Jun 24 2010

Picked a Peck of Pickles…

By Heather and has 2 comments.

I mentioned the other day that my canning was a success... I wanted to share the recipe, because while I haven't tasted this batch, we did taste them in class and they were awesome.

This recipe comes from my canning instructor, Marla Luther who got it from a USDA canning book.

Recipe: Reduced-Sodium Sliced Sweet Pickles

Ingredients

  • Brining Solution:
  • 1 qt distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp canning salt
  • 1 tbsp mustard seed
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Canning Syrup:
  • 1 2/3 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp allspice (Jamaican, preferably)
  • 2 1/4 tsp celery seed
  • 4 lbs (3-4") pickling cucumbers

Instructions

  1. Wash cucumbers, discard ends
  2. Slice into 1/4" slices (food processors are your friend)
  3. Combine all the ingredients for the brining solution and bring to a boil.
  4. In small batches, add cucumbers to brine and process 3-4 minutes until color becomes dull green.
  5. Drain slices in colander.
  6. Combine canning syrup ingredients and bring to a boil.
  7. Tightly pack cucumbers into 4 - 5 pint jars.
  8. Fill jars with canning syrup leaving 1/2" headspace.
  9. Wipe jars clean!!
  10. Process 10 minutes.

Quick Notes

I used high quality sea salt since I haven't been able to find canning salt yet. It's important not to use regular salt with iodine. Some of the cucumbers I used were larger than they called for... they had seeds, which is what you're trying to avoid, but I can live with it.

Microformatting by hRecipe.

So, those monster zucchinis...

The left and right ones are just over 1 lb each. The middle one... 2 full pounds!

Finally, I shared this on Facebook the other day, but I wanted to share it here too... A beautiful triple lily I had no idea grew in our yard.

This post is part of Fight Back Friday on Food Renegade.

Categories: Canning, Maryland Local Food
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Jun 22 2010

Watering a Gopher

By Heather and has 2 comments.

There are some days when I feel like I will never "get it right" with this local food thing. (Please do not talk to me about kohlrabi until at least next Spring.) It can be hard... running to multiple markets, farms, farm pickups, etc.

Well, yesterday was not one of those hard days. The stars aligned for me, I guess.

I left the office a little early because my day ended with a conference call that I could just as easily take from the car. I rolled into the community garden just before 5 to do some much needed watering. Weird transition from work to farm hand... but after a quick 911 call to one of the coordinators to figure out how to turn off the electric fence, I was in business.

Watered two rows - one each zucchini and pattypan squash - 90 seconds for each plant. Watered myself a little too, thanks to the 90+ weather we've been having. (Mother Nature, it would be lovely if you turned down the heat a bit, and gave us some rain. Thanks much.)

I was on the very last plant when a gopher ran out from under the plant - wet and scared. Not sure who was more scared though!! A nice reminder that while I might be alone in terms of other people, you're never fully alone outside!

Then I went in search of the promised pickling cucumbers. I think they meant prickly! Ouch. My goal was to pick 4 lbs for my low sodium pickle chip recipe from canning class. Yum. (Recipe to come.) Turns out, I can't judge weight very well in a field. Ended up with 8 lbs! Also, 3 of the largest zucchinis I've ever seen. I'll post a picture soon, I promise - you have to see these to believe!

Once I got home, I set about pickling those 8 pounds of extremely fresh cucumbers. Thanks to my food processor, the chopping was almost completely eliminated. And by 8:30, 8 beautiful pints of freshly made pickles were sitting on the counter. Horray!

CSA pickup tonight, and they promised NO KOHLRABI.

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Categories: Canning
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