The Evolving Cook

Chopped . . . Evolving Style

When I was growing up, my mother often complained about how hard it was to figure out what to make for dinner every night. Going out for dinner or having takeaway was a treat, usually reserved for special occasions. So, Mom had to come up with a menu for most meals. It got to be pretty routine after a while, with basically a standard two-week rotation of a limited list of foods. I couldn’t figure out what was so difficult about deciding what to cook.

Then I went out on my own. Cooking for myself became more enjoyable, because I made all the decisions. Well, me and my wallet. I love to experiment, so it seemed as though I had an endless selection of things to make. Oh, there were times when I got in a rut. For some reason, I occasionally get on a spaghetti kick: all I want to eat is spaghetti for several consecutive days.

But then it hit me. There were times when I had absolutely no idea what to make for dinner. And it was just me! I can’t imagine how it would be if I were cooking for a family. Let me tell you, that happens more often than I’d like to admit. Now I understand what my mom was complaining about. Now it makes sense. Okay, maybe it doesn’t really make sense, but I understand.

Last night was one of those “What do I make for dinner” nights. I stood with the refrigerator door open, apparently thinking something was going to jump out and say, “Cook me!” It didn’t. So I decided to treat the refrigerator as sort of a Chopped basket. Channeling Ted Allen, I scrounged through the refrigerator and found some small zucchini, snow peas, garlic, fontina cheese, and kale. Using them as the contents of my Chopped basket, I came up with this:

I lightly sauteed the zucchini, snow peas, garlic, and kale in a combination of olive oil and butter. When cooked, I topped with fontina cheese. The result: I should be clueless about what to make for dinner more often. It was wonderful! And besides having a tasty dinner, it also helped to kick-start my culinary brain. After all, it is very easy to get in a food rut. I don’t know about you, but when I am in a rut, I’m more likely to make less than optimal food choices.

A New Project
Last week I was thinking about ways to expand my culinary repertoire. So I came up with the idea of my readers and followers coming up with things for me to cook. I put out the call for people to tell me what they had never cooked or eaten but wanted to. I’ll be cooking from that list. It is fun to see what types of foods people haven’t experienced, and this project has excited me.

If you have something you’d like me to cook–something you’ve not cooked or maybe not eaten–send an e-mail to foodies@evolvingcook.com. And if you have any name suggestions for this project, I’d be interested to hear them.

Waste Not, Want Not

First thing Monday morning, I went to the grocery store and bought this:

Now, not being the best photographer in the world, let me explain what you’re seeing. It’s a grapefruit (once again, my flair for the obvious is, well, obvious). There are depressions in it, and the skin has lots of scarring. It definitely wasn’t the best looking grapefruit in the pile. But look what I found on the inside:

It was juicy and sweet. In other words, it was mighty tasty.

So, why am I telling you a grapefruit story? Because of a television show I watched last Sunday. As you can probably imagine, I really like the Food Network. This past Sunday saw the premiere of The Big Waste. In it, chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon competed against Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschelli to make a full-course meal for 100 guests. The catch? All of the food had to be things headed for the trash or compost. And before you cringe at the thought of the four chefs serving tainted food to their guests, all of the food was tested by an inspector.

Sadly, it was not that difficult. I knew waste was a problem in the United States, but until that show, I did not realize just how big a problem it is. According to statistics cited in The Big Waste, approximately 200 pounds of food per person is wasted each year. And this is not food that is spoiled or otherwise can’t be consumed. For the most part, this is food that isn’t “pretty.” Perhaps there’s a dent or a blemish of some sort. Or maybe it’s too large or small to conform to what producers and consumers consider acceptable.

Waste occurs not just in food service establishments and supermarkets. Three of the chefs visited farms. Along with the upswing in the number of farmer’s markets, the number of “pick it yourself” farms has also increased. When Michael Symon saw a pile of tomatoes headed for the compost heap, he said he saw a “lot of marinara.” I saw a lot of tomatoes that could help feed the vast food insecure in this country. These were tomatoes that pickers had left behind because they might have had some blemish or weren’t the “right” size. The skin of one of the tomatoes had split due to heat and water. It looked like some of the ones I grew last year. And I loved those tomatoes. They may not have looked pretty, but they tasted great! And that was the reason I grew them, after all. At least one of the reasons.

Bobby Flay spent some time in a cabbage patch. There were cabbages strewn all over the garden. According to the farmer, people would pick one and then discard it when they found a bigger one. Come on, people. Be responsible.

Anne Burrell visited a halal butcher. The chickens there were raised and butchered humanely. Yet, the butcher found himself with many he could not sell. Why? Because a wing might have gotten broken or the skin slightly pierced in the processing. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the meat. Yet, because of those things, some people thought the meat might be tainted. Not at all.

One might not think much about the waste of eggs, but that happens, too. Alex Guarnaschelli went to a farm to get eggs for the meal. Sadly, eggs are wasted because of color and size. If an egg won’t fit in an egg carton because they’re too big or too small, they’ll likely be wasted. And if the color isn’t one the public feels is acceptable, they’ll be unlikely to buy them.

There was also a segment about a freegan–someone who collects perfectly good food from the throwaways of restaurants and grocery stores. It was amazing–and disgusting–to see what was thrown away.

What Can You Do?
If you’re outraged at the amount of food thrown away, there are things you can do. If you participate in a pick your own farm, pick what you need. Don’t pick and throw away something when you find something “better.”

At the grocery store, be careful when searching through bins of fruits and vegetables, especially those with thin skins. Tomatoes, for example, bruise easily. As you rummage through to find “just the right one,” you’ll likely bruise those left behind. And once bruised, they’re much less likely to be purchased by the next consumer and will be relegated to the waste pile.

Adjust your idea of what is “acceptable.” And we’re back to my grapefruit purchase. I purposely looked through those available and picked out the one that looked the most different. And I don’t regret that decision one bit.

And if you’re in the food service or grocery business, or if you’re having a special event with food, see if there’s a food recovery program in your area. These organizations pick up “throwaway” food and deliver it to organizations that provide meals for the hungry.

Oh, and the title of this post? Well, most of us probably heard it from our parents as we grew up. And like most things they told us–and that we blew off during childhood–we find it to be true as adults. Reducing the amount of waste will not remove want from the food insecure, but it can help.

2012, Food, and Me

Well hello there, 2012. Welcome to my world. Let’s hope 2012 is a great year for all of us.

As I’ve stated for many years, I don’t make resolutions. I set goals. And here are some of my food-related goals for 2012.

Become more self-sufficient
At least when it comes to food. I will be expanding my garden so I can grow more types of vegetables. One thing I know for sure is that I’m planting kale, and a lot of it. I’m also going to dedicate a part of one of the gardens to herbs. I’m not sure which ones, but there will definitely be sage. And if I didn’t need anything to pique my desire to get back into the garden, the temperatures lately have been in the 40s. I keep thinking, Oh wow. It’s in the 40s. Before long, I’ll be able to get back in the garden. Then it hits me: Oops, the temperatures are going down, not up. Not helping any is that seed catalogs are beginning to come in.

There will be spring

Expanding the garden is not the only way I hope to increase my self-sufficiency. I also want to make more of my own foods. I already make a lot, including catsup, mustard, bread, yogurt, and butter. And there’s the canning, freezing, and dehydrating I’ve done to preserve my bounty. But I want to do more. I currently have cabbage fermenting into sauerkraut. I’ll be making beer, and I might even make some wine.

Part of the reason for my self-sufficiency quest is my reading list. I have become a big fan of Nina Planck’s Real Food.

In her well-researched book, she discusses how our food choices may be sabotaging our health. And the findings may surprise you. Sometimes progress really isn’t that forward thinking.

Two other books have solidified my interest in fermenting food. They are Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation and Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions.

Properly fermented foods can improve our health. We just don’t bother to eat many of them. Or, we spend many bucks for things we can easily make ourselves. These include yogurt, pickles, and sauerkraut.

I’d like to say that my self-sufficiency is based only on creating a sustainable environment and eating healthfully, but that’s not quite true. In fact, money plays a big part in my lifestyle. I need to cut the budget, and growing and making things myself goes a long way toward that goal.

Learn New Techniques
Another of my goals is to learn new food-related techniques. Making sauerkraut is one step on that path.

I’ll describe how I’m doing this in a future post.

I’m also going to do some cold smoking. I’ll be using homemade cheese for that.

I also want to learn to make jelly. I know how to make jam, but I’m never tried to make jelly. I think it would be a great addition to my homemade bread and homemade butter. Makes perfect sense to me.

I hope you’ll join me on my journey again this year. Please feel free to share your adventures in food.

“You Know, You Can Buy That Already Made.”

I’m a knitter who happens to like to knit socks and mittens. I wish I had a nickle for every time I’ve heard, “You know, you can buy those in a store now,” or words to that effect. Yes, I know that. But I prefer to make them myself. That way, I know what I’m getting. Not to mention the fun and sense of accomplishment I get from making things myself.

The same is true in the kitchen. Yes, I know I can buy vanilla extract, sausage, catsup, pickles, olives, bacon, etc., in the grocery store. And I have and still do in some cases. But I must admit news of tainted foods have me scared–especially the increased frequency with which these reports seem to hit the airwaves. Then, the more I read about what is good for you to eat and what isn’t, also instills in me the belief that I should make whatever I can. That way, I know what’s in it and what’s not.

Then there’s the cost factor. In most cases, I can save money making things myself. Think about it. Let’s say you want to buy sugarless jam. First, is finding it. Then, you’ll probably notice it’s more expensive than most jams with sugar. Yes, it can be more difficult to make jam without sugar, but really–so expensive? And try to find sugarless jam on sale. And it’s not just jam. It seems as though the fewer things included in something, the more it costs. Especially if it deviates from the norm.

Vanilla Extract
One of the things I like to make is vanilla extract. It’s probably one of the easiest things to make. Did you know that most commercially made vanilla extract includes corn syrup or simple syrup? I don’t know about you, but I want my vanilla extract to be just that: vanilla extract. Here’s how simple it is to make vanilla extract:

3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka

Slit the vanilla bean down one side, stopping about an inch from the end. Do not scrape out the beans.
Place the beans in a glass jar and cover with the vodka. Cover with a tight lid and store in a dark, cool place. Shake the jar once a day for four weeks, and then occasionally. Extract can be used after four to six weeks. As you use the extract, additional vodka can be added to “top off” your vanilla extract supply.

Experiment with the type of vanilla beans and liquor used. Most people use vodka, but brandy and bourbon can also be used. Incidentally, the “Bourbon” in Madagascar Bourbon vanilla has nothing to do with the type of liquor used in making the extract. It refers to the location where the beans are grown.

Catsup (or Ketchup)
I use catsup like it’s a beverage. Well, maybe not that much, but I use it a lot. I used to make it, but then I got out of the habit. I’ve pledged to myself that I’m going to get back in the habit.

Homemade catsup. It's darker in person.

One of the reasons I’m doing this is because of what’s on the label. The bottle I just finished had high fructose corn syrup and regular corn syrup. That just seems so unnecessary. Yes, I could buy catsup without sugar or salt, but here, at least, it’s quite a bit more expensive than “regular” catsup.

You can find the recipe I use for catsup here.

A word about seeds.
You’ll notice the instructions call for squishing the tomatoes and then running the tomatoes through a food mill. It might seem easier and more efficient to whirr them around in a food processor. And it would be. But I tend not to use the food processor when seeds are involved. A food processor or blender will likely crush the seeds or at least break them open. When that happens, the seeds can add a bitterness to the product. Take a bite of a seed, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a little extra effort to crush by hand and use a food mill, but to me, it’s worth the effort.

One of my goals for 2012 is to become more self-sufficient–at least to make more things myself. It’s such a feeling of pride and accomplishment to walk past items in the grocery store because you have them made at home.

Taking the Cure–And Having Edible Olives to Show for It

As 2011 comes to a close, I’ve been looking back at what I’ve done this year. This has been a year of doing many things I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Among them, I’ve grown my first vegetables on my own, and I’ve home-cured bacon and corned beef. I’ve canned things I’ve never canned before, and I’ve finally found a method of freezing green beans and corn that provides satisfactory results. Yes, the cosmos came together and provided me the opportunity to do these things, and I will be forever grateful.

And now, something else can be crossed off the list. For many years, I’ve thought about home-curing olives. I love olives, and they are certainly widely available in grocery stores. But then, so is bacon, corned beef, mustard, catsup, butter, Worcestershire sauce, pickles, and other things I prefer to make on my own. So this year, since I seemed to be on a streak, I decided this was the time to home cure olives. And it is a decision I will never regret, though I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the olives once they arrived.

And it is much easier than one might expect. The hardest thing for me was to find raw olives. They don’t grow in my area, so I needed to seek online sources. I decided to get them from All Love Olives. Olive picking season runs from September to November, but you can preorder beginning in July, which I did. They try to match your preferences for green or black the best they can, and if you preorder, it’s easier for them to meet your preferences.

The next hardest thing was to wait for their arrival. And many of you know I’m not exactly the most patient person in the world. While I was waiting, I investigated brining recipes/techniques. I didn’t really know what I wanted, but I did now I was not going to use lye. Okay, I know that lye has been used to cure olives for centuries, and most olives at the grocery store are cured with lye. But one of the best things about making your own food is the ability to make decisions about what goes into what you eat. And I was determined that lye was not going into my olives. Again I turned to the Internet, looking for brining suggestions on olive forums. Almost universally recommended was Olives: Safe Methods for Home Pickling, put out by the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It’s a free PDF, ready for downloading. It’s filled with lots of information about olives in general as well as how to preserve them. Then, when I got a copy of Karen Solomon’s Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, I found an olive-curing recipe inside. I was set. Now all I had to do was wait for the olives.

And in October, they arrived.

Aren’t they pretty. I decided to divide the olives roughly in half, curing part according to the University of California method and the rest according to the recipe I found in Solomon’s book.

The “Solomon method” takes the longest to cure, so I set those up first. The most time-consuming aspect is cutting a slit in each olive.
But I set myself and my olives up in front of the TV and enjoyed a movie while slitting the olives. Then, they go in a brine of kosher salt and water. Make certain the olives stay covered by brine. I partially filled a food-safe plastic bag with water and used it to keep the olives submerged. Store in a dark, cool place, stirring the mixture each week and removing any oily scum that may come to the top. (I didn’t have much.) After six weeks, you can eat one to check the brining status. If you’re happy with the flavor, pour them into a colander and rinse well. Pour into clean jars and cover with a finishing brine of 1 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water. Store in the refrigerator.

The “University method” I used calls soaking the olives in water. Instead of slicing a slit in the olives, you gently crack them. Be careful not to remove the pit. Place in the water. Again, the olives must be kept submerged, and I used the plastic bag technique with these olives as well. Change the water each day for at least six days. Taste an olive to check the degree of bitterness; the longer they stay in the water, the less bitter they are. Mine took eight days to reach the level of bitterness I like. When acceptable, prepare a finishing brine of pickling salt, water, and white wine vinegar. Drain and rinse the olives and then add to the finishing brine. Let them sit in the finishing brine, refrigerated, for four more days. Then, eat to your heart’s content.

Although I like both of these methods, olives cured in these ways must be kept refrigerated. Since I don’t have unlimited refrigerator space, I’d really like to be able to can them. From what I’ve been able to find, only black olives cured with lye can be canned. If anyone knows differently, I’d really like to know.

Yes, it can be difficult to find raw olives and there is some waiting time involved, home-curing olives are worth the effort. Remember, though, that they probably won’t taste the same as those you pick off the supermarket shelf. But that’s not a bad thing.

Mmmm, Pie

I love pie. Kind of. When I was a kid, my mom baked pies usually just for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well, she bought the pies at the market and then baked them in our oven. That was pretty much the extent of it. Dad liked mincemeat, so she got one for him. My brother, mother, and father liked apple, so there was an apple pie. Me? Well, I wasn’t much of a fruit eater. In fact, the only fruits I ate were apple and banana, but I only liked bananas in their original form (still do) and apples raw or in applesauce. Yes, I knew apple pie innards was basically chunky applesauce. But there was something else I didn’t like about apple pie–too much crust. So, my pie of choice was pumpkin. Fortunately, since there was usually too much pumpkin for one pie and Mom didn’t want to make a second, she would pour the excess filling into a casserole and bake it, sans crust. That was heaven to me.

As I grew up, I learned to like more pies, including most fruit pies. Living alone, however, buying or making a pie can end up being less than cost-effective, at least for me. I generally only want a piece or two, and there’s usually not enough room in my freezer to store the leftovers. At some of our stores, you can buy slices of pie, but that is really cost-ineffective. Besides, I wanted to make pie on my own.

I was tempted to buy a mini pie maker, but $99 seemed a bit on the high side. And while I’m not opposed to mini-sized baking pans—in fact, I have mini tart and mini springform pans—I loathe monotasking proudcts, especially those that take up valuable storage space. Then, one afternoon, the solution appeared before my eyes. Thanks to the Cooking Channel. There was a show on pies, and a couple of the highlights involved people making pies in canning jars.

Now those I have! And now I know what to do with them when canning season is over. So I quickly began my foray into mini jar pies.

Prebaked mini apple pie

Jars and Crusts
Most instructions I’ve read call for using half-pint canning jars. And please make sure to use jars approved for canning. These jars are designed to be used safely with high heat. Mason and Kerr are the biggest names in canning jars. I chose a cute, quilted design jelly jar. Shorter, wider jars seem to work better than the taller ones.

Because of its belly shape, it can take some work to insert the crust, but these pies are perfect for imperfect crusts. As for crusts, use your favorite pie crust recipe. Make your own (it really is easy), or if crust is keeping you from trying these pies, buy a flat crust or even one that comes in a tube. Graham cracker crusts work really well.

And you can be adventurous with your crust. If you’re making a pumpkin or apple pie, for example, add a bit of the spices you’re using in the filling to the crust.

Once the crust is ready, roll out and cut a square large enough to fit the bottom and up the sides of the jar. Stop where the band begins. Then, using the lid band as a “cookie cutter,” cut out the top crust and set aside.

The Filling
These little pies can be filled with almost anything sweet or savory. For four mini pies, you’ll need about 2 1/2 cups of filling. Use your imagination, and come up with combinations you don’t find in every supermarket. You can tailor the fillings to your liking. For example, though I like a spicy pumpkin pie, I am pretty much a purist when it comes to apple pie. I’m happy with just cinnamon. Whatever you like, you’re making it to your taste specifications.

Fill the jars to the top of the crust. Add the top crust and crimp the edges. Make sure the top does not go higher than the jar if you’re going to freeze for later.

Freeze for later? Yes, this is another nice thing about these pies. If you don’t have time to bake them now, put on the lid and freeze. When you’re in the mood for a pie, remove from freezer, take off lid, and put into an unpreheated 350-degree oven. Bake for about 45 minutes, based on your oven, or until your pie is light golden brown. If baking immediately, place unlidded jar in a preheated 375-degree oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes. Enjoy.

Above is my mini pumpkin pie. Yes, it expanded beyond the jar, but once it cooled, the filling settled back into the jar. And it was good.

After my initial successes, I decided to expand my experiments. I decided to make an apple pie in a four-ounce jar. It worked and tasted good, but the crust got rather dark around the edges. You have to watch carefully, as the crust can get too dark before the filling is ready.

Give mini pies a shot. They’re good for portion control and for those times when you want a little somethin’ somethin’. And they’re cute, and we all know we eat first with our eyes.

Oh the Smell of Cinnamon Bread

I love my Zojirushi bread machine. I mean really, what’s not to love? It makes great bread, and according to the user’s guide, it can also make jam and meatloaf among other things. I wouldn’t know about that. I make jam and meatloaf the old-fashioned way. But when it comes to bread, I almost always make it in my Zo.

Yesterday, I had a hankering for cinnamon bread. Actually, it started a few weeks ago, when I bought some at the farmer’s market. It was all right, but that was it. There wasn’t enough cinnamon in it for me. I realize most bakers will spice on the light side, and that’s fine. But to me, that bread was way underspiced and I wouldn’t buy again.

So, I decided to bake my own.

I have a well-stocked baking pantry, so I had all the ingredients I needed. The trick is to actually add them. I put the ingredients in the machine and sat back to do some social media checking in. After the first kneading ended, it hit me. I forgot the cinnamon. Fortunately, because I caught it early, I could take the dough out of the machine and mix in the cinnamon. Oops.

The smell of baking bread is one of life’s greatest pleasures. And the smell of this cinnamon bread was extra special. When it was done, I let it cool a bit and then sliced off the end. Oh my. Heaven for my tummy. And as toast this morning, it was even better.

If you’d like to make my cinnamon bread, you can find the recipe here. Enjoy!

How Can Garden Season Be Over Already?

Wasn’t it just June?

Don’t get me wrong, I love autumn. For as long as I can remember, it has been my favorite season. It meant school was about to start, and I have always been a nerd and loved school. Summer couldn’t go by fast enough.

This year, for the first time in memory, I was sad to see summer go. Why? Because it meant growing season for my outdoor gardens was over, and it was time to put them to bed. For the first time, I planted outdoor gardens on my own. And they were successful! Well, some things were more success than others. I had lots and lots of green beans and cucumbers. This meant lots of pickles and many bags of green beans in my freezer! I also have spaghetti sauce made with fresh tomatoes in the freezer as well as pints of canned tomatoes. There’s also frozen fresh corn, thanks to the farmers’ market.

As for the things that weren’t so successful, my melons started out well, but once they got to a certain size, it looked as though something had gotten at them. My green peppers didn’t get very large, but they were edible. I tried to grow collards and broccoli; some animal ate the collards, and the broccoli never flowered. I’m taking my successes and not so successful things into account while planning my 2012 garden. Yep, I’m already planning.

Incidentally, one of my favorite things I canned this season was Garden Sweet Pickle Relish.

I could almost drink the liquid as a beverage. Seriously, it’s that good. I’ve posted the recipe here. Although I call it “Garden Fresh,” you can, of course, use produce from the grocery store. Also, if you really don’t want to can, the relish will stay good in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Another good that came out of my summer gardening foray is my introduction to two books by Karen Solomon.

These are great books for those new to food preservation or for those looking to expand their preservation and cooking repertoire. You’ll learn techniques and recipes to put those techniques to work. And they’re usable recipes. So many cookbooks have recipes that I’ll likely never try. These books are different. I’ve already made some of the mustards. I’m using the olive curing technique in Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It with part of my olive curing experiment. You can also learn how to make your own bacon, pastrami, and marshmallows, as well as many other things.

Keep in mind that these are multiple method books, so you’re not going to find a lot of recipes for each technique. But you’ll learn things that seem difficult aren’t necessarily so, and you’ll be encouraged to venture outside your comfort zone and find other recipes.

And Speaking of Recipes . . .
Besides the recipe for the Garden Sweet Pickle Relish, I’ve added recipes for Clubble Breakfast Sausage and Clubble Italian Sausage. Just click on the links in the sidebar.

What If . . .

I grew up in farm country–Iowa, the land of corn. Even so, I think I was on a “real” farm only once while living there. Still, I grew up knowing–though not necessarily truly appreciating–the work of the farmer. In retrospect, I wish I had developed my admiration of the farmer sooner in my life. Especially considering the dangers they face.

A few days ago, an online friend told the story of her cousin, a farmer in North Dakota. What started out as an ordinary day of working on the farm changed his life. He fell from a faulty ladder and is now paralyzed. Yesterday, my friend Karen posted State of Grace, a newspaper story about her cousin and the neighbors who have come to his aid. What happened to this farmer is sad, but how his neighbors have responded is truly inspirational. It certainly helps to restore one’s faith in humanity. They don’t see this individual as a competitor. No, he is someone with whom they share a livelihood and lifestyle. And they each know it could happen to them.

It also introduced me to Farm Rescue, which is also helping this farmer and his family. This is one organization that truly puts actions above lip service. As we all know, family and other small farms are a dying breed. In some areas, those of us who prefer to buy our food from places not run by conglomerates and big agribusiness may find sources increasingly scarce. If a farmer cannot plant of harvest his or her crops, the ability to stay in farming may be seriously compromised. Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations, and an accident–even one less physically serious than this one–can bring a generations’-long way of life to a screeching halt.

Farm Rescue serves farms in North and South Dakota and parts of Minnesota and Montana. I encourage you to see if there is a similar organization in your area. If there is, please support it. After all, the quality of the food on your table may depend on it.

Pop! Pop! My Favorite Song of Summer

One of the reasons I planted a garden this year was this:

I’ve discussed my love of green beans in a previous post. This post is about my adoration of cucumbers. Well, to be exact, pickles. I like them raw and even fried, as we used to have when I was a kid. But my favorite way to eat them is as a pickle. I am a pickle primadonna. And while I don’t limit my pickle making to cucumbers, they are my favorite.

Last week I canned my first batch of pickles. I don’t always can them, but I wanted to this time. Now, in retrospect, it was probably one of my least intelligent ideas ever. Seriously, ever. It was the hottest day of the year–100 degrees with a 105 heat index. And I live on the top floor of a brick building with a flat roof and mediocre air conditioner. But I wanted to can, and can I did.

This was a new brine recipe for me. It’s one of Alton Brown’s from his Good Eats show, I believe. The brine is simple: 3 cups of water, 2 cups of white vinegar, 1/4 cup pickling (also known as canning) salt, and dill. It should be enough brine for 4 pints of pickles. I used about 6 cucumbers of various sizes. I also added 4 cloves of garlic and a quarter onion to each jar. They’re processed in a water bath for 15 minutes. And the result? Four of these

After canning, I fell asleep. Until I heard the “pop.” That lovely sound indicates that the jars have prope