Recipe of the Week: Fresh Cucumber Pickles

One of the most common summertime salads I enjoyed growing up was fresh pickles, which we called "bellyachers" (because if you eat too many servings, your stomach will protest.) When cucumbers are running out your ears, this is a good way to create a piquant side dish that goes well with beef, pork and chicken.

Grandma's "Bellyacher" Fresh PIckles

Ingredients
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 small sweet onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup mild vinegar (I prefer red wine vinegar, but white will do)
1-2 teaspoons sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Place vinegar and sugar in serving bowl. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add cucumbers and onion, toss to coat. Adjust ratio of vinegar and sugar to taste; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours. You can also double or triple this recipe if serving a crowd. Leftovers may be refrigerated for up to a day.

Happy eating,

Some new twists on old favorites

My office is in the new kitchen. That's both good and bad: I'm finding the kitchen stays cleaner (the opposite of "out of sight, out of mind" I guess), but it also seems to just beckon me to come cook or bake something.

Since we moved in (just over a week ago!), I think I've used nearly every pot and pan and utensil I own (and a good majority of my serving dishes too.) We've enjoyed chicken piccata over vegetable pasta, twice-baked potatoes and grilled steaks, even pancakes and bacon (that was definitely a "holiday" from our regular low-carb regimen.)

But my real joy of cooking rests in baking, especially sweet treats. I spent Mother's Day afternoon making banana bread with a batch of too-ripe bananas. I made three big loaves: one for here, one for Mr. Official to take to work, and one for a friend who pleaded for one while she was homesick and overseas. She's now home, and this was a belated welcome home gift.

I've also taken some twists on a couple tried-and-true recipes. When moving, I discovered I had two bottles of lime juice. So Miss JoAnn's Lemon Bars became Lime Bars (and promptly vanished into thin air just like the lemon variety tends to do.)

An extra bag of raisins (which were no longer plump and soft) were the inspiration for raisin pinwheel cookies. I used my grandmother's recipe for date pinwheels and substituted raisins (with a dash of cinnamon) for the dates in the filling. I don't think I've ever made pinwheel cookies except at the holidays, until now. Now they might become another everyday favorite.  Hint:  they were better the second day.  And gone by the third.

Hmmm. I wonder what other recipes I can take for a spin in my new kitchen?  Yesterday was national chocolate chip day; I bet I could find a chocolate chip recipe to turn on its head.

Happy baking,

Containing the chaos

When I get in a garden center, my sensibilities tend to take flight and leave me wandering around dazed and confused.  I love plants, and all those rows of beautiful blooming bedding plants are as tempting to me as a candy store is to a kid.

I buy plants on a whim - some of these, a few of those.  I have no plan, no list, no vision for how I'm going to use them.  So when I get home, my purchases typically look like this:

But several years of frenetic plant shopping have taught me a few things, like:

1. Buy plants in pairs.   I can at least create symmetrical containers.  (Or in threesomes or foursomes if I'm doing baskets or a trio of planters.)
2.  Consider shapes.  Like people, plants come in all shapes and sizes.  A good mix of tall spiky and trailing stuff will offset all the bushy plants.
3.  Double-check sun/shade requirements.  Neither parched, scorched plants nor lanky, anemic-looking plants are attractive for the long haul of summer.  Fortunately I have lots of both sun and shade.

I tend to gravitate toward purples and oranges (often at the same time), with lots of chartreuse foliage thrown in for good measure, but I know eventually these colors can and will be separated into groupings that won't assault a visitor's senses when they approach our doors.

After a little arranging and rearranging, the chaos starts to shape up into this:

Caladiums, orange Diascia and burgundy spikes

 

More caladiums, purple shamrocks, lilac ivy geraniums

Plectranthus, Streptocarpellas, fiber optic grass & another Plectranthus

And here they are, all lined up and waiting to be slipped into their containers.

The plants in front are for a trio of deck containers...

And...a few days later, here they are in their new homes:

Trio on the back deck

Two more on the back deck, catching some morning sun

Two new containers flanking the dining room doors

Closeup of one of the two pots next to the front door

Over the next few weeks, with plenty of water and warm temps, they should plump up and fill out their containers.  Chaos is under control once again.


Happy planting,