Pickled Hot Peppers

Toward the end of summer, the farmer's market was overflowing with peppers.  I picked up a variety of jalapenos, banana peppers, and wax peppers and decided to pickle them all together.  While banana and wax peppers are not as spicy as the jalapenos, when they are combined together they take on some of that heat and become pretty spicy in my opinion.  They are great to add a little kick to a pizza or sandwich, and we also fried some of them in tempura batter which was delicious.  You could even blend them up for a spicy relish or spread to go on a hot dog or burger.

Ingredients: 
1 lb hot or mild peppers - any variety (should be about 4 cups when sliced)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
Slice the peppers in thin rings- removing seeds to decrease the level of spiciness.  I left a few in but removed most of them.  In a bowl, toss the peppers with the sugar and salt and let them sit for 20 minutes, mixing occasionally.  This will start to soften them and bring out some of the flavor.  Drain any liquid that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl, and then add the vinegar and oil.  

MIx to combine and refrigerate.  Stir the peppers every 30 minutes or so for the next couple hours, and then store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.   We had them on a pizza as pictured below, but there are many other uses for these spicy pickles!

Quick Asian Pickles

We often forget how easy it is to make quick pickled vegetables.  This is a great alternative to canning pickles when you know you will eat them all relatively quickly.  After a recent purchase of diakon, a white root vegetable most often used in Asian cooking, we decided to make some quick pickles.  Daikon looks like a giant carrot in shape, but has a pungent smell and tastes like a cross between a radish and a turnip.  Along with it, we sliced up carrots and a cucumber to add to the pickling mix.  

Using rice vinegar gives the pickles a different flavor than the usual white or apple cider vinegar.  We also sliced up some Thai chiles to give the pickles a little heat.   The end result makes us wonder why we don't pickle more often!  These were great as an acidic complement along side a red curry dish with rice, but they are also great to snack on.  The longer you let them sit, the softer they will get and the more the flavors will infuse.  If you use hot chiles like we did, they will get progressively spicier too. As a note, the word "quick" is used here relative to how long normal pickles take.  This still takes some time, but is manageable in a a couple hours as opposed to a couple days.

Ingredients:
3 carrots, sliced into thin sticks
1 large English cucumber, halved, seeded, and sliced
1 daikon, peeled, halved, and sliced (if you can't find daikon you could use another cucumber)
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1-3 Thai chiles, minced (or other hot pepper) 

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the vegetables and the salt.  Let it sit for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  This releases the liquid of the vegetables and you will see it building up in the bottom of the bowl. 

Meanwhile, combine the rice vinegar and sugar into a bowl and whisk.  Let it sit until the sugar dissolves, and add the chiles.

Drain the vegetables well.  In a large gallon-sized zip-lock, combine the vegetables with the vinegar mixture.  Squeeze the air out and seal the bag.  

Let the bag sit in the fridge for an hour before serving.  You can leave them in the bag for up to a couple weeks- but ours definitely didn't last that long!  As I said, the longer they sit the more the flavors will infuse, the softer the pickles will be, and the spicier they will taste if you used hot chiles. If you like pickles, these will not disappoint!  They are super easy and definitely worth the effort.  Try the recipe with other veggies to mix it up.  Enjoy!

 

Thousand Island Dressing

This thousand island dressing is easy to make and has so much more flavor than your average store-bought dressing.  We use it to make our own Reuben sandwiches, and it really completes the whole sandwich.  It is sweet and tangy with bursts of saltiness from the caper berries.  It only takes a few minutes to whip together and you use basic kitchen ingredients. You could really use it on any sandwich to add a gourmet spin on plain mayo & mustard.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise, homemade or store-bought

1/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce

1 T dijon mustard

1 T minced caper berries (or capers)

1 T minced sweet pickles, such as pickled green beans or sweet baby gherkins

1 T finely chopped chives or green onion

1 T fresh lemon juice

dash of salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and you're done!  Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

We made Reuben sandwiches with the last of our black caraway bread, and they were sooo tasty!

Pickled Green Beans

One of my qualities that Sean has learned to live with is my admitted addiction to sales.  When I walk into a store, my eyes immediately scan for the bargains, and I magnetize to them, justifying my need for this discounted item.  Not everything ends up being as useful as I think it will be at the time of purchase...(like the cute mini-bundt pan, or the over-sized cat Halloween costumes Pico despises) but my recent steal was immediately put to great use.   My eyes were caught on the red clearance tag stuck to the 12-pack of canning jars at Target.   Sean, knowing my bargain-buys can be a little impulsive, asked what we would use them for.  I had to think of something we would both love, and it hit me- dilly beans!  (I do give him credit for steering me away from the whole canning set I was tempted to put in the cart)

So, we went home and did something us procrastinators never usually do, we made our pickled green beans that very afternoon.  We were able to can them just fine with our large pot.  Two weeks wait, and we get to taste the fruits of our labor! 

Recipe:
2 lbs fresh green beans, stems trimmed, and cut to fit the size of your jar
8 cloves garlic, halved 
hot peppers (optional)
2 1/2 c white vinegar
2 1/2 c water
1/8 c salt
1/8 c sugar
fresh dill (we used dried... other herbs would work too)
peppercorns
red pepper flakes
whole mustard seeds
cayenne pepper optional
 

 

Gather your basic ingredients together, and then start preparing the jars for the canning.  First, sterilize them by boiling for 5 minutes in a large pot of water.

Once the jars are sterilized, begin filling them with your ingredients.  Start with the garlic, a sprinkling of various spices, and a hot pepper if you are using one. No need to measure the exact amounts going in each jar.  We only put the peppers in a few of the jars because we weren't sure how hot it would make them.  Then add the green beans, being careful not to over-stuff the jars.  You want to leave a little room at the top.

Meanwhile, heat the vinegar, water, salt, & sugar to a boil.  Make sure the salt and sugar are fully dissolved before ladling into the jars.

Then, put the lids on the jar until just barely tight, and return to the boiling pot of water for 6-8 minutes.  This will seal the jars for better preservation.  You can see the difference in appearance before and after this process below:

Store for 2 weeks before opening your first jar.  Enjoy!

the final product!