I’m afraid of pickling

I grew up with an extraordinary mother who could cook anything, bake anything, preserve, can, and pickle anything. Not that you would want to but you can pickle anything. My favorite, still, is an old fashion dill pickle. I’ve wanted to make my own for years but was afraid. I remember the process and the boiling jars and the tongs and the time. I’m older and more mature now, but still afraid, so I decided to roll up my sleeves and research this into a smaller simpler process.

Absolute must-have tools

1. Deep pot at least 10 inches
2. 2 to 3 16 oz. Glass canning jars
3. Rubber heat-resistant gloves
4. Canning tongs

If you happen to have gotten a pickling pot set for your wedding or inherited a pickling jar caddie from your great aunt then wonderful for you. But if I was going to find an excuse to never pickle it would be that I didn’t have the right tools. I added the heat resistant gloves. You can get a cheap pair from the hardware store. Gloves, not oven mitts, because you can get a good grip on the tongs and balance the jars whenever you need without the fear of burning or splashing yourself. In pickling, it’s the most common injury.

Prepare your jars for pickling by either washing them in the dishwasher in the “sterile” mode if you have it, or by boiling them for several minutes in boiling water. Air dry either. Include the caps and lids.

Basic Brine

Scrub and wash 10 fresh pickling cucumbers. As I could not find pickling size, I used hot house cucumbers and sliced them into quartered spears. Boil 2 quarts water with 3 tablespoons of kosher salt or even table salt without iodine and 1/2 cup white vinegar until clear. Set aside.

Spicy Garlic Dill

Lay down at the bottom of the jar:

1. a few fresh clean sprigs of dill
2. 2 cloves of peeled garlic
3. 1/8 teaspoon dried mustard seeds
4. 1/8 teaspoon dry red chile flakes

Vertically stuff the cucumbers as tightly as possible without bruising into the jar. I added the odd sized pieces at the top. Add another layer of the listed on top. Slowly pour the brine into the jar leaving 1/2 inch at the top. Do the same for the other jar. Cap and twist the lids on tightly and evenly to both.

Place both jars into a pot of water so that the level reaches to around the neck area. Bring to a low boil and maintain for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars and place onto a cooling rack or dish towel in a place where they can’t be disturbed. When they have cooled, check to see if the lids have indented. This tells you that there’s a good seal.

After 3 days open one jar. No scum should have formed around the rim. Juices should be clear and the pickles should smell, well, like dill pickles!. Taste one and if you are satisfied place both jars in the refrigerator. If you want to pickle the unopened jar for another day or two, leave it alone but still put the opened jar in the refrigerator. It will still be delicious to eat. Make note of how many days to let pickle next time. Adjust the recipe by adding a little less salt to the brine, the spiciness, or garlic for next time. This recipe is small so that in a couple of hours you can make homemade dill pickles the way you like them any time.

By the way, those mustard seeds are from my garden! It was fun to use them in something like this recipe.

Smooth and creamy, hearty yet light, subtle, with a bite from the chile peppers, all the goodness of a traditionally made chile relleno but without the fry mess.

Stuffed Chile

While visiting friends in New Mexico we were treated to this version of chile relleno whose roots are from the other Mexico. Chile relleno means "chile stuffed" usually with a mild white cheese. You can use poblano chiles or any other mild types of green chile. Anaheim chiles might be easier to find. If you’re going to buy an already prepared store brand, make sure they’re not marinated, or char and peel your own. With a little extra time and work, you’ll be rewarded with a better texture and a touch of smokiness.

What you’ll need

How to make it

Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, sauté onion and garlic. Add ground meat and cook thoroughly. Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and some fresh ground pepper and all the dry seasoning. Mix and cook for a couple minutes.

Pour drained diced tomatoes and warm through.

Place half of the chiles flat onto the bottom of a non-greased casserole dish or square baking pan (9 x 9 inch) or souffle dish (2 quart). Top with half the meat mixture and all of the cheese. Repeat chile and meat layer.

In a bowl combine milk, eggs, flour, salt and hot sauce and incorporate well. Gently pour over layers. Bake for 50 minutes or until knife check is clean. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

6 servings.

This recipe has been altered from A Cook’s Books — Recipe management for Macintosh.

Perfect texture of pasta, mushrooms, and a little spinach, flavored with crumbled ham, topped with parmesan cheese.

Italians make it all about the ingredients

You can use any pasta, button mushrooms, American breakfast bacon, frozen chopped spinach, and shaker parmesan cheese, but if you could possibly use the ingredients I specifically call for, you will have heaven dancing in your mouth in about fifteen minutes. The difference in flavor and texture will be subtle and gentle. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself making this more than once a week.

What you’ll need

How to make it

Start water for linguini. Place prociutto single layered onto a piece of foil; broil from middle rack for just a few minutes. Keep an eye on the Italian ham—it can burn easily. When edges are dry, turn the pieces over and crisp the other side. Then remove entire foil sheet and set aside while it cools down.

Wash, dry and cut stems from mushrooms and slice. Not too thin or thick. Rinse and spin dry spinach, remove any thicker or long stems. Grate parmesan cheese into a small bowl.

If you haven’t already added salt to the water then do so and then boil the linguini. Follow the instructions on how long to cook the pasta but subtract 1 minute.

In a large skillet melt butter then heat olive oil thoroughly. Add garlic and mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are glossy but not limp making sure to stir constantly. Add the spinach and sauté about 30 seconds until spinach is limp. With tongs, slowly add the linquini into the pan. A little water will add to the overall moisture and “sauce” of the dish but don’t drown it. Gently fold all the ingredients together. Add crumbled prociutto, salt, pepper and the chili flakes. Taste then add all but a couple of teaspoons of the parmesan to the pasta right before serving. Parmesan and prociutto are both salty so be careful not to over-salt. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and eat immediately.

It’s a very light meal and should serve 4, or 3 very hungry people.

Cutting food into small pieces doesn’t have to be dicey

Don’t be intimidated when a recipe calls for an item to be diced. Blenders and food processors demolish a little too quickly and reduce food pieces to purée in a blink of an eye—you don’t have control. If you are knife shy, to follow are some tricks to dicing and mincing. The goal is to get the food the right size and shape.

1. Use a sharp knife
2. Use the right size of knife that you can control
3. Work on a non-slip, dry, correct height surface
4. Have good utilitarian lighting
5. Concentrate and take your time

Cut slices first, then take one or two of the slices at a time and cut julienne strips. Turn and cut again. When your knife is sharp, you can easily cut down with little effort, keep your finger tips curled in slightly, and use your knuckles to guide the knife blade up and down. Don’t lift the knife too high. Rest the front portion of the blade on the cutting board and rock the rest of the blade down when cutting. Big up and down forced moves don’t allow you to control your cuts and can cause accidents.

Minced garlic is pretty much dicing only on a smaller scale and the clever cuts the chefs make on television are from years of experience. With practice and time, you’ll find a way that’s comfortable for you. The point of mincing is to make small enough to embed in something like salad dressing or sauce where it might remain raw. Larger pieces can be overbearing to the tongue. Fast cooking items, like in many Chinese dishes, minced garlic spreads throughout the food quicker seasoning more evenly. Esthetically, minced foods can be undetectable to eye, adding a bit of culinary surprise.

Chili is a meat dish that can be made with or without beans, with or without tomatoes, with chili, definitely, and sometimes with a little tomato purée. Chili purists will argue but I love lots of veggies, too.

It’s all in the seasoning.

Having watched a few chili cook-offs, I’m hesitant to call this recipe “chili” but it has a few of the basic ingredients. Use any kind of ground meat. If you want to use cubed meat, brown first with some hot vegetable oil and add to the pot, make sure to let simmer for the full hour. Use the best and freshest spices or else you’ll be wasting your time adding any spices at all.

This recipe is great for busy people. You can easily double the recipe and enjoy a few extra lunches and another weekday dinner with just a few more minutes of work. Kids love it because they can make the dinner their own by adding crumbled crackers, croutons, chili sauce, onions, cheese, and sour cream. Even though you can clearly see the veggies in this style of chili, the kids don’t seem to mind. I have converted many tomato, onion, and celery haters.

What you’ll need

How to make it

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 5 or 6 quart pot and sauté for 10 minutes all the vegetables and garlic, salt and pepper.

Add ground meat and mix until browned and fully cooked.

Add green chilies, seasoning, and spices. Mix thoroughly.

Finally, drain beans and add, tomatoes with juice, and tobasco. Mix again and simmer for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour with cover on. Stir occasionally. Best side is corn bread.

Quick snack or Breakfast. Eggs have always been a super-food and now they are recognized for their cholesterol control.

I don’t know the scientific reason why eggs are harder to peel the fresher they are. If you buy eggs and keep them in the fridge for a few days, it should be fine. They are several days old from the grocery anyway. A hard to peel egg is a tragedy and unsalvageable. Once cracked you can’t even scoop the egg out with a spoon.

Eggs have cholesterol, the good and the bad. Recently research finds that egg yolk actually makes your body produce stronger HDL (that’s the good cholesterol). Whatever! Eat in moderation.

One thing is for sure, deviled eggs are very bad for you with all the mayonnaise. I love them slightly warm with a tiny pat of butter, salt and pepper for breakfast or a snack.

For real meat and rice lovers, it’s packed with chicken, pork sausage, and shrimp served over a bed of rice, tangy from tomatoes and as spicy as you’d like it.

Gumbo: a simple rice dish.

Gumbo means stew that consists of rice cooked in broth. All the other ingredients are regional or combined with other notions of what people think is gumbo. There really is no wrong answer but, definitely, rice is the distinguishing factor.

I’m not a fan of okra but if you love it, sauté it in with the vegetables and enjoy—just a little slimy for my taste. Finally, who has 2 to 3 hours to make a standard gumbo? It does take some time though. I recommend making this as a Sunday meal and then having left over for Monday or Tuesday. It only gets better each day if there’s any left. Otherwise, cut this recipe in half for a weekday meal.

What you’ll need

How to make it

Bring broth to a boil, add butter and 1 tsp salt, and rice, simmer for 20 minutes.

While rice is cooking, chop all vegetables and sauté in butter, garlic, salt and pepper until onions and celery are glossy and carrots are tender. Add 2 T of flour straight into vegetables to create a roux, mix and cook for a couple minutes. Add drained olives. Remove from heat and set aside.

In large deep pan, heat oil and sauté chicken until cooked through, then stir in and sauté shrimp until they turn pink, Add sausage to warm. Immediately add the vegetables and stewed tomatoes. Simmer meats and vegetables for 10 minutes so juices can thicken. Add 2 T Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp Tobasco sauce, plenty of fresh ground pepper and salt to taste. Serve over rice and top with fresh chopped chives.

Chicken scallopini stuffed with vegetables and cheeses. It’s a bit removed from the ordinary chicken for dinner night. Juicy and tender chicken with extra flavor atop a bed of spaghetti.

A little help for the "it’s chicken again"

I know, I know. How many times can you serve chicken? But this one is so simple and combines familiar flavors, plus a few hidden ones, that you really can’t grow tired of. If you know you’re having a busy week, prepare the chicken ahead of time, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate in your extra cold meat drawer for Tuesday or Wednesday.

What you’ll need

How to make it

Prepare chicken by placing a single breast into a one gallon freezer bag or between two sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap including a good 3 to 4 inches around the perimeter. By using a meat mallet or similar tool, gently pound the breast out to make a scallopini. Rotate and turn over as you pound for a more even thickness. Do not make holes and be careful not to tear. You can ask your butcher to do this for you.

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients together. Place 1/3 cup of the mixture onto the center of the chicken without over stuffing. Roll the scallopini around stuffing, insert a toothpick to fix close, then place onto a plate until all the scallopinis are stuffed.

Over medium-high heat, in a large skillet, thoroughly heat 2 tablespoons of a vegetable oil. When you can see the oil ripple, gently place each stuffed chicken breast toothpick side down into the pan taking care where you place the stuffed scallopini so you don’t have to move it. Brown for 2 minutes then flip each over. Brown for 2 more minutes one quarter turn then flip the last 2 minutes to the other side. Chicken should be browned 4 sides. Do not move the stuffed scallopini around in the pan between browning, it will stick and tear.

Reduce heat to low and pour entire jar of marinade into the pan being careful not to splatter oil. Simmer for 20 minutes, turning the stuffed scallopinis over once. Remove toothpicks before serving onto a bed of spaghetti. Add remaining sauce to each serving.

So much flavor and texture, you won’t miss the… what? Clean, fresh, crisp cabbage, sweet bellpeppers, juicy mushrooms, and tender tofu tossed together with a hint of spiciness.

Tofu and non-tofu lovers alike

I can’t wrap my brain around why some people don’t like tofu. It reminds me of so many other things like cheese, egg, curd, custard, and yet so many people cringe at the thought of having to eat it. Even more of you don’t know what to do with it. I dedicate this recipe to Gabrielle and that tub of tofu she has in the back of her fridge.

Pak Choi is just a greener, leafier cabbage and since I had grown some in my garden, I created this recipe in my head. After getting the textures and flavors I thought would go together, this meal surprised me. I couldn’t put it down. It was so much more delicious than imagined.

What you’ll need

How to make it

In a medium size skillet, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. After oil becomes hot over medium-high heat, add mushrooms and half of the minced garlic and sauté. When mushrooms begin to wilt, add the tofu. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove mushrooms and tofu into a bowl. If the pan is dry, heat another teaspoon of oil before adding bell pepper and remainder of garlic. Sauté bell pepper for a couple minutes before adding cabbage. As soon as all the cabbage has wilted, place pepper and tofu back into the pan. Add soy sauce, srirachi, and ground pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly for another minute. That’s it. Serve over a hearty brown rice or diakon radish seed rice.

The only ingredients in this fruit salad is… fruit. Marshmallows are for campfires and mayonnaise is for sandwiches, but please leave them out of fresh ripe fruit. This particular blend is lower in sugar but not short on flavor.

It’s all about the blend

2 Grapefruit: pink only, one heavy for its size means it’s ripe and juicy. No blemishes and slightly rosy on the yellowish skin. When cutting off the skin and cutting the sections, save the juice to pour over all the fruit. Do this first to keep the other apples from turning brown.

1 Mango: medium large and heavy for its size. Multi colored green, yellow, orangey and warm red. Don’t squeeze because you need a firm fruit. Trust your nose. Hold it inches from your nose and you should get an undeniable mango scent. Your mouth should also naturally water. No broken skin.

10 Strawberries: medium sized and ripe without any white or green in the meaty portion. No blemishes or mold so you know they are not overly ripened or bruised. You must be able to smell strawberries if you are standing over them. I must impress this fact that if you can’t smell them, they are not ripe.

1 Watermelon: small and heavy for its size. If you can find a seeded deep green skinned melon, you are lucky. Cut into the meaty portion and hand pick out the black seeds. It’s worth the work for the flavor. If the melon is mushy, take it back. It’s been frozen or bruised.

2 Apples: depending of type, size doesn’t matter. Pick two different types but keep them thin skinned with one being sweeter like Pink Lady or Braeburn and the other sour like Pippin or Granny Smith. Stay away from Red Delicious or pear style apples.

Now, you’re wondering why be so specific? Take the time to find the best fruit and eat them the way nature had intended, The combination of texture, sweetness, tanginess, and density is perfect. It’s healthier with all the fiber and vitamins contained in the skin and pulp. Fruit salad is a wonderful breakfast or balance for a rich cut of meat or fish. Make a larger batch and display it for your kids. They will reach for it as a snack over a soda or refined juice any day.