What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)

[Anna N]

Host's note: this topic is continued from What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2006 - 2016)

 

 So if somebody gave you six Kirby cucumbers and you did not want to make dill pickles what would you make with them? 

 

 

[heidih]

Anna N - I enjoyed the preps I described here  

 

One with horseradish and yogurt and one with Korean hot pepper paste and sesame oil.  Both keep for a good week.  The "classic sliced cuke with onions, salt, sugar and vinegar keeps for much longer 

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 So if somebody gave you six Kirby cucumbers and you did not want to make dill pickles what would you make with them? 

Perhaps a few cucumber popsicles ???

 

Cucumber lime paletas

Watermelon & cucumber pops

Lemonade cucumber spa pops

Cucumber, agave & mint pops

Cucumber ice pops with lime and chile

Cucumber lime pops with gin

Cucumber gin & tonic pops

Cucumber coconut lime pops

 

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by blue_dolphin
to add more (log)

[ElainaA]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 So if somebody gave you six Kirby cucumbers and you did not want to make dill pickles what would you make with them? 

Quickles! Shelby posted a recipe last year (or maybe the year before? Time flies.....).

[Anna N]

42 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Perhaps a few cucumber popsicles ???

 

Cucumber lime paletas

Watermelon & cucumber pops

Lemonade cucumber spa pops

Cucumber, agave & mint pops

Cucumber ice pops with lime and chile

Cucumber lime pops with gin

Cucumber gin & tonic pops

Cucumber coconut lime pops

 

 

 

After telling me there was no cause for guilt? 

[cyalexa]

20 hours ago, Anna N said:

 So if somebody gave you six Kirby cucumbers and you did not want to make dill pickles what would you make with them? 

 

At least 1 would go into avocado cucumber salad, if I had a ripe avocado. I often use pickling cukes in salads.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

13 hours ago, cyalexa said:

 

At least 1 would go into avocado cucumber salad, if I had a ripe avocado. I often use pickling cukes in salads.

 

cyalexa,

 

Do you slice the avocado or mash it up into a creamy dressing? Seasoning, onion, vinaigrette? I still have a bunch of that delicious but huge cucumber my brother grew and an avocado. We have eaten on it twice, but there is still a lot left. I swear it reminded me of a small baseball bat, and was amazed it was not only edible, but much, much better than the store ones I've reluctantly become accustomed to. 

[ElainaA]

Lots of pickles here. I wish these were all cukes from my garden but, sadly, the squash vine borers did in the plants before I had enough cukes so a trip to the farmer's market was necessary.  The sweet pickles and beans were made yesterday.

Dill spears, mixed mustard pickles ( I would not be allowed in my brother's house at Christmas if I didn't bring some of these) sweet pickles - a new recipe so something of an unknown quantity, pickled beans with rosemary, oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes and  hamburger relish using the recipe that @FauxPas posted up this thread. The recipe says to let the relish age 3 months before using it - I'm not sure I will wait quite that long.

 

Here are the vegetables for the mustard pickles, just starting to cook:

Edited August 12, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[Shelby]

18 minutes ago, ElainaA said:

Lots of pickles here. I wish these were all cukes from my garden but, sadly, the squash vine borers did in the plants before I had enough cukes so a trip to the farmer's market was necessary.  The sweet pickles and beans were made yesterday.

Dill spears, mixed mustard pickles ( I would not be allowed in my brother's house at Christmas if I didn't bring some of these) sweet pickles - a new recipe so something of an unknown quantity, pickled beans with rosemary, oregano, garlic and red pepper flakes and  hamburger relish using the recipe that @FauxPas posted up this thread. The recipe says to let the relish age 3 months before using it - I'm not sure I will wait quite that long.

 

Here are the vegetables for the mustard pickles, just starting to cook:

 

WOW you kicked ass!  Beautiful stuff!

 

I  accumulated enough okra to pickle some.  I hope they are good.  I used a recipe from my tried and true pickling book by Linda Ziedrich--except I upped the number of hot peppers. We like spicy spicy okra.   It says to wait 3 weeks before trying.  Our hunter comes in about 5 weeks so I should be able to tell if they are suitable to give him.  I hate to make any more before tasting, but I know (I hope) that I'm going to have more okra.  Maybe I'll freeze some with breading on it like Kayb described somewhere around here.

 

[cyalexa]

19 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

cyalexa,

 

Do you slice the avocado or mash it up into a creamy dressing? Seasoning, onion, vinaigrette? I still have a bunch of that delicious but huge cucumber my brother grew and an avocado. We have eaten on it twice, but there is still a lot left. I swear it reminded me of a small baseball bat, and was amazed it was not only edible, but much, much better than the store ones I've reluctantly become accustomed to. 

avocado cucumber salad

[FauxPas]

3 hours ago, ElainaA said:

... and  hamburger relish using the recipe that @FauxPas posted up this thread. The recipe says to let the relish age 3 months before using it - I'm not sure I will wait quite that long.

 

Ha, I didn't wait that long. We had that relish on burgers the next day and it was delicious!  

 

Your pickles all look wonderful!!! 

 

[ElainaA]

5 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Ha, I didn't wait that long. We had that relish on burgers the next day and it was delicious!  

 

Your pickles all look wonderful!!! 

 

Thanks! I'm planning hamburgers next week - with the relish. Looking forward to it. I'm glad I am not the only one who ignores the rules.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2016 by ElainaA (log)

[ElainaA]

3 hours ago, Shelby said:

WOW you kicked ass!  Beautiful stuff!

 

 

Thanks Shelby!

3 hours ago, Shelby said:

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm still enjoying my pickled okra from last summer.

 

[ElainaA]

Apricot and Nectarine jam with fresh and candied ginger:

 

Six almost-quarts of faux V8 juice ready to go into the freezer. I don't have a pressure canner and this recipe is not safe for water bath canning. In reality, this is V5 juice - tomatoes, parsley, carrots, bell peppers (one red, one green) and onions.

 

 

[Spork]

 

Century eggs using the MC recipe. 

[ChocoMom]

No pics, but I dehydrated enough blueberries to get two pint jars filled.   If I can get the kids out of my hair long enough, I am hoping to can more berries with just simple syrup.   And,during the last couple days, the blackberries just started coming in---so I can do those as well. 

 

The apples are going CRAZY up here. Its been a few years since I've seen this kind of abundance. The Wolf River tree is full, but they need to ripen a bit more--then its applesauce time.  Northern Spies aren't ready until mid-late October, so the pie filling will have to wait. 

 

Funny little side note: With all the storms and high winds we've had for the past two days, the apples are dropping on the ground by the hundreds...so, now all our cows are breaking loose and feeding on them.   I found my 2K pound red bull moseying around the yard, munching on them yesterday. Putting him back in the pen is no small task, as he does love his apples! I had to shake down apples inside the pen, jump the fence, open the gate, and lure him back in.  Just got a call from our neighbor, and they got out again. Ugh.  Cows don't care about food preservation; only self-preservation. 

[Shelby]

Awwwww, let him have his apples   How fun to have so many.  

 

I had 3 peaches that were going south so I made a tiny batch of jam a la FauxPas  .  Had to stop myself from just eating it out of the pan.

[Fava]

In early June I had posted a couple of pictures of first year blooming Elderberry bushes in our backyard into the gardening thread here.

The Elderberries started to ripen about a month ago and I picked about every second day whatever was nicely ripe. I cut the stems very close, rinsed them to prevent buggy additions, froze them in little bags and stuck them into the freezer door. They were finished ripening this week!  Luckily the birds discovered them very late, when they were just about done. 

So today I defrosted them slowly on the stove, and with the help of a potato masher brought them to a gentle simmer and then filtered the whole mess through a bag, squeezed out what could be squeezed, measured, added Pectin, boiled for ca one minute, added Sugar, brought the temperature up again and filled the jars. I have always simply filled the super clean jars, added new covers and rings which I also boil, and I siimply invert the glasses once quickly after closing them tightly. I have never lost a glass due to spoilage in the many years I am doing this. 

As we were eating Dinner I heard the gentle pop of the lids, music to my ears!

I thought this was a fairly decent yield for these plants after only one year of growth. 

[Tere]

So much earlier than me! Mine won't be ripe for at least a month, maybe more like 2.

 

Elderberries are a main component in my generic hedgerow jelly aka all the foraging pickings made into a jelly. I made a huge batch this spring from a freezer excavation though so I won't be making that. I might pick a few to make a puree, then freeze it in ice cube bags. It's an excellent addition to something which is happy with a fruity gravy e.g. venison.

[Tere]

I also admire your industry. Elderberries are fiddly. A fork can be helpful to get the berries off the umbrels but I generally pick by hand. 

 

I am sure you know this, but don't pick any that are still green. They aren't human friendly. In fact certainly in the UK elderberries should be cooked before eating (http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/native-trees/elder/). I generally err on the side of caution because unripe ones aren't tasty anyway

[Fava]

Tere, the addition to the gravy for Venison sounds interesting. We eat a lot of Venison, I have to try that out!

[Tere]

ice cube tray portions are amazing. I have a lot of Things TM in ice cube tray portions - jack in the hedge, duck / goose fat, caramelised onions... elderberry puree is definitely up there. Great in a roast beef gravy too!

[Fava]

Tere, thanks for the link. I always pick out any unripe berries, since they would spoil the flavor. 

[Smithy]

I have a batch of marinated eggplant, thanks to @Shelby's mention of it here. To save backtracking, here is a link to the recipe I used (that she used): Marinated Eggplant, from Epicurious.  It's going to be delicious!  I think I'll have to bake bread and have dinner guests over this weekend just for the purpose of sharing.

 

I have one question/comment so far.  In this post, @ElainaA cautioned against keeping the marinated eggplant more than 4 days because of the potential for botulism, and provided links.  Is botulism a concern, given the high content of salt and acid in this recipe?  The eggplant has been cut, salted, squeezed, simmered in vinegar and then pressed before adding oil and seasonings.  The one source of botulism that I can see under the circumstances is the raw garlic added to the mix before covering with oil.  Is that a likely concern?  If the garlic were simmered in the vinegar with the eggplant, would it be a concern?

 

Please understand that I am not quibbling with ElainaA's healthy sense of self-protection. I'm interested in whether the vinegar and salt are mitigating factors for those who are less cautious.