Quick Pickles

If you were to ask my grandmother (or my mother -- or myself, for that matter) if she was "making chicken for dinner," she would grin and then reply, "Only chickens can make chickens. I am cooking chicken for dinner, though." The same would go for "making eggs" or "making bacon."

And so I think it is rather funny and odd that this same grandmother had a recipe for "cucumbers." It would seem to me that a recipe is for something you make, not something you grow. The cucumbers are sliced thinly and pickled ever so slightly in vinegar and sugar. And therefore, as far as I am concerned, by the time you are done, you have taken a cucumber and made something else altogether. 

The other day a friend mentioned that she makes "quick pickles" with her cucumbers, and although I am not sure her process is the same as my grandmother's, I think it is a perfect name and I am stealing it.

They aren't exactly pickles. But they aren't just cucumbers either. They are just sort of pickly cucumbers. In this recipe, the vinegar is diluted with water, and I think that stops them from pickling all the way. Instead, they get a little limp and a little sweet, and although they are still very recognizable cucumbers, they need a new name.

When I was young, and my mother would check my forehead to see if I had a fever, I got one of two reports back from her. If I was indeed running a fever, she would say "Oh, you're burning up." Otherwise, she assured me I was "Cool as a cucumber." (Which is either good news or bad, depending on if I was recovering from the flu, or trying to get out of going to school).

These cucumbers are just like the idiom. Cool. They are refreshing and tasty, especially on a hot summer day, and are great alone as a snack or used as a relish or in a salad. I like to eat them with a sandwich, or a hunk of cheese and some nuts at lunch time.

Quick Pickles

1 large cucumber, sliced very thin

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

Bring the water, vinegar, and sugar to a boil. Pour over the cucumber slices and refrigerate for at least a day before eating.

Tandoori Turkey Burgers

Last week, we did Cub Scout camp. For five days, I spent the hours between 8:30 and 5:30 at a campsite, helping boys do crafts, shoot arrows, use slingshots, cook in a cardboard box oven, play football and badminton, and generally just be dirty, busy, loud, active, competitive boys. My two sons participated in camp, and my daughter worked her tail off as a junior volunteer.

Each night, we came trudging into the house, peeling filthy socks off our feet, dropping the camp t-shirts into a pile, and flopping onto the couch. 

Dinner needed to be something simple, and something quick for these kids who had run, climbed, swam, and hiked all day long in the hot sun. They were hungry and tired... not a great combination.  

These turkey burgers did the trick! They are pretty simple to throw together, they can be grilled in just a couple of minutes (while the kids hose the first layer of grime off each other), and they are TASTY. Topped with cilantro, onion, and cucumber, and a delicious yogurt sauce, they are nice and light and flavorful, just perfect for a hot night.

The recipe came from Bake Bree, and I only made a few tweaks. 

Tandoori Turkey Burgers

1 pounds ground turkey
4 green onions
3 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
salt and pepper to taste
Pita bread
persian cucumber
cilantro
red onion sliced thinly

yogurt sauce:

1 small container plain Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Using your hands, combine the turkey, green onions, ginger, lemon juice, and spices. Form into 4-5 patties. Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through. Grill the pita bread for the last couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together all of the ingredients for the yogurt sauce.

Place a burger patty onto each piece of pita bread. Top with the cucumber, cilantro, and onion. 

Drizzle on some sauce, and enjoy!

Bread and Butter Pickles

These kids I live with just don't like to eat their veggies. It's disheartening.

Add to the fact that I get a HUGE box of fresh vegetables every week, and I feel like I am in a constant uphill battle to get the veggies consumed by humans before they are consumed by rot.

It puts me in a real pickle.

Hee hee.

When I unpacked the box this week, and saw that there were 6 giant cucumbers, I may have hung my head and sighed out loud. I know, I'm letting a gourd relative get me down. I'm not proud of my little vegetable depression, it's just a fact. My kids really don't do well with raw veggies, and as far as I know, there aren't a ton of ways to cook a cucumber. I'm doing my best, but I just don't think its feasible for me to eat 6 cucumbers this week.

So, when a gal is faced with too many of a particular veggie, she finds a way (as usual) to put off eating it until later. In the case of cucumbers,  that means turning them into pickles. I decided to go with bread-and-butter pickles, since those happen to be my favorite. Besides, if we are going to be cutting back on meat around here, we are going to need some flavorful alternatives. And these are nothing if not flavorful.

Are you wondering why they are called "bread and butter" pickles? Well, keep wondering. I can't figure it out. Even Wikipedia lets me down this time. While doing my research, I did accidentally read about "Kool-Aid Pickles" which are made by soaking the cucumber in brine and Kool-Aid. Wha??? I guess I should withhold judgement. If I get a bunch of more pickles in the next box, I may well end up trying them out. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Ummm, let's get back to our bread and butter pickles. Before we go and do anything desperate.

These pickles are made by slicing the cucumber before you pickle it. This is helpful in getting the largest volume of pickles into your jars. (and some people around here are running out of pantry space to fit all the jars of jams and pickles and fruit). They are delicious on their own, but they have enough flavor to really stand out on a burger or sandwich.

Do note, however, that you need to let the cucumbers sit and soak in salt for a spell. Make sure to do this ahead, and that you have time to finish you pickling afterwards.

Bread and Butter Pickles
There are tons of Bread and Butter Pickle recipes out there. This is the one that I chose.


cucumbers (I used 6 large; you can use how many you like. I ended up with 3 pints of pickles).
1 onion (I'd suggest yellow or white, but I had red on hand and it turned out great. Just pinkish)
1/4 cup Kosher salt (non-caking additives in regular salt will make the juice cloudy)
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (you may want to use less -- they came out with a bit of kick)
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
6 allspice berries
6 whole cloves plus a pinch of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Slice the cucumber and onion and place in a large bowl. Toss with the salt so that it is evenly distributed. Cover the vegetables with a tea towel (not a thick terrycloth dishtowel) and cover it all with an inch or so of ice cubes. Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

At the end of the 3-4 hours, take it out and dispose of the ice. Rinse the vegetables twice. You will notice that the cucumbers already feel more pickle-ish.

If you are going to store the pickles outside of the fridge, it's now time to sterilize your jars and get your water hot for the processing. If you promise to eat them all up in the next few weeks, you can just make sure your jars are squeaky clean.

In a big pot, combine the vinegars and all of the spices. Bring it to a boil. Add the cucumbers and onions, and bring it to a boil again. As soon as it comes to a boil again, you can start packing the jars. Use a canning funnel if you have one, and smoosh as many cucumber slices as you can in each jar, up to an inch from the top. Then pour some of the hot syrup over it all, up to 1/2 inch from the rim.

If you are planning to keep them in the fridge you are done! If not, read on!

Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a damp paper towel. Place the lid and bands on, and process in boiling water according to this chart:

Table 1. Recommended process time for Bread-and-Butter Pickles in a boiling-water canner.
		Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack	Jar Size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot	Pints or Quarts	10 min	15	20

Tomato, Basil, and Feta Salad

Although yesterday I admitted to buying a whole bunch of fruit just before we head out of town for a week, I really am working furiously to get all of the perishable fruits and veggies eaten up before we leave them to die a lonely death in an unoccupied home.

Plus, there is just something about a picnic at the beach that begs to include a nice crisp cool veggie salad.

As luck would have it, I happened to glance down at the Abundant Harvest Organics newsletter while I was bustling around in the kitchen doing way too many things at the same time. And, as luck would have it, there was a recipe for Tomato, Basil, and Feta salad right there at the bottom of the newsletter. Asking only for things I already had on hand. Especially cucumbers. I had just gotten ahold of the zucchini population when I was overwhelmed with the cucumbers. I need to use up the cucumbers.

So, I quickly abandoned everything else going on in the kitchen, got out my trusty cutting board, and got to work slicing and dicing.

The results? A cool, fresh salad that travels well, tastes delicious, and makes you feel good about stuffing yourself silly.

Tomato, Basil, and Feta Salad

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes or 3-4 tomatoes halved and diced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl toss together tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, basil, onion, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. 

I enjoyed this salad immediately, a few hours later, and the next day at the beach. I have to say it is good fresh and after a day of sitting. Feel free to make it ahead if you want!

In other exciting news, the route to our secret campground takes us directly past the Peterson Family Farms, where Vernon Peterson reigns supreme. What? You don't know Uncle Vern? You're missing out. He's the wonderful man who had a vision for people to be able to afford good, fresh, organic produce without paying a premium for the pleasure. He started and runs Abundant Harvest Organics. In other words, he has changed my life for the better. And, I'd be willing to bet, thousands of others.

Since his farm is right on my path to camping bliss, I have arranged to meet him at his farm and let the kids see from whence their produce comes. I am so excited!!!  I hope to have pictures to show you when we get back. Plus, we'll be picking up our weekly box of produce on our way out of town, so after I get back, perhaps I will have some pictures and descriptions of how we tackled the box in the great outdoors.

Meanwhile, I am hoping to get a couple of posts done ahead of time to keep you coming around while I'm gone.  After all, I have been furiously cookin' up the surplus around here!

I'm eating a lamb's what?

One of the surprises I got in the CSA box this week is Lamb's Quarter. The name makes it sound like it would make a great roast and the centerpiece of Easter dinner. The appearance, though, lets you know really it is best used for kids who want to make crayon rubbings.

Of course, I'm kidding. I let no kids color with my dinner before I ate it. 

I did, as is my hobby, look lamb's quarters up on Wikipedia. Once again, I was not disappointed. I found out it can also be called pigweed, goosefoot, or fat hen. Why all the animal names for something that is so clearly a plant? I mean, so very much a plant, that if I hadn't received it in a box of produce, I most certainly never would have even considered it to be a food item.

Admit it, composters out there... this looks more like a brown than a green, doesn't it?

Of course, after having my little chuckle over the most vegetarian goose/pig/hen/lamb that ever got eaten, I read on about it nutritive properties and the varied uses for it. Which are: this is related to spinach, tastes like spinach, and can be used like spinach. Which, of course, begs the question: Why not just use spinach?

I'm so glad you asked. There is a very real answer to why lamb's quarter should be used instead of spinach. And that is, because lamb's quarter is what is in my box this week, and spinach isn't. 

Really, though, as far as I can tell, lamb's quarter is a little bit milder in flavor, tougher in texture, and has a wee bit more nutritional value than spinach. Other than that, there is no real reasons to choose one over the other. It can be used, like spinach, in a stir-fry, salad, lasagna, quiche, etc.

Having never tried it before, I went for a recipe that would mellow it through the sheer strength of the other flavors. As it turns out, it is a bit tough, but very very mild in flavor. I certainly would be happy to try it again in a different recipe. For this week, though, it became a part of a Greek Salad. I adapted this recipe from one I found on Prodigal Gardens.

Greek Lamb's Quarter Salad

1 bunch of lamb's quarter, de-stemmed (about 3 cups of leaves) 

2 medium tomatoes

2 cucumbers

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup dill, finely chopped

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup green olives, cut into quarters

Toss all the salad ingredients with the dressing, below:

1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. fresh oregano

Measure all ingredients into a jar and shake well.