So far the only candidates for this dill pickle recipe are cucumbers and carrots. I made 2 pints + 2 quarts of dill pickles and carrots; although, the carrots are only in one of the quart jars because I ran out of cucumbers. Because I lack the equipment to properly can a quart-sized jar, the quart jars became refrigerator pickles.
Ingredients
sliced, quartered, or whole pickling cucumbers (~ 2 lbs)
fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped into 4" pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and trimmed, per jar
organic carrot sticks (optional)
the brine:
1 1/2 c white vinegar
1 1/2 c filtered water
1-2 tbsp kosher salt
Bring brine ingredients to a boil in a medium pot. Remove from heat when the salt has dissolved. Set aside until ready to use.
Directions
The order of operations is pretty important. You want all the floaty stuff to start at the bottom and then wedge it all into place by packing the jar with the vegetables. First things to the bottom are the garlic and dill leaves.
Wash and trim the ends of the vegetables. The flower end of the cucumber is what makes it go soft in the brine and nobody wants to eat limp pickles. Pack each jar full. Pour brine on top and leave 1/2" space at the top. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel before placing and securing the lid and jar bands.
Start the timer when the water comes back up to a boil after adding the jars. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 24 hours before shelving.
For the refrigerator pickles, skip the hot water bath. Simply place the sterilized lid and tighten the jar band. Put in refrigerator to cure for a week before eating.
Note: This recipe assumes you have sterilized jars, lids, and jar bands ready to go.
Note to future self: Add brine to jars you intend to can. If you run out of brine, make more.
The ratio was sourced from here (ratios mucked around with since I wasn't about to make 7 quarts of pickles).
Dulce de Leche
Now that I have unused 4 oz jars, I think I should fill them up with something sweet. These would make nice gifts for those sugarholics in your life.
Dulce de leche is a caramel sauce with South American origins and likely the result of needing to preserve dairy in those pre-refrigeration days. This recipe uses the lazy method: a crockpot and sweetened condensed milk.
Food52 via Serious Eats would have you combine these ingredients, if making it from scratch:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
And, you'd have to slave over a hot stove for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn't burn or scald. And, once you're done this mixture keeps well for four weeks in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, there's always-on electricity and products like already canned sweetened condensed milk. Here's the other not-really-from-scratch process, which comes from the Crazy for Crust blog:
Ingredients
two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
clean glass jars with rings and lids
water
Directions
1. Evenly distribute sweetened condensed milk across the jars being used. It should fill seven 4 oz jars or three 8 oz jars. Attach lids and rings to jars.
2. Place jars (not touching each other) into the slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
3. Set slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW.
The only problem with this method that the dulce de leche is not shelf stable because of its low acidity. This will also spoil if not used within 4 weeks and must be refrigerated, even though the jars are sealed.
Either method is a LOT better than buying the irradiated stuff from the grocery store, IMHO.
Dulce de leche is a caramel sauce with South American origins and likely the result of needing to preserve dairy in those pre-refrigeration days. This recipe uses the lazy method: a crockpot and sweetened condensed milk.
Food52 via Serious Eats would have you combine these ingredients, if making it from scratch:
1 quart whole milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
And, you'd have to slave over a hot stove for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring constantly so the mixture doesn't burn or scald. And, once you're done this mixture keeps well for four weeks in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, there's always-on electricity and products like already canned sweetened condensed milk. Here's the other not-really-from-scratch process, which comes from the Crazy for Crust blog:
Ingredients
two 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk
clean glass jars with rings and lids
water
Directions
1. Evenly distribute sweetened condensed milk across the jars being used. It should fill seven 4 oz jars or three 8 oz jars. Attach lids and rings to jars.
2. Place jars (not touching each other) into the slow cooker and fill with enough water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
3. Set slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW.
The only problem with this method that the dulce de leche is not shelf stable because of its low acidity. This will also spoil if not used within 4 weeks and must be refrigerated, even though the jars are sealed.
Either method is a LOT better than buying the irradiated stuff from the grocery store, IMHO.
Kitchen Notes: Kimchi Pairings
After failing to properly can a batch of kimchi, I have four pint jars of it in my refrigerator. The fifth jar that I took into work seems as unpopular as the fresh longan and fresh litchis that I also brought into work. The kimchi wasn't done fermenting (only a week + 2 days had transpired) and ended up getting cooked a little while canning, plus a lot of its liquid leaked out so I'm not sure how much "life" the jars have in the fridge since then.
Here is the scale. The higher it is on the scale, the more likely it is to be served to others. I'll put comparative recipes in the scale for taste context. As a bachelorette, I'll eat most things that rank at or above a 7. Some of these I've done, some suggestions are imaginary. The kimchi and clam chowder was not imaginary but I think it might taste okay with the Boston version instead.
10 (best, is that even possible?)
9.9 - (my Dad's roast duck recipe)
8 - kimchi and pork stew (Korean jigae)
7.5 - baked chicken parts with kimchi
7.2 - kimchi and beef/pork/shrimp/vegetable pho broth
7.1 - kimchi with ramen noodles
7.0 - homemade kimchi straight from the jar
3 - kimchi and New England Clam Chowder
2 - kimchi using Chinese white radish
1.1 - (tuna casserole)
1 (worst, into the compost heap it goes)
Here is the scale. The higher it is on the scale, the more likely it is to be served to others. I'll put comparative recipes in the scale for taste context. As a bachelorette, I'll eat most things that rank at or above a 7. Some of these I've done, some suggestions are imaginary. The kimchi and clam chowder was not imaginary but I think it might taste okay with the Boston version instead.
10 (best, is that even possible?)
9.9 - (my Dad's roast duck recipe)
8 - kimchi and pork stew (Korean jigae)
7.5 - baked chicken parts with kimchi
7.2 - kimchi and beef/pork/shrimp/vegetable pho broth
7.1 - kimchi with ramen noodles
7.0 - homemade kimchi straight from the jar
3 - kimchi and New England Clam Chowder
2 - kimchi using Chinese white radish
1.1 - (tuna casserole)
1 (worst, into the compost heap it goes)
Preserving Roasted Hatch Chiles
It seems that either canning roasted hot peppers is so commonplace, like making bread, that everyone knows how to do it or doing so without a pressure cooker isn't safe to do so. At any rate, I couldn't find a canning process on the net that actually tell you how to preserve the summer's bounty of hatch chiles. I can't possibly be the only Pacific Northwesterner who enjoys seasonal fruits and vegetables outside of growing seasons. These are great with nachos and cheese.
Wikipedia suggests that the Scoville scale of these peppers ranges from 0 (unlikely!) to 70,000 (more likely). I de-skinned and de-seeded the roasted chiles without gloves and so far no problems. Not like that one time I rubbed my eyes after handling cayenne peppers. Oh the agony!
Prepare the Hatch Chiles (or Anahein, Jalapeno, or whatever hot chile pepper you have)
Wikipedia suggests that the Scoville scale of these peppers ranges from 0 (unlikely!) to 70,000 (more likely). I de-skinned and de-seeded the roasted chiles without gloves and so far no problems. Not like that one time I rubbed my eyes after handling cayenne peppers. Oh the agony!
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| 2015-09 Roasted Hatch Chiles |
Five Spice Powder Roasted Chicken
This came out decent and a tad undercooked in the thigh area; more or less edible straight from the oven. This is adapted from my dad's roast duck recipe. If I do this recipe again (the first time I never wrote it up), I'll have to try the slower roasting method. Most poultry roasting recipes call for 50-60 minutes of unadulterated time in a very hot oven, with temps ranging from 400 degrees F to 450 degrees F. A slow roast would involve dropping the oven temp to 275 degrees F but increasing the time to roast to 3-4 hours. That would definitely not be a weekday meal unless I started it on a weekend.
Ingredients
1 whole fryer chicken, cleaned and giblets removed
2 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp red Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1 c filtered water
Directions
Place chicken breast-side up into a 9" x 13" baking dish (or roasting pan, if you have one).
In a bowl, combine five spice powder, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, and water.
Use a spoon or basting brush to cover the chicken (all sides) with the five-spice sauce.
Roast for an hour in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Ingredients
1 whole fryer chicken, cleaned and giblets removed
2 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp red Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
3/4 tsp kosher sea salt
1 c filtered water
Directions
Place chicken breast-side up into a 9" x 13" baking dish (or roasting pan, if you have one).
In a bowl, combine five spice powder, sugar, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, and water.
Use a spoon or basting brush to cover the chicken (all sides) with the five-spice sauce.
Roast for an hour in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees F.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
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