cucumbers + dill = pickles (hopefully)

Last year, at our fruit stand, I saw a woman buy a big box of cucumbers and huge bunches of dill. "Don't forget to make your pickles right away so the cucumbers stay crunchy" was the advice from the fruit stand guy. So this year, I thought I would try making pickles myself. So a couple of weeks ago, I asked the fruit stand guy to put my name down for a box of cucumbers and dill. And last week I got a message from him saying I would get my box on Monday. So I found a recipe, got out my jars and lids, bought vinegar and pickling salt and on Monday, the boy and I stopped and bought the box of cucumbers and dill. And I got the "make them right away so the cucumbers stay crunchy and wash them really well" advice.

So I washed and sorted cucumbers for about an hour - all 10 pounds of them.

I washed the jars and lids, boiled the water in the canning pot and made the brine. Then I stuffed the jars with dill,

mustard seed, black pepper corns and the cucumbers and topped them up with the brine solution. Into the canning bath for 20 minutes and now they are put away in the cupboard to "cure".

They look like pickles, so I'm hoping they taste like pickles.

Here's how I did it:

Dill Pickles (based on blue ribbon dill pickles from food.com)

9 wide mouth jar, with lids and seals
10 lbs cucumbers, washed and sorted by size
fresh dill, flowers and a few inches of stem
mustard seeds
pepper corns

17 c water
4 1/2 c white vinegar
1 c pickling salt

Wash the jars and keep hot, either in a canning bath or from the dishwasher. Place the lids and seals into a saucepan, cover with water and simmer. Shake the dill flowers and sprigs to remove any bugs. Fill the canning bath half full of water and set to boil on the stove.

Make the brine by adding the water, vinegar and salt to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to low until ready.

When everything is ready, begin to fill the hot jars, one at a time. Place a few dill flowers in the bottom of each jar, add 5 peppercorns, a few mustard seeds and fill the jar with cucumbers, fitting the cucumbers in tightly up to the neck of the jars. Pour the brine in the jars, leaving 1/2" head space. Add a tiny sprig of dill to the top and cap with the lid and seal. Place the jars in the canning bath. Process for 15 minutes. Remove from the bath onto a clean towel and let cool, covered with another towel for 24 hours. Place in a dark, dry area for storage.

memories of maine

Lately it seems everyone has been talking about lobster (lobsta) rolls. I even came across an article in the paper about a food truck in Montreal that does them. And while we do have awesome shrimp and crab here on the west coast, we don't have lobster shacks a short drive away like say, the coast of Maine.

The best lobster I ever had wasn't from a lobster shack though - it was eaten on beaches, beside campfires, with corn and melted butter. With this coastal schooner anchored not far away.

But all this talk of lobster rolls is making me hungry for some lobster. I may have to go find some.

postcards from home

A couple of weeks ago, on a solitary evening walk, I came across a gem of a view.

It’s close to our house, about 6 blocks, as the crow flies. A tiny signpost pointed the way through the woods or I never would have found it.

It’s a special place to our family because it’s where my husband’s siblings spent some of their childhood, in the days when there was a marina in the bay. I’ll take our boy there for a picnic soon so he’ll know it too.

summer days

We spent some time in the woods and at the beach last week. Catching up with family and just getting away from our daily routines. The weather co-operated so we got in a lot of summer fun stuff - beach time

 making sand castles, stick castles, rock castles

and sand crocodiles covered with seaweed,

looking at fossils and lungfish at a local museum, go carts, mini golf, ice cream, looking at old airplanes,

 hiking around a swamp and a marsh,

riding a steam train and looking at old logging equipment and construction trucks

and having dinner with family. And two rides on a ferry.

I hope you are all having an awesome summer.

musings on a saturday

I woke up early this morning, before the boy and enjoyed a quiet moment with a favorite book. And when the boy came in he cuddled up beside me, snuggling into my "fuzzy" as he calls it (chenielle dressing gown). We got to snuggle for a few quiet minutes in what my guys call a mummy sandwich (Daddy on one side and boy on the other). I got to marvel at how big he's getting and smell his hair (wierd mummy stuff) before I heard "mummy, when are you getting up"? So my quiet time was over.

But - it was sunny today. And warm. Like summer. Which is nice seeing as it's July.

I enjoyed the sunshine in the garden- looked at what's growing. I started to harvest some of my lavender flowers but the bees were out in force

so I left them to it after I picked enough for one bunch. I picked zucchini and radishes.

And found evidence of the phantom zucchini chewer.

And some ripening tomatoes.

The boy and I had a snack and a drink outside in the sun. And then I got to watch the boy try and master his new-to-him supersoaker water gun. And build his road - which after the supersoaker action caused an avalanche which I had to go inspect along with the worm that the backhoe bucket dug up.

And supper was zucchini fritters, braised radishes, roasted new potato wedges along with a baby kale and arugula salad.

I've got apricots preparing to be put into a galette tomorrow and a cake baking in the oven (this one with raspberries) so the house smells all jammy.

Once again the news reminds me of how lucky we are. My thoughts are with the people of Norway, especially those who've lost a loved one in the horrific acts of violence yesterday.

I got carried away

It started with the chutney. I think. Actually it started with the green tomatoes that I froze last summer intending to make this pie again before my beloved’s stomach started acting up. So I put away thoughts of green tomatoes and sausage melded into a pie. But said tomatoes got tired of being put aside and for the past couple of weeks, would regularly fall out of the freezer onto my bare toes. Quite frankly, I was getting a tad annoyed about them. And then I read this. So Sunday morning found me stirring a vinegary batch of green tomato and apple chutney. It never did get to a jammy chutney consistency which I blame entirely on my reducing the recipe to fit the amount of green tomatoes I had and the various substitutions I did. I did the math in my head, which is always dangerous but never mind. Consistency issues aside, it is lovely. I’m planning to eat it with some sharp cheddar and farmhouse bread for lunch in the near future as my attempt at a plowman’s lunch.

But reading about chutney and Indian spices, made me look for a new daal recipe as a previous attempt had turned out soupy and somewhat flavourless. I found this recipe on Heidi’s site and decided to make it. I went and scavenged the last of my garden spinach and chard, used red lentils instead of ivory and curry powder in place of turmeric and away I went. I did heed one of the commenter’s advice which was to add much less water than the recipe indicated and it worked a treat.

It being a grey day, I was more motivated to stay in the kitchen than the garden, so thoughts turned to making a curry using this recipe as the jumping off point, subbing baby cauliflower and broccoli for the beef. At the market, I’d picked up some rapini so that went into the mix as well. Served over brown rice, it was delicious alongside the daal and the chutney. And of course, either the daal or the curry would have been sufficient for us for supper with leftovers aplenty. Ah well. It’s all enough for a week’s worth of lunches for my man which is a good thing.

 Green Tomato and Apple Chutney (adapted from David Lebovitz)

10 ½ oz green tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks

1 apple, cored, and cut into chunks

1/3 c peeled and diced shallots

pinch of hot red new Mexican chili powder

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1/3 c apple cider vinegar

1/3 c dark brown sugar

1 tbsp black mustard seeds

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

zest of one lemon

Mix together all the ingredients in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low boil and cook, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes, until the mixture is thick and jam-like. Once finished, ladle the chutney into clean jars.



chutney cooking



Palak Daal (adapted from Heidi Swanson at 101Cookbooks)

1 c red lentils, picked over and rinsed

2 1/2 c water

1/2 pound spinach and chard, washed and finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 large pinch of hot red new Mexican chili powder

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp pure red chile powder

more salt to taste

juice of 1/2 a lemon

In a large pot over medium-high heat combine the daal and water. Bring to a boil, then add the spinach, ginger, curry powder, chili powder, and all of the tomatoes. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the lentils are extremely soft. You may need to add a bit more water during the cooking process to keep the lentils soupy. After an hour and a half, stir in the salt.

In a separate pan, heat the butter and cumin and fry until the cumin seeds start to pop. Now add the red chile powder and fry for another 30 seconds. Add this butter mixture to the lentils and allow to cook for another five minutes. Add the lemon juice and taste, adding more salt if needed.

a steaming bowl of daal

Cauliflower and Broccoli Curry with Rapini (based on the Cooking Canuck)

1 tsp sunflower oil
1 gala apple, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 oz. jarred mild curry paste (I used Patak’s)

1 small cauliflower, cut into florets

1 small broccoli, cut into florets

1 bunch rapini, stemmed and chopped (the vegetables should be about 1 ½ lbs together)

1/2 c water

7 oz greek style plain yogurt with 3 oz water added

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp water

4 small potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add apple, onion, and ginger to the saucepan. Sauté until the onions are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add curry paste and garlic. Lower the heat to low, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and 1/2 cup water. Increase the heat to medium to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes. Pour in the yogurt and water mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat to low.

In a small bowl, combine ground coriander, cumin, and garam masala, along with about 2 tablespoons water. Stir to make a paste. Add the paste and potatoes to the beef mixture. Stir, cover the pot, with the lid ajar, and simmer for approximately 2 hours. After about 30 minutes, add the rapini. Add more water as needed to keep the dish moist. Serve over rice.

vegetable curry with rice and chutney

a whole lot of green

Our summer weather, such as it was, has packed up and left. In its’ wake we have grey, cloudy skies and a lot of rain. I tell myself it is better than the sweltering heat that has enveloped most of the rest of North America and it is. And I don’t have to water my plants every day except for the tomatoes that are under cover so they don’t get blight because of all the rain. But our souls are longing for a bit of summer sunshine. And I would think my garden is too but there is much evidence to the contrary. The zucchini are growing – maybe not the zucchini bats I would have in sunshine but lots, enough so that every weekend supper featured zucchini in some form. The radishes have huge greens, the beans are leaping upwards, the potato vines are enormous and the tomatoes are ripening. And the chard and spinach were flowing boxes of green until they were ravaged by me over a couple of days to make a couple of suppers. One supper was chard (and some spinach) fritters. I found the recipe in Ottolenghi’s on-line column and thought they looked interesting. And I knew I had a bunch of chard from the market in the fridge and some growing in my garden.

It takes a lot of chard – 400g in total. So after picking and weighing a few times, I decided to throw some spinach in as well. More picking and weighing until I had a huge mountain of green on my counter.

But really, that was the hardest part of this recipe. And while they may not look very pretty, they are lovely to eat. I made a sauce for them using some greek-style yogurt, lemon juice, a squeeze of honey and some dill. Delicious.

Chard (and Spinach) Fritters (adapted from Ottolenghi’s recipe)

400g Swiss chard and spinach, leaves only
a big handful of oregano, basil and thyme from the garden, chopped

1½ tsp grated nutmeg

½ tsp sugar

3 tbsp flour

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 free-range eggs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

80g feta, broken into small pieces

60ml olive oil

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, and simmer the chard for five minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, then whizz in a food processor with the herbs, nutmeg, sugar, flour, garlic, eggs, a third of a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Fold in the feta by hand.

Pour a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat and spoon in three heaped tablespoons of the mix, one per fritter. Press down gently to shape into fritters, and cook for three to four minutes, turning once, until they take on some colour. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the remaining fritter mix and oil. Serve hot.