GHERKIN

The Mexican Sour Gherkins are here! And they've arrived in full force. My gherkin plant is covered in the teeny little cucumbers that look a lot like miniature watermelons. I tried this variety for the first time this year and purchased it as a start. I must say it's now on the list of things to plant every year. These guys struggled a bit when I first planted them. Apparently they need full sun, and lots of it. As soon as I moved them into a spot that gets 6-8 hours a day, they began to thrive. They don't need a lot of attention, and so far they haven't run into any pest or disease problems. 

I think they taste great fresh off the vine. You can pop them in your mouth cherry-tomato style, but they are so so so good pickled. I've read online that some folks have seem them in farmer's markets, but they're rare, so you may have to just grow them yourself next year. I plan to save some seeds, but you can pick up a packet here or here. Seed Savers also carries the West Indian Gherkin which I may try out next year.

Mexican Sour Gherkin Pickles

• 8oz jar
• large handful of gherkins 
• 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp salt (Kosher if you have it--to keep it from getting cloudy)
• 1 tbsp sugar 
• 1 chile pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, sliced
• several whole cloves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns

*You can substitute 2 tsps of pickling spice for the mustard and pepper, too.

Wash and remove the blossom end points from the gherkins. Place them in an 8 ounce jar. Mix the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Add the garlic, chili, and spices. Remove from heat and allow the contents to steep with a lid on until the mixture is warm but no longer hot. Pour the brine over gherkins in jar, cover with lid, and allow to cool before storing in the refrigerator. If you want to formally can them, process the jars as you normally would while the contents are still warm.

Pickled Beets

I've yet to meet a person who's on the fence about pickled beets. I think you either love em or hate em. I personally LOVE this recipe. The beet pickles are sweet and tender with a little mulled wine-like spice that reminds me of fall. Once again this is a small batch/refrigerator pickle recipe as I haven't really had a huge harvest of anything to justify formal canning.

Part of what made this batch so good was the HONEY. My family knows how much I love the honey from this little, off the beaten path, farm and petting zoo in Cottageville, South Carolina. 

I recently received a care package that included some goods from Bee City. Thank's y'all! I was especially excited about the honey dipper. I've always wanted one of those. Anyway, use high quality honey if you can--it really makes a difference. 

PICKLED BEETS

Makes 1 quart (two pint jars)

Approximately 4-5 beets

1 cup vinegar

1 cup water 

1 tbsp mulling spices (cloves, orange peel, cinnamon, allspice)

2 tsp pickling spice

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup honey

1/4 medium sweet yellow onion

2 sprigs of tarragon

Boil the beets in water for about 30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool and remove the skins. Slice or chop them depending on your preference. Bring the vinegar, water, garlic, bay leaf, pickling spice, and mulling spice to a boil. Add the honey. Remove from heat, and remove the bay leaf. Leave the other spices in the solution. Pack your jars with the onions, beets, and tarragon. Tarragon and beets are my new favorite flavor combination right now. You can't leave out the tarragon--this is a must! Pour the hot vinegar solution into the jars over the beets. Leave 1/2 inch from the top and seal. Allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Ready to eat the next day, but the flavor is better if you can wait two days. 

These beets are great added to salads, straight out of the jar, or served as a snack with some cheese and crackers.

Refrigerator Dilly Beans!

Well, hello. It's been awhile. I've been busy working, and a good friend from college came to visit me all the way from Vermont. We went camping on the Oregon coast, and although we were only gone for a night, something magical happened while we were away. My bean plants exploded beans!

I also got the first zucchini of the season. There are now three little baby squash on my yellow squash plant, and my half dead tomato plants are coming to life!

before

after

If you notice on the left, the plants have an almost purple hue to them. I think they had phosphorus deficiency. I've been watering them and fertilizing them with a fertilizer both high in nitrogen and phosphorus, and they are doing great!

I've been eating lots of beans for the past four days, and I'm kicking myself for not documenting some of the recipes. Most of them were delicious, so I'm sure I'll make them again.

For now though, here is a super easy and fast recipe for dilly beans. It makes two pint jars, which I think is a good amount for refrigerator pickles. Embarrassingly, and especially when it's hot, I can eat a whole jar myself in just a few days. I think dilly beans are my favorite, straight out of the jar pickle, and I'm pretty sure they will be yours if you give these guys a try.

purple beans: royal burgundy

Here are my beans before I blanched them. I felt compelled to share a pic in this state so you can see the purple beans! Unfortunately, the purple ones turn green after they've been cooked/blanched, but they're still kinda fun nonetheless.

DILLY BEANS
Makes 2 pint size jars

1 cup water
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt (kosher is best so it doesn't get cloudy in your jar)
3 cloves of garlic, minced

pretty spanish roja garlic

Boil the above ingredients, and cool to room temperature. Then blanch 2 large handfuls of green beans, and place them in an ice bath. 

In each jar place:
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp pickling spice
1 dried cayenne pepper (I still had some left from last season, but red pepper flakes work, too)
1/4 medium onion very thinly sliced
Several sprigs of dill 

Then fill your jars with the blanched beans.  Once the brine is cool, pour over the beans leaving 1/2 inch from the top, and place in the refrigerator. Your dilly beans will be ready to eat in two days, and likely gone two days after that. :)