Sweet Pickle Relish

I used the recipe strainght out of the BBB and boy is it ever tasty! Part of the cucumbers I chopped up in the food processer, and the other part I did in the grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer. can't say for sure which turned out better but they are really pretty.

Sweet Icicle Pickles

These started today and will sit under the brine for only one week. I love these pickles! It seems like every large container I have currently has something "brewing" in it! I like to use a dinner or salad plate to weight the cukes but I didn't have one that would fit inside the glass container so I cut part an odd sized plastic plate and then used a Ziploc bag filled on top of it. I usually use a canning jar on top but this recipe calls for the lid to be on the jar and it would not have fit if I used jars to weight.

Pickle Season Has Begun!

I started a 20# bucket of cucumbers brining last week (5/25 for reference sake). There is a nice scum starting to form on top of the brine which is a good sign. Also, there are nice little lacto-fermented bubbles starting to come to the surface. Won't be long before we will have pickles. This process will take between 4 and 6 weeks. Then I will de-salt the cukes and then make the pickles.

Memorial Day Grill

We went to a Memorial Day service downtown this morning. It was very nice but we had to leave before it was over. It was close to Eliza's nap time and she really started whinning. The boys walked right up front and sat down so they could see everything. They thought it was great and had lots of really good questions. We had a few of the usual routines after that and then headed home for a cook-out.

Menu

Grilled Grass-Fed Beef Patties

Grilled Vidalia Onions with Mustard Tarragon Sauce

Grilled Corn with Pecan Butter

Sliced Tomatoes

The Best Ever Baked Beans

Mustard Tarragon Sauce

1/3 cup olive oil

2 TBS dijon mustard

2 TBS white wine vinegar

1 TBS or so dried tarragon

salt and pepper

Wisk it all together. Let it sit for a bit so the flavoers come together.

The Best Ever Baked Beans

I just eye this so I will "guess" the best I can. My Aunt Nancee taught me to make these and they are oh so good!

2 large cans baked beans

about 1/2 cup ketchup

1 pound bacon cut in pieces

1 medium onion diced

1/2 cup (maybe a bit more) brown sugar, packed (light or dark)

Mix everything together in a large baking dish. Cook at 350 degrees for a really long time...Maybe 2 or three hours. Just stir it every now and then and when it starts to get really thick, sticky, and black around the edges then you know it's ready! It's just as good if not better reheated.

Muffins, Banana/Pecan/Chocolate Chip

2 1/4 cups fresh flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg (less if not fresh)

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg slightly beaten

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup honey

3 medium mashed bananas

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans (you could toast them first)

Mix dry together. Mix wet together in a seperate bowl. Mix together lightly. Standard muffin tins will cook for 15 min at 400 degrees. yield about 15.

NOTES

-The kids just love these!

-I need to try making this savory sometime when I don't want to make rolls or cornbread.

Pancakes

I get asked a lot for my pancake recipe. This is the basic starting point. I like to liven them up with lots of fun seasonal or home canned yummies.

Basic Whole Wheat Pancakes

courtesy of The Bread Beckers Recipe Collection

3 cups freshly milled flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup oil (I use melted butter)

4 eggs

3-4 cups buttermilk

Mix together dry ingredients. Add liquids. Stir just until mixed. I let it sit for about 30 minutes prior to cooking. I fry them on a griddle with melted butter.

Dehydrated Strawberries

I think there is no way I could have made enough of these. Eliza loves them and eats them like most kids do candy.

Notes

-The larger berries seem to do better, look nicer. The bigger berries are at the beginning of the season, so I will be better off doing lots of drying early on in the season and then doing soft spreads later in the season.

Strawberry Jelly

Thanks to my friends on the Canning 2 yahoo group, I bought a steam juicer. This is the most beautiful jelly I have ever seen and it tastes like biting into a fresh ripe strawberry.

Notes

-I used the Linda Amendt recipe and went with the liquid pectin. It tooks several days before it was completely set. I might try some later this week with powdered pectin and see what the difference is.