I cut x's on the bottom of the tomatoes so that there would be a means for the brine to penetrate the tough tomato skin easier, and early taste-tests have proven to be pretty yummy!

Easy Refridgerator Pickles - 2 styles

Garlic Dills

1Qt Water

1/2 C Salt

1 C white vinegar

8-12 Pickling Cucumbers

Garlic & Dill to taste

1-2 Quart Size Mason Jars / Jars from Tomato Sauce or any Large container

(I used a plastic container initially and moved them to jars after I found some that would work)

Wash pickles, quarter and put in jars with garlic and dill.

Mix salt, water and vinegar and pour over pickles filling jars. (Any large jars will do.)

Leave pickles at room temperature for 3 days.

Refrigerate after that.

Sweet & Salty Slices (with mixed veggies)

sliced onions

green peppers, cut in strips

Green or Yellow Beans

Daikon Radish slices

AND

Enough sliced cucumber to fill a gallon jar (do not peel cucumbers)

4 c. sugar

3 c. vinegar

1/3 c. pickling salt (not iodized)

1 tsp. turmeric

1 1/2 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. mustard seed

If you don't have a gallon jar you can also use Quart or Pint sized Mason jars...of course any jars will do as these will not be sealed.

Wash and slice veggies and put them in your jars.

(I made 1 jar with just yellow beans and onion slices, and put a mix of veggies in the other jars)

Mix sugar, vinegar and spices together in a pitcher or bowl with a spout until sugar is dissolved.

Pour liquid over vegetables in jar.

Mixture may not completely cover pickles, that's ok.

Refridgerate.

Ready to eat the next day.

Will keep all winter in refrigerator.

In the picture these don't look as yellow as they became later from the tumeric. They are both very yummy!

My Asian-style Green Beans with a New Twist

Last summer I posted my Asian-inspired green bean recipe...YUMM.
Well the bean crop is coming in bushels this year in NJ and I've started experimenting with some of the more abundant ingredients around the fridge.

We've been making a number of stir-fry dishes lately and the early garlic is at a premium, so for this version I used primarily onion and ginger. I also scaled the recipe up a bit because we were left looking for more the last time I made Asian beans...

Renee's Chinese Style Green Beans II
Over a medium flame:
Heat 2-3 Tbsp of good olive oil in a saute pan
Add 1 Tbsp of good quality Shoyu/Tamari/soy sauce
Slice a large onion and toss that in (not a dice, but long thin slices)
Add a little green garlic/garlic curl/ or early garlic (about 1 tbsp worth)
Peel and mince about a thumbs-worth of ginger root (don't skimp, use the real thing)
When the onion is starting to caramelize and has some golden tinges
Add 3 cups trimmed green beans
Toss them into the oil/onion/ginger mixture and stir to coat evenly with the oil
Cover and let cook for 10-12 minutes (basically almost to desired doneness...)
Add a dash of 5 spice powder and black pepper
Stir to coat
Cover again and let cook for 2 more minutes
Turn off the heat and add 1tsp of dark sesame oil
Stir and serve.

My little guy balked at the beans this time - but that's more his personality than anything else. He's currently going through a "if it's not raw I don't want it" phase with veggies...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
My husband ate a decent sized first serving and went back for seconds making the comment that he thought these were the best version yet, and my older son had 3 portions.
I love it when my family eats green!

Renee's Chinese Style Green Beans

Ok, I know my name doesn't SOUND Asian, but I'd eat Asian cuisine every day of the week given an opportunity.
My boys love Chinese food but they haven't been exposed to the variety of Aisian cuisine that I love yet - because we don't go out often - and especially not with rambunctious 4&5 yr olds.
I also have not had the time to develop an extensive repetoir of home made versions of entrees I love yet...however I do make one or two dishes at home and this is one that ALL members of the household LOVE.

Renee's Chinese Style Green Beans
Over a medium flame, heat 1-2 good glugs of olive oil in a saute pan
Slice 2-3 large cloves of garlic and toss that in
When the garlic is starting to sizzle and has some golden tinges
Add 2 cups trimmed green beans
Toss them into the oil/garlic mixture and stir to coat evenly with the oil
Cover and let cook for 5-7 minutes
Stir in 1TBSP good quality Soy Sauce/Tamari/Shoyu
And a dash of 5 spice powder
Stir to coat
Cover again and let cook for 2 more minutes
Turn off the heat and add 1tsp of dark sesame oil
Stir and serve.

We had this with grilled chicken and pesto pasta last night.
BOTH boys asked for seconds of the beans! YAY!!!!