Nothing like pickles in the morning

I got up early today to finish up a batch of freezer pickles before work (is that weird? Maybe). I think they'll turn out ok. The recipe called for a ton of sugar. I only used 2/3rds of what it called for, but I was afraid to cut it out because I didn't know what functional use sugar serves in pickling. Any? None? More research is required. Anyway, if you, too, are interested in making freezer pickles, here's the link I used from the UW Extension office. See page 54. If you want to can your own pickles, you may want to see if your local state university has an extension office with tips. It seems that altitude is really important. I also just really like the UW Extension. Always handy with a good tip.

Went berry picking

Raspberry Brown Sugar Gratin

In honor of Dave and Kathy's visit, and of the nearly six pounds of berries I picked, I made this gratin. Except, I didn't use raspberries, I used blueberries. And I didn't use creme fraiche, I used thickened yogurt. And I didn't even use half of the sugar, nor did I put it through a sieve because that didn't work. So of the three ingredients, I used none of them correctly. It was still tasty, though.

From Smitten Kitchen:

There are a lot of ways you can play around with this — flavoring the sour cream with lemon, vanilla, cinnamon or almond; using a mix of berries, etc. — but it is flawless the way it is. Want to fancy it up for fancy people? Make it in individual ramekins or tiny gratin dishes.

[Updated to add] Ooh, I just had an idea — Swap thick, full-fat Greek-style yogurt swapped for sour cream and serve it at a brunch to what I have to imagine would be a round of applause. Or at least I’d applaud.

1 pint (2 cups) fresh raspberries (or your choice of berry)
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream (or crème fraîche)
1 cup dark brown sugar

Preheat broiler. Gently fold raspberries and sour cream together in a shallow 1-quart dish. Press the brown sugar through a sieve or mesh colander so that it sprinkles evenly over the dish. (I tried using a sifter; don’t bother, it doesn’t work.) Run the dish under the broiler until the sugar just starts to caramelize. Eat at once.

Keeping: The leftovers might look like something died in your fridge but I can assure you, are equally delicious.

Smoothies!!!

Here's my favorite smoothie recipe. I think you can use it as a base and then add/subtract things you'd rather have:

In a blender, add the following: 

• A handful of ice cubes (maybe a cup's worth?)
• Half to a full avacado - I use this instead of banana because I loathe the taste of banana. I love how this makes the smoothie nice and creamy. I honestly don't think that you can taste the avacado, but some may.
• 1 serving of protein powder - My favorite is the vanilla burbon flavor by Tera's Whey that I've found at Whole Foods here in Madison. If you get one that has a lot of fake sugars in it, it will make your smoothie extra sweet, maybe too sweet. So adjust according to sweetness preference. I like mine less sweet. 
• 1 cups or so of frozen mixed berries - Or substitute with your favorite frozen fruit. I think using frozen is key so you get that smoothie texture. 
• Some sort of milk or milk alternative to cover - I prefer a vanilla flavored or unsweetned rice milk. This choice too will add/subtract sweetness and creaminess to the smoothie. You could also try juice here if you prefer.

Then blend and add more milk/alternative to desired thickness and enjoy!

You could also add other 'boosters' for health. For example, I like to add ground flax seed for fiber and omega-3s. Or you could add vitamin or wheat grass powder. The choices are endless.

Hope this helps get you started!!!!

Uses for Old Bay

Dear Emily in Moscow (Russia, not Ohio), posted this on my Facebook:

A friend sent me Old Bay!! (A GOOD FRIEND). Please post your favorite Old Bay (not crab or seafood that I can't get) uses on your blog. I know how you love it!

So, everyone, what are your favorite Old Bay uses? Em, here are mine below:

1. on corn
2. zucchini or other summer squash. also acorn squash in the winter
   
3. on popcorn (REALLY GOOD)
4. shrimp
   
5. really, any kind of fish
6. REALLY good in tuna fish sandwiches
7. any preparation of potatoes
8. bloody mary's
9. chicken
10. EGGS
    

Am I missing any greatest hits?

Pickled Sugar Snap Peas

How's this for irony? I just got back from the doctor, where I apparently have a TMY, or strained jaw joint. I'm to eat soft foods for a week. The irony is twofold. 1) I have some anti-inflamatory medicine that I absolutely have to take on a, quote, "very full stomach," (not easy to do when all I can eat are soft foods, and have a cold coming on to boot), and 2) my pickles are ready. SIGH! Here's the recipe for you to enjoy below. From Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups white distilled vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 1 tablespoon kosher or pickling salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pound sugar snap peas, stems trimmed and strings removed
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 or 2 small dried chile peppers, slit lengthwise or a couple pinches dried red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. In a nonreactive saucepan, heat the vinegar with the salt and sugar until they are dissolved. Remove from the heat, and add the cold water. (This gives you a leg up on getting the liquid to cooling the liquid.)
2. When the vinegar mixture is cool, pack the sugar snaps, garlic and chile peppers or flakes into a 1-quart jar or bowl, and pour the brine over it. Cover with a non-reactive cap, or, er, plastic wrap.
3. The original recipe suggests you store the jar in the refrigerator for two weeks before eating the pickled peas, but good luck with that. They’re quite delicious and already lightly pickled by 24 hours later.

Results:
Just what you would imagine them to be. Trust me, though. Go easy on the red pepper flakes. It seems to get spicier over time. I've been sampling these all along, but it's hard to have to go a week without them. By the way, "non-reactive" means no aluminum, and I don't know about non-stick (I used my enamel coated dutch oven, I think that's non-reactive), and no plastic storage. Use a glass jar.

Pad Thai and Thai Mango Slaw

I cooked dinner for my semi-new boyfriend last night. This isn't the first time, but I thought it would be better then the other 2 times. The first time was pancakes-for-dinner on my new stove-top skillet. Lesson learned: when they tell you that it is pre-seasoned and stick-free, it isn't. The second time was crab cakes, but I forgot to look for shells in the meat. This third time, I thought I'd be a kitchen wiz. Sigh....

Minimalist Pad Thai (from Mark Bittman, NY Times)

4 ounces fettuccine-width rice stick noodles

1/4 cup peanut oil

2 to 4 tablespoons tamarind paste

1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 garlic clove, minced

2 eggs

1 small head Napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)

1 cup mung bean sprouts

1/2 pound peeled shrimp, pressed tofu or a combination

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 limes, quartered.

1. Put noodles in a large bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit until noodles are just tender; check every 5 minutes or so to make sure they do not get too soft. Drain, drizzle with one tablespoon peanut oil to keep from sticking and set aside. Meanwhile, put tamarind paste, fish sauce, honey and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and bring just to a simmer. Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside.

2. Put remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when oil shimmers, add scallions and garlic and cook for about a minute. Add eggs to pan; once they begin to set, scramble them until just done. Add cabbage and bean sprouts and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, then add shrimp or tofu (or both).

3. When shrimp begin to turn pink and tofu begins to brown, add drained noodles to pan along with sauce. Toss everything together to coat with tamarind sauce and combine well. When noodles are warmed through, serve, sprinkling each dish with peanuts and garnishing with cilantro and lime wedges.

Yield: 4 servings.

Mango Slaw with Cashews and Mint (from Smitten Kitchen)

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned
1 to 1 1/4 pounds Napa cabbage, halved and sliced very thinly
1 red pepper, julienned
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, from about two limes
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons oil of your choice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (or omit this and whisk in a chile paste to taste)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup toasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Toss mangoes, cabbage, pepper and onion in a large bowl. Whisk lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and red pepper in a smaller bowl and pour over slaw. You can either serve this immediately or leave the flavors to muddle for an hour in the fridge. Before serving, toss with mint leaves and sprinkle with cashews.

About your mango: This salad will work with almost any variety or ripeness of mango, whether sour or sweet. Use the one you can get, or that you enjoy the most. In general, a firmish not overly ripe mango (unlike the very ripe, sweet one I used) holds up best but all will be delicious in this salad.

Results:

Well.....first off, make sure that your local store has the tamarind paste for the Pad Thai before you do anything. We couldn't find it in my local Safeway (the "Social Safeway" in DC nomenclature). Beau even recruited the staff to help us look. At this Safeway, they are very dedicated to costumer service and at one point, we had a 20-year old shelf-stocker, a check out lady with her 6-year-old kid in tow, and an elderly fish monger from Jamaica all helping to find this one item. Nope, no luck. We still thought we'd wing it. Beau's good at winging it.

The other thing you need to make sure of is that you have peanuts. I thought I did, but turns out I was wrong. I also thought I'd just substitute cashews for peanuts. I knew I had cashews, and they are in the other dish as well. What I didn't know until AFTER I had made everything was that this summer's excessive heat and humidity had turned the cashews moldy.

We couldn't find mung bean sprouts, so I substituted regular sprouts. If you do this, I recommend putting them in last, as when I put them in with the cabbage, they overcooked.

Finally, the other things to make sure of is that your dinner guest likes shrimp. 'Nuff said.

So to recap: No tamarind paste. No peanuts. No cashews. Overcooked bean sprouts. Beau don't do shrimp.

I can't comment on the Pad Thai, it just wouldn't be fair. The mango slaw, however, was a fantastically flavorful dish. Almost too flavorful (I think I went overboard on the red pepper flakes). It was very refreshing, and you could really taste the mint. The cashews would have been great with this dish, just to mellow everything out. We used ripe mangos which were a great foil to the onion, and I think that unripe mangos might even be too much. If you try it, let me know!

Beth