Pickled veggies can be enjoyed as an appetizer, light snack or topper to main entrees. What’s a burger without pickles and hot pepper rings?

To get you pickling safely this summer, here are some of my favourite recipes and pickling pointers.

Pickling pointers

• Choose quality vegetables — Use blemish-free, firm vegetables for best results. Avoid veggies with a wax coating.
• Pick and preserve right away — The longer vegetables are stored, the softer they become; process within 24 hours of picking.
• Use proper ratio of vinegar — Vinegar (minimum five per cent acetic acid) is critical to preventing the growth of harmful pathogens in pickled products. Do not alter the proportion of vinegar in recipes. To cut the acidity, you can safely add sugar to brine (15-30 ml sugar to 1 litre brine).
• Use non-iodized salt — Regular table salt contains anti-caking compounds that can turn brine cloudy and discolour vegetables. Use additive-free canning, kosher or pickling salt.
• Use soft water — The minerals in hard water may cause discolouration, off-flavours or cloudy brine. If you have hard water, boil the water you use in your brine for 15 minutes and let it stand overnight before using.
• Process jars in a hot water bath — Heat processing prevents spoilage, colour, flavour and texture loss due to yeast, mould or enzymes present in vegetables. Processing allows you to store pickled products on the shelf for a year or more. If you choose not to heat process your pickled vegetables, store them in the refrigerator.
• Allow to cure — Let pickled vegetables absorb flavours and mellow out for three to four weeks before eating.
• Use within one year — While properly heat-processed pickle jars are safe to eat for many years, the quality, texture and colour of pickled vegetables will deteriorate noticeably after one year.
• Use non-reactive cookware — Avoid utensils or cookware made of aluminum, copper or uncoated cast iron that will react with the acid in the vinegar and lead to discolouration and off-flavours.
• Cut blossom end of cucumbers — For crispier cucumber pickles, cut three millimetres off the blossom end of cucumbers, to remove the enzyme that can lead to softening.

What will you pickle this summer?

Classic Dill Pickles

A small batch of dill pickles that’s quick and easy to make in a large soup pot. Double or quadruple the recipe for larger batches.

• 3-4 lbs. small pickling cucumbers
• 2 c. vinegar
• 2 c. water
• 2 tbsp. pickling salt
• 8 heads dill
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes

Wash and scrub cucumbers lightly with a soft brush. Cut a thin slice from blossom ends to help prevent softening. Cut wide cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and long cucumbers so they fit in jars. Place in ice water bath while preparing everything else, up to 8 hours for crispy pickles. Fill large pot or canner with water so that jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Check jars for cracks, wash with warm soapy water, rinse well and place in canner. Heat jars in canner (no need to sterilize). In medium-size pot, combine vinegar, water and salt. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes. Remove hot jars from canner. Place 2 dill heads, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp. peppercorns and 1/8 tsp. hot pepper flakes into each jar. Tightly pack cucumbers into jars to within 3/4 inch of rim. Add hot vinegar brine to cover cucumbers. Use a plastic utensil to remove any air bubbles and add more brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim with clean cloth, seal with hot sealing lid, tighten screw band on top finger tight and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes for pint jars (500 ml) or 15 minutes for quart (1-l) jars.

Makes 4 pint (500-ml) jars or 2 quart (1-l) jars.

Source: gettystewart.com

Multi-Coloured Pickled Cauliflower

Pickled cauliflower stays firm and can be enjoyed in salads or stir-fries. If using multi-coloured cauliflower, can them in separate jars to prevent the colour from bleeding.

• 9 c. cauliflower
• 3 tsp. canning/kosher salt
• 4-1/2 c. vinegar
• 1-1/2 c. sugar
• 1 c. onion, sliced thin
• 3/4 c. red pepper
• 1-1/2 tbsp. pickling spice
• 2-1/2 tsp. celery seed
• 1 jalapeno (optional)

Prepare canner, lids and boil clean jars for at least 10 minutes. In large pot, add salt to 4 quarts water (or litres) and bring to a boil. As the water is heating, clean and chop the cauliflower. Simmer cauliflower in salt water for 3 minutes (blanch different colours separately). Drain and cool. Combine vinegar, sugar, onion, pepper and spices in large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat and simmer for 5 minutes. As the brine begins to heat, fill hot jars with cauliflower pieces. Distribute brine and solids in the boiling liquid between the jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe rims clean, apply lids and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 to 5 pint (500-ml) jars

Source: wellpreserved.ca

Homemade Hot Pepper Rings

We love these spicy rings on burgers, pizzas and sandwiches. Did you know it’s the ribs or inner membrane of hot peppers rather than the seeds that contain most of the heat? You decide whether or not to remove them.

• 6 c. sliced hot peppers (any variety)
• 3-1/2 c. vinegar
• 2 c. water
• 2 tbsp. pickling salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, quartered

Wash and stem hot peppers. Remove seeds and inner membranes as desired. Slice peppers into even 1/4-inch-thick slices. (Wear gloves to keep your fingers from stinging.) Fill large pot or canner with water so that jars are covered by 1 inch of water. Check jars for cracks, wash with warm soapy water, rinse well and place in canner. Heat jars in canner (no need to sterilize). Mix vinegar, water, salt and sugar in non-reactive saucepan and boil for 1 minute. Place 1/4 clove of garlic in each jar and pack with pepper rings. Pour hot vinegar brine over peppers. Remove air bubbles and push peppers underneath pickling liquid as much as possible, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Wipe rim with clean cloth, seal with hot sealing lid, tighten screw band on top finger tight and process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 8 half-pint (250-ml) jars

Source: gettystewart.com

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Lately, you might have heard or read about a recall of cucumbers imported from Mexico that reached various U.S. restaurants and retail stores. At the time of this column, 341 people in 30 states were sickened and two deaths were linked to cucumbers contaminated with salmonella poona.

This strain of bacteria can cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and fever, and the symptoms may appear within three days of eating the food. It is especially hazardous to young children, older adults and people with a compromised immune system.

This recall does not mean that all cucumbers could make you ill, but you should not consume the recalled food.

For nutrition educators who promote eating more fruits and vegetables, foodborne illness outbreaks linked to fresh produce can make our jobs a little tricky.

Depending on what is going on in the news, people might give you a leery look when you suggest they have a spinach salad or add some sliced cucumbers or peppers to their sandwich.

Adults, on average, need about 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables to meet the daily recommendation. Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins A and C, along with fibre and antioxidants linked to health benefits. Eating more fruits and vegetables may reduce your risk of getting chronic diseases such as cancer or heart disease.

However, we need to handle fruits and vegetables safely so we get the benefits without the flu-like or worse symptoms.

How do “germs” get on the vegetables or fruits, anyway? Harmful bacteria can be in the soil or in the water used to water the produce. Bacteria and other organisms can hitch a ride on equipment such as knives, on produce-handlers’ hands or the packing containers used to ship the vegetables. Investigating the source of the problem sometimes is very complicated.

No matter what growers and food processors do, consumers also have a major responsibility in keeping food safe for themselves, their families and friends.

Even if the growers and processors do all the right steps, contamination can happen in your grocery cart, in your car or in your refrigerator.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has provided several tips for keeping fruits and vegetables safe, which I have arranged into questions for you to ask yourself. If you answer “yes” to these questions, you are taking steps to keep fruits and vegetables safe.

• Do you purchase produce that is not bruised or damaged? Fresh produce does not have to be “picture perfect” in size or colour, but remember that bacteria and other organisms often thrive in the bruised areas.
• When you purchase precut produce, do you choose items that are in the refrigerator section? If the cut produce is not in the refrigerator section, do you choose precut produce in containers surrounded by ice?
• At the grocery store, do you separate fresh produce from fresh meat, seafood or poultry? Juices from meat can contaminate your produce.
• At home, is your refrigerator set to maintain your food at 40° or below? If you do not have a thermometer in your refrigerator, you might want to purchase a portable one.
• At home, do you keep precut produce in the refrigerator? Precut produce is perishable. Whole fruit, such as apples, are safe in a bowl on your counter.
• Do you always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before beginning food preparation? Handwashing plays a valuable role in keeping you healthy, too.
• When preparing food, do you take steps to avoid cross-contamination? Be sure that you wash cutting boards and knives thoroughly. Even better, have a dedicated cutting board for cutting produce. Many restaurants use yellow cutting boards for chicken, red for meat, green for produce, etc.
• Do you scrub and rinse firm produce such as cantaloupe and cucumbers with a clean produce brush?
• Do you eat prewashed salad greens right out of the bag? If you answered “yes,” that’s OK. If the package says the lettuce or other food is “ready to eat,” you do not need to rewash it. If you prefer to rewash, remember to avoid cross-contamination. In fact, have a good-size portion of salad because dark-green, leafy vegetables are healthful foods.

Here’s a pair of recipes where you could incorporate some fresh produce.

Asian-style Cobb Salad

• 5 c. chopped romaine lettuce (or your favourite lettuce)
• 1 (11-oz.) can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained
• 1/3 c. cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/3 c. grated carrots
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, diced
• 1/4 c. green onions, sliced

Sesame Vinaigrette

• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. soy sauce

Cook chicken or use leftover grilled or roasted chicken. To cook eggs, place in a small saucepan with cold water. Heat water just until boiling. Remove from heat and cover; let stand for 12 minutes. Drain water and eggs into a colander.

Rinse eggs with cold water to stop cooking. Prepare Sesame Vinaigrette by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Assemble salad by placing greens in a large bowl; top with mandarin oranges, chicken, carrots, avocado, eggs and green onion. Serve immediately with Sesame Vinaigrette.

Makes four servings. Each serving has 250 calories, 14 grams (g) fat, 8 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate, 5 g fibre and 160 milligrams sodium.

B.L.A.T. Wrap with Bacon Mayo

Bacon Month is over but never our love of bacon. On Manitoba Pork’s website you can find cooking segments starring bacon, more bacon recipes, bacon facts and cartoons and even a 15-second video that, well, even Manitoba’s Golden Boy is better with bacon.

• 4 large flour tortillas
• 8 green lettuce leaves
• 2-3 large Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced
• 12 slices bacon, cooked crisp and drained

Bacon Mayo

• 3 slices thick or extra-thick-cut bacon
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 tbsp. thinly sliced green onion
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Wrap:

Spread tortillas with a dollop or two of bacon mayo (recipe below). Top each with 2 lettuce leaves, a few tomato and avocado slices, and 3 strips of bacon. Fold or roll up tortillas as desired. Arrange on a plate or platter and serve.

For the Bacon Mayo:

In skillet, over medium heat, fry bacon until crispy. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel to drain fat. Dice bacon; set aside. In small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and sour cream. Add bacon and green onion. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to use. Bacon Mayo may be made up to one day ahead. Use as a condiment on sandwiches, wraps and burgers.

Makes 3/4 cup. Serves 4. Recipe courtesy of Manitoba Pork

The post Are you taking steps to ensure safe fruits and vegetables are in your kitchen? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The cabbage heads are so dense there’s no way you can smarten them up. Nor can you subdue those egotistical muscle men of the garden, the onions — they are that strong. The cucumbers, on the other hand, are an unkempt bunch, seedy as they are.

About the only vegetables you dare trust are the ones in that modest row over there. Whenever you pay attention to them they blush — as red as a beet.

Other than that, you better not gossip in the corn patch with all those ears listening. The potatoes are inclined to eye your every move, while that bunch of celery is very apt to stalk you while you’re not looking.

And when you leave the garden, make sure the gate is closed. The lettuce, you know. It’s inclined to bolt.

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Under the name “Garden Goddess,” they grow the food in their self-designed 16×22 low-energy northern greenhouse. Inside that deceptively small space is 3,520 cubic feet, with roughly 150 row feet of prized baby greens rotating in a simple system of hanging planters suspended by rope harnesses.

The couple shared their experiences and their expertise with about 23 people from surrounding states and provinces at a recent workshop here.

“We’ve nailed low-energy winter food production — and are here to help you do so, too!” they told their audience. Their enthusiasm for vegetables and the potential for the winter greenhouse to bring fresh local food to northern people is contagious.

Not a new idea

The idea of the low-energy northern greenhouse is not new. Back in the ’70s, plans were widely available for passive solar south-glazed lean-tos filled with water barrels to hold the heat.

Chuck, whose interests include polymath, systems analysis and speculative fiction, already had a reference library on hand when he and Carol began to design a northern greenhouse that others could easily adapt or replicate.

“You need a mindset almost like building a spacecraft,” Chuck said. “Make it tight. Make it careful.”

And make it easy.

All materials, with the exception of the polycarbonate panels, are readily available at any local building centre. What was missing from those earlier plans was a planting guide. That research is entirely Carol’s contribution.

Now a master gardener, she grew up in a garden-less household in suburban Iowa, where vegetables came in cans. She developed the love while studying creative writing in college.

In 2005, Chuck and Carol were living in Milan and enjoying fresh vegetables from their local CSA. When the season ended in mid-September, they dreaded the return to store-bought vegetables from far away. They started researching ways to extend the season.

“If you find yourself saying somebody really ought to do it, then it ought to be you,” Chuck said.

The couple enrolled in a holistic Land Stewardship course called “Farm Beginnings,” researched cool-weather crops, designed a greenhouse, developed a business plan and shopped for a business loan. They kept everything small in case of failure. Carol recalls a lot of sleepless nights the first two winters.

Ford and Waibel generously share their expertise in the self-published and very readable Northland Winter Greenhouse Manual — a Unique, Low-Tech Solution to Vegetable Production in Cold Climates, produced with assistance from the University of Minnesota West Central Partnership.

When the first edition sold out, the book was tweaked and reprinted with additional support from FARRMS (The Foundation for Agriculture, Rural Resources Management and Sustainability), a North Dakota-based not-for-profit organization that enthusiastically endorses their work.

Growing produce in winter

In the manual, Carol lays out a planting schedule by dividing winter into three seasons: Diminishing season (late September to mid-November), Solstice season (late November to early January) and Expansion season (mid-January to late March), each with its own possibilities and pitfalls, along with a detailed list of plants that work, and when and how to plant them.

Large slow-growing plants such as broccoli and swiss chard go into the ground for a single harvest, although Carol has recently switched to the faster-growing broccoli raab.

Three rotations of pac choi and chinese cabbage are harvested from the floor beds. But the real bonus is the fast-growing and tasty greens, started weekly on heat mats and then moved up into slings where they can be cut in as little as three weeks, and be harvested as many as three times before they are sent outside to compost.

The clients of the Garden Goddess CSA live for these little gourmet baby greens, which include sweet lettuces, peppery brassicas, Asian greens and mustards, and colourful baby beets and collards, plus the more unusual Vitamin Green and Claytonia, or miner’s lettuce.

Yes, we grow no tomatoes

People typically ask whether they grow tomatoes. The answer is a big “no.”

Working beneath the greenhouse is an underground heat sink — an excavation below the frost line filled with loose river rock that is heated by a perforated pipe full of warm air from the black pipe “solar heat collectors” located at the top of the structure.

Chuck calculates that the design uses only one-thirtieth the energy of a standard greenhouse, even with a supplementary heat source that tops up temperatures on those rare nights that follow three consecutive cold and cloudy days when the heat sink begins to cool.

It is impossible to grow fruiting veggies without adding massive amounts of supplemental light and heat to this model.

Winter greens with a low carbon footprint

So tomatoes and cucumbers are out. Instead, winter gardeners can enjoy fresh baby greens and tender, sweet, dark-green vegetables that happily grow through the darkest days of winter in temperatures that can drop to -2 C in the corners at night here in Manitoba.

A method on the move

The interest in low-energy greenhouses and winter crop production is growing. Manitoba Hydro and University of Manitoba have experimented with similar designs.

Chuck and Carol envision even more northern winter greenhouses springing up, bringing fresh food security to schools, hospitals and even whole communities. The mayor of Minneapolis recently toured their facility and promised to look at amending codes to make it easier for urban builders. Closer to home in Milan, they are working to create a distribution hub with a very large greenhouse and off-season vegetable storage for local market gardeners. They are always willing to speak on the subject, and invite interested people to contact them through the Garden Goddess network at gardengoddessnetwork.ning.com.

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Iwanted my own big garden and last year I got it. My husband added dry manure and we cultivated and tilled the soil until the rich black mulch crumbled in our hands. Finally, warm weather arrived and in May, I placed hundreds of seeds in the ground after carefully reading the instructions on each envelope.

Every morning, I was disappointed when I saw that nothing had germinated. I called my grandmother who has gardened for years for some help. “It’ll come. Just give it time,” she said.

Eventually green sprouts appeared in rows amongst the mat of weeds. My summer battle began against the byproduct of fresh manure. When Grandma came to visit, she was shocked at my long rows of cucumbers with three seeds per mound. “My girl!” she said, “What were you thinking?” She knew the potential of each cucumber plant but I assured her that I wanted to make a lot of dills.

It was late summer by the time my garden reached peak production and I was swamped. I was picking five-gallon pails of cucumbers and giving away bags of tomatoes. There were approximately eight large potatoes in each hill. Neighbours began giving away zucchini while I offered anything from my garden in exchange. I hated to see organic garden produce rot, so during my spare moments I waded into my weed jungle to pick more cucumbers. I dreamed of a flourishing garden but hadn’t calculated the work involved.

Completely exhausted from parenting two toddlers and being pregnant, I still spent hours canning, only to realize half the jars didn’t seal. Sometimes I incorrectly measured the ingredients like vinegar, and ruined whole batches. Then in winter, I noticed that some of the sealed jars had become unsealed. We also discarded boxes of potatoes that accidentally froze in our cold storage.

Now I think back on the tears of last summer and shake my head at the list of minor tragedies. I have since heard a response to these frustrations that I’ve come to appreciate. When something doesn’t go the way I might have wanted, I simply say, “Oh well.”

There will be years when I have more time and energy to enjoy a large garden. Then I’ll have helpers and it can be a family project. But for now, as my baby sleeps in my arms and two toddlers tussle on my lap, I can only say, “Oh well.” This summer, I will do less, not more. And what will my family get in return? They will have a happier and more relaxed mother in a calmer and peaceful home.

So this year, I want a small garden. My son already informed me he wants a little row of peas. I envision one tomato plant and three cucumber plants. We will enjoy the short row of fresh potatoes while they last and consume the garden produce as it ripens. And for the first time, we’ll probably purchase corn on the cob. Oh well. We’ll eat purchased potatoes in winter. Oh well. But we’ll enjoy summer without fretting over unsealed jars and carpets of weeds.

– Sheila Braun writes from Landmark, Manitoba

The post Bigger Isn’t Always Better – for Apr. 23, 2009 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

We loaded our wagon with peppers, cucumbers, carrots, pumpkins, beets, corn and potatoes. How blessed we were with the abundance of it all. My children were amazed at how a few small seeds could produce so much. I reflected back on the challenges of the growing season, the dry, cool spring when the seeds laid dormant in the soil for weeks, the endless weeding and watering and the plants that could have done a little better with just a few more weeks to grow. But those trials were soon forgotten as we enjoyed the fresh garden produce. I can still see the images of my children, barefoot in the garden, tasting the fresh peas or young carrots. How excited they were when the corn was ready to eat! All summer long our garden provided for us.

But as the geese fly overhead, I am reminded of fall and that the growing season has come to an end. The onions have been hung in the sun to dry and the carrots are washed, bagged and stored in the fridge. The corn has been husked, blanched and frozen, the potatoes dug and the pumpkins were perfect for Halloween. When the last of the cucumber vines were hauled away I knew I would miss the taste of fresh cucumbers. Luckily some of them became pickles and will be enjoyed later on. The bright sunflower heads have turned to brown, filled with seeds that will help feed the birds throughout the winter. Preparing the vegetables for storage seemed like a lot of work, but I knew we would enjoy the fruits of our labour in the coming months.

Part of me is sad and part of me relieved that the growing season has ended. Having a garden is labour intensive, but we truly enjoy all that it produces. While the winter ahead may seem long, soon the seed catalogues will arrive and we’ll be planning our garden once again.

After all of the vegetables and plants are cleared away, the garden gets tilled and harrowed – and then left to rest… until next year when the season begins again.

– Tanya Unrau writes from Boissevain, Manitoba

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