A passion for pickles

My refrigerator is packed with quarts of delicious dill pickles, and I made every damn one of them. Just don’t ask me why. It’s one of those obsession things, and I have to remind myself, “It could be worse. It could be taxidermy.”

I don’t know what prompted my quest for pickle perfection, but it began in early June and intensified with the rising summer temperatures. It started out innocently enough. I stopped at a new produce market outside of Jonesboro and noticed they had pickling cucumbers, three for a dollar. I bought 12 and went home with no real plan as to what to do with them.

Even though I love to cook, I’ve never made pickles. My mama used to make pickles in the summer in my grandmother’s butter churn. It was a long process that sometimes produced pickles that were either tart and crisp and delicious or were mushy or sour or tasted like kerosene.

I remember one batch in particular that my sister and I referred to as her “killer salt pickles.”

I wanted to make pickles that were easy to prepare and tasted great. My quest for a recipe began.

I remembered seeing Adam Richman sing the praises of half sour pickles on the New York episode of Man vs. Food, so I thought I’d research the process involved in making them. I found out that half sours are cucumbers that are just barely pickled and still retain the distinct taste of a cucumber. I selected a recipe from one of the many I found online, and I made my first batch of half sour pickles. Then came the hard part.

After waiting for two days, it was time to taste the bright green spears that had been hanging around on my kitchen countertop. I opened the jar and tasted what I just knew was going to be a great homemade pickle.

I was wrong.

What I tasted wasn’t a pickle so much as a mushy, cinnamon infused cucumber. I couldn’t even finish it. My husband tried one and agreed. They were disgusting.

Now that I knew that half sours weren’t our thing and that the premixed pickling spices had way too much cinnamon, but I wasn’t about to admit defeat. I researched again and found a recipe for a copycat of Claussen dills. This recipe seemed easy and foolproof. I was back in the pickle business. Only one problem. Now I couldn’t find any pickling cucumbers.

The ones at the produce market were shriveled like prunes, and Wal Mart was out of them. I started scouring roadside produce stands, but my efforts were fruitless. I even resorted to begging for cucumbers on Facebook. I was one step away from standing on Main Street under the stop light with a “Will work for pickling cucumbers” sign dangling from my neck.

The ASU Farmers’ Market solved my pickle problem, and I was able to get plenty of cukes to try out my new recipe. The first batch was good, but they were still kind of mushy. After the discovery of Ball’s Pickle Crisp Granules, I made a new batch, thanks to a generous donation of pickles from a family member. I hoped they would be clones of those wonderful Claussen pickles that stay refrigerated by the lunchmeat at Kroger. I had to wait three days to find out if I had reached my goal.

Alone in the kitchen one morning, I opened a jar. If they sucked, I didn’t want anybody to witness my disappointment. The difference was obvious. I had made the perfect pickle and I couldn’t wait to tell people.

That night I posted it on Facebook, and I became flooded with requests for the recipe. Everybody clamored for my insights on this simple yet wonderful vinegary treat.

My biggest fan was my father-in-law. In the five years that I’ve been married to his son, the man probably has said fewer than 500 words to me. Suddenly, he’s all chummy with me because he’s apparently got a serious pickle addiction. My husband tells me that he constantly hears him sneaking to the refrigerator at work to fish his hand into the jar that I sent to work with Lanny just to have a little more space in the refrigerator. We gave him a quart of pickles for Father’s Day, and it was by far the best received gift we’ve ever given him.

So now, I’m the Pickle Princess of Northeast Arkansas. I’ve known some people who have competed for some pretty dubious titles before, so I guess this isn’t so bad.

I wish my mama had come across this recipe when I was a kid. These are much easier than the ones she used to make. I’ve made several batches now, and, so far, there’s no sign of the “killer salt pickles” that Rhonda and I still recall with a pucker and laugh.

Here is the recipe that I’ve developed from the one I originally found online. I don’t measure any of the spices, so I just estimated here. You can adapt it to your personal taste. One recipe should make around 4 quarts.

1 gallon of pickling cucumbers

1/2 c. dried minced onion

6-10 cloves of garlic, peeled

4-6 fresh dill heads or 1/2 c. dill seed

2 T. whole peppercorns

1-3 T. crushed red pepper flakes

Ball’s pickle crisp granules

6 c. water

2 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. canning salt

Trim blossom end off cucumbers and slice lengthwise in half or quarters. Tightly pack in quart jars. Divide garlic, onion, dill, peppercorns and red pepper flakes into jars. You can add more pepper if you want spicy pickles. Add 1/4 tsp. of pickle crisp granules into each jar. Heat water, vinegar and salt until boiling and salt is dissolved. Carefully pour hot liquid over cucumbers and place lid on jars. Let sit on the counter for three days, shaking occasionally, then store in the refrigerator. 

Spicy ranch squash

At about 3 pm this afternoon, I decided I wanted to grill some stuff for dinner. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I came home and started prepping. Even though I don’t like squash, my husband loves it. I’ve made several impromptu variations of a spicy baked or grilled squash dish for him over the years, but this time I decided to add a little twist. After spying a folded over, half used packet of ranch dressing mix in my cabinets, I thought it would be a good addition to the squash. This was one of my classic “thrown together” dishes that turned out to be a keeper, according to my husband and son. They both confirmed that it was very good since I’m not a fan of squash. I may try it with some other veggies at some point, though. We put the casserole dish on the grill tonight, but it would work fine in the oven. One of my favorite things about it is that it can be mixed and cooked in one dish! Here is my brand new creation, spicy ranch squash:

2 to 3 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
2 T. dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place squash and onion in dish and drizzle with olive oil. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until squash is evenly coated. Cook on grill or in oven until squash is tender. Serve immediately.

July 4th Fare

First I want to apologize for the fact that I have no pictures to accompany my recipes today. We were in a mad rush to get out the door to our family gathering, and I just didn’t have time to snap any photos. A couple of the things I made turned out really good, though, so I wanted to share the recipes even without the pictures. If after heating up the leftovers they still look good, I’ll add some images later.

Since my husband and I married four years ago, I’ve become a part of his family tradition on the 4th of July. They rent a clubhouse at a youth camp in the woods (and I do mean in the woods – like “Bigfoot sighting” woods), and lots of family and extended family gather each year for lunch and swimming for the kids afterward. After four years, I still don’t know a lot of the people there, but maybe I’ll eventually learn everyone’s names.

Growing up my family was never big on 4th of July celebrations or extended family gatherings, so this has all been new to me. We really never did much of anything special on July 4, probably because for years my dad was working. With this new tradition in my life comes a new challenge to find food to prepare each year. I don’t like to bring the same things to a gathering every year, so I start scouring cookbooks and the internet for ideas on what to bring, just like I do at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This usually works out well, but the first year I went to this event, I apparently made a strawberry dessert that a couple of people there really liked. I have absolutely no idea what it was or where I found the recipe, but I’m usually reminded of how good it was and how I should make it again. At least now with this blog I’ll have a record of what I brought each year!

I decided this year to make some grilled chicken legs since they are a good choice for our Weight Watchers plan. After marinating the legs overnight, my husband grilled them, and they were quite good. I also made some pinto beans and potato salad that I adapted slightly from recipes I found online. The big hit of the day, however, was a dish that I decided to throw together at the last minute, crab and shrimp stuffed jalapeno popppers. A couple of years ago we made some grilled jalapeno poppers that basically consisted of stuffing shredded cheese in jalapenos and wrapping it with bacon. Those were good (according to the people who ate them), but in trying to keep the pepper intact, it was nearly impossible to deseed them completely. As a result, they were apparently very, very hot! For this variation, I just cut the peppers in half and stuffed each half separately before grilling. Even though I didn’t eat them, everybody else seemed to love them.

I hope everybody had a fun and safe holiday. Let me know if you try any of the recipes.

Here are the recipes that I prepared this Independence Day:

Seafood Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

12-15 large jalapeno peppers
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 can crab or tiny shrimp, drained
1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 T. Old Bay seasoning or Emeril’s Essence
1 T. lemon juice
Paprika

Cut jalapeno peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and veins completely. Combine cream cheese, crab or shrimp, cheese, seasoning and lemon juice. Place some of stuffing mixture in each pepper half. Sprinkle with paprika. Grill using indirect heat for 10-20 minutes. Serve immediately. Any type of shredded cheese will work with this recipe, just use your favorite.

Texas Style Pinto Beans (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 (29 ounce) can chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
water, if needed

Soak beans overnight, drain. Combine beans, chicken broth, onion, pepper, garlic, and spices in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking 2 hours, stirring often, until beans are tender. Add water as needed to keep the beans moist.

Grilled Chicken Legs

3 to 5 lb. chicken drumsticks
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce
Juice from 2 limes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Place chicken legs in a a gallon zip loc bag and add remaining ingredients. Shake to mix well. Refrigerate overnight to marinade. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-low heat and lightly oil grate. Drain the marinade from the wings and discard. Cook chicken on the heated grill, turning occasionally, until juices run clear, 25 to 30 minutes.

Tex-Mex Potato Salad (adapted from kraftfoods.com)

5 cups red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into large pieces
2/3 cup  Light Miracle Whip
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp.  onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (11 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can  (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 cup chopped celery

Cook potatoes in boiling water 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool slightly. Combine Miracle Whip and remaining ingredients. Add potatoes and mix well. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.

Summer salad series – cucumber-tomato salad

I want to first apologize for failing to post on here for over a week. I had my 20 year class reunion on June 27, and I was doing a lot of the planning for the event. As a result, I put things like cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. on the backburner to focus on the task at hand. Since I didn’t do much cooking, I didn’t really have anything to blog about!

The reunion was a lot of fun, but as a result of my good time I gained 1.2 pounds at my weekly Weight Watchers weigh in yesterday. Since joining on June 1, I had lost 10 pounds, but now I’m back to just 8.8. After weighing in yesterday, I went grocery shopping at Sam’s, and of course, I was focused on buying stuff that would help get me back on my weight loss plan. I often buy tomatoes there because their on the vine campari tomatoes actually have a flavor and texture that resembles a “real” tomato, unlike most grocery store varieties. After putting some tomatoes in my cart, I noticed something else that looked appealing, a three pack of seedless cucumbers. I bought these as well with nothing in particular in mind for them. I suspected that they would also be more flavorful than the big waxy skinned cucumbers I usually find at the grocery store.

Last night I started to make dinner and decided to throw together a salad using my Sam’s veggie finds. This was truly one of those “create as you go” recipes, but it turned out great. As a bonus, it has zero points value for any of my fellow Weight Watchers! As I was eating it last night, I thought it would have been even better with some diced red onion, but I’ll try that next time. Here is the recipe as I first created it last night:

1 large cucumber, sliced
2 small or 1 large tomato, chopped
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
3 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Skinny chicken soup – a last minute supper

The rotisserie chicken that was used in this soup gave it a great flavor. I bought the traditional flavor because I thought it would work best for a variety of dishes. I’ll be on the lookout for rotisserie chicken sales again!

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I am the kind of cook that often just throws things together in a pot and hope it turns into something edible for my family. Most times it works out into a good meal for us, but other times we just begrudgingly eat it because that’s all there is to eat that night. Of course, with the “misses” I never worry about preparing it again, but an even bigger issue arises with the “hits.”

My husband frequently complains that when I make one of my creations that he likes, he never gets it again because I never remember what I put into things that I just make out of the contents of the pantry and freezer. I decided when I started this blog that it would, if nothing else, force me to actually write down the recipes I create on the spur of the moment.

Today I decided it would be a good night for a filling bowl of soup. Since I’m doing Weight Watchers, I also wanted it to be something that wouldn’t burn through my points too rapidly. I remembered that I still had a bag of chicken in my freezer that came from the rotisserie chicken sale I stumbled on at Wal-Mart last week. I decided that would be the basis for a hearty soup, so I started looking around to see what else I had. I discovered that I had a plethora of soup staples in my cabinets, so I went to work. As my toddler napped, I began watching a movie and making our dinner. By the time the movie ended, there was a simmering pot of soup on the stove, and my husband was walking in the door commenting on the appetizing aromas that filled the house.

Everybody gave tonight’s soup a thumbs up, so I decided to include it in the blog so I can share it with others and possibly make it again for my family. I counted each one cup serving as four Weight Watchers points. I think that’s pretty accurate, but I could be off a little.

2 c. chopped cooked chicken
1 32 oz. carton chicken broth
5 c. water
1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 c. carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 c. frozen corn kernels
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz. dry pasta

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until vegetables are almost done. Add pasta and cook until desired doneness.

Summer salad series – spicy crab salad

The second in my summer salad series is an example of how sometimes I just throw stuff together and hope something edible turns out as a result. In this case, my husband confirms that it is indeed not only edible but also quite tasty. He is my taste tester for this recipe because I don’t like crab or imitation crab.

My dad always liked crab salad prepared with imitation crab, mayonnaise, macaroni, peas and celery. After my mom died, I would occasionally make him up a batch of it, and he would eat on it for days. I was always really surprised that he liked that so well because he was definitely a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy. I seem to recall that the first time he had it was at a company Christmas party at a restaurant, and after that he had my mom make it for him every so often.

My husband, however, is not a fan of mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. He tolerates it in my chicken salad as long as I keep it very light. Since we’ve been trying to lose weight he likes to snack on imitation crab meat, so I thought I’d find a way to add a little variety in it for him. I had a few leftover fresh ingredients from my salsa and chicken salad that I needed to use, so I combined some of them with the crab for a delightful, light salad that is perfect to serve with crackers or on a bed of lettuce:

1-1 1/2 lb. pkg. imitation crab meat, flaked
1 lime
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 T. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. light olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. celery seed
salt and pepper to taste

Squeeze the juice from the lime and pour over other ingredients. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Summer salad series – lightened up chicken salad

Roasted chicken salad served in lettuce leaves.

I don’t think I tried chicken salad until I was in my 20’s. Tuna salad sandwiches were pretty common, and I even remember ham salad and egg salad sandwiches on occasion. However, chicken salad was never on our menu at home as far as I can remember. If we did have chicken salad, I probably wouldn’t have cared for it anyway, because I’m sure it would have been made with canned chunk chicken. With a few exceptions, I don’t care for canned chicken in recipes because of its weird, soft texture.

As I got older, I tried some good chicken salad, but I never tried to make any until I was giving a baby shower and needed something to put on croissants. It was around the time I first started exploring the internet, and one of the earliest sites that I fell in love with was allrecipes.com. I still have printouts of the chicken salad recipes I looked at and combined elements of to make my own recipe. I don’t make it very much, but it gets rave reviews every time. In fact, my chicken salad was one of the first meals I made for my husband when we were dating, and I think it was one of the big factors in him falling for me!

Usually I rub some olive oil, salt and pepper on a whole chicken, wrap it in foil and cook it in the oven or on the grill. After it cools, I skin and debone it to get all the meat off to use in the salad. However, I’ve discovered a wonderful shortcut that results in an even more flavorful salad. When I was in Wal-Mart last night, the rotisserie chickens were on sale for $2.98, much less than a whole raw chicken. I bought the traditional flavor, but I think any flavor other than barbecue would be great. I bought two chickens and used half the meat for the salad and put the rest in the freezer. It was a much quicker way to make the salad, and I will no doubt look for rotisserie chicken sales again.

I usually put a combination of celery, grapes and sunflower seed kernels in my chicken salad, but I modified the recipe this time because I’m currently doing Weight Watchers. I left out the sunflower seeds and added mandarin oranges instead. It tasted great, but feel free to try it with the sunflower seeds if you’re not watching your fat intake. I think the most important ingredient (other than the chicken, of course) in it is dill. I absolutely love the taste of dill, and fresh dill is the best. Most of the time, however, I can’t find fresh dill at our local stores, so I just use dried instead. Another modification I made this time was to use light Miracle Whip and cut down the amount I use to around 1/2 cup. I didn’t miss the extra dressing one bit. It’s great to serve in a wrap, a sandwich or on lettuce leaves.

I served the chicken salad to my husband in a wrap with some pretzel sticks, sliced tomatoes and a pickle. A very filling yet low fat, low calorie meal for us Weight Watchers folks.

Here is my lightened up version of roasted chicken salad:

1 whole rotisserie chicken, skinned, deboned and chopped
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. light Miracle Whip
4 T. chopped fresh dill or 2 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. red seedless grapes, halved
1 c. mandarin oranges

Combine chicken, celery, Miracle Whip, dill, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Fold in grapes and oranges. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Salsa – the #1 condiment in America

The headline above is a reference to one of the funniest shows of all time, “Seinfeld.” I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it is an interesting thing to ponder. When I was growing up, I hardly ever heard of anybody eating salsa, and making it at home was a completely foreign concept. Maybe it’s just where I grew up, but salsa didn’t really catch on until the 90’s.

The closest thing I remember to salsa during my childhood was what Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant called “red dip.” I rarely ever ate the red dip as a kid, but my mom loved it. Those of you who were lucky enough to grow up near a Pancho’s will fondly remember the little bowls of cheese dip and red dip they would bring out with their round tortilla chips. Back then you could get an unlimited amount of refills on the dips as long as you were ordering real food off the menu. I remember there being a little leaning tower of cheese dip bowls on the table when we would finish eating. As I got older, I began to enjoy the red dip, but the ultimate taste treat was mixing cheese dip, red dip and Pancho’s dressing. Good times, good times…

As far as I know, the only Pancho’s left is the original in West Memphis, Ark., that opened in the 1950’s. Whenever we get the chance, we brave the mean streets of West Memphis to have a taste of the foods we fondly remember from our childhoods. I’m happy to report that everything tastes exactly the same, but there is one lamentable change. After you order, you still get a little bowl of cheese dip and red dip with chips, but the days of unlimited refills are over. Now if you want another cheese dip you are charged for it, but I think it’s only $1.50. Even though that’s a bummer, I’m just glad there is still a place I can indulge my Pancho’s craving. I know that you can buy their cheese dip, red dip and even the dressing in area stores, but it’s just not the same.

Back to the original issue of salsa’s emergence on the culinary scene, before anybody thinks I’m crazy, I do remember bottled picante sauce being fairly common. in 80’s kitchens. However, I do not equate this as being even remotely close to homemade or restaurant quality salsa. No, real salsa is a thing of beauty with fresh tomotoes, onions, peppers and cilantro among other things. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point it became common (and even expected) for salsa to be an ever present item at restaurants that aren’t even remotely Mexican or Southwest in their offerings.

Over the years I began to make my own version of salsa. Mine is probably closer to pico de gallo than salsa, but it’s good all the time. It’s a pretty simple recipe that’s probably already known to most people, but I’m going to share it here anyway. it goes without saying that it’s best with homegrown tomatoes, but I had to settle for store bought ones. The end result is great with chips, vegetables, meats and probably some stuff I haven’t even thought of yet.

I had to use two limes this time because they were so tiny. I was too lazy to chop the garlic, so I just used garlic from a jar. I usually put a little bit of olive oil in my salsa, but I started Weight Watchers yesterday, so I left it out.

Here is my simple, fresh salsa recipe:

2 lb. tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 jalapenos, seeds removed and finely chopped
1/4 c. lime juice
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed or 1 T. minced garlic
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

I served the salsa at dinner with black beans and chips. We also had corn and some chorizo stuffed chicken breasts I found in the frozen section at Wal-Mart.