Small Batch Spiny Gherkin Pickles & Doin' All The Things.

to old friends and new. 

Small Batch Spiny Gherkin Pickles

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Doin' All The Things.

(also, i'm kinda famous now.)

garlicky brine is always the answer.

I stumbled across these Hmong Farms-grown maxixie cucumbers at the Brookline farmers' market last week. After excitedly staring at them for a good two minutes I picked out what looked like a good bunch (?) and brought them to the cashier. My gleeful confusion was not exactly mirrored by the guy who sold them to me, but I would not be deterred. I had no idea what they were or what to do with them but was absolutely certain that they needed to be mine. Find a strange, vaguely Seussian variety of gherkin while doing your weekly produce shopping? 

The only option is to pickle the hell out of it. 

Garlicky Small Batch Spiny Gherkin 

(Maxixie Cucumber) Pickles

(makes one quart or two pints)

1 bunch spiny gherkins (also know as maxixe cucumbers), about 8

1c apple cider vinegar

1/4c water

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1 large head of dried dill, or 2 teaspoons dill seed

1Tbsp kosher salt

1tsp unrefined sugar

1/2tsp brown mustard seeds

Add garlic, mustard seeds and dill seeds to a clean quart canning jar, 

or distribute evenly between two pint jars.

Wash and thoroughly scrub gherkins, then cut lengthwise into quarters or eighths, 

depending on your pickle thickness preference.

Whisk together vinegar, water, salt and sugar until dissolved.

Stuff cucumber slices into jars, pouring water and vinegar mix over top until covered.

Cover jar(s) tightly, give them a good shake, and refrigerate.

The longer they sit, the more the flavors will develop.

all the pickled things.

quick pickled watermelon radishes and fennel

pretty pink picklemania.

Quick-Pickled 

Watermelon Radishes & Fennel.

anxiety-inducing seasonality be (ever so slightly) damned.

Sometimes spring and summer produce gives me anxiety. Truthfully, sometimes most things give me anxiety, but we're here to talk about vegetables. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer (and all of the radishes, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, etc. that come with it) but sometimes that "love with a capitol L" leads to irrational excitement which leads to overbuying and that overbuying leads to panic.

Or the excitement leads to panic and that panic leads to overbuying....

How on earth am I going to eat all of these ______ 

*fill in the blank with seasonally appropriate produce* before they go bad? 

How can I keep eating said seasonally appropriate produce 

even when it is no longer seasonally appropriate???

I CAN'T/ WON'T GO BACK TO A LIFE WITHOUT RADISHES.

Quick pickles are the answer.

A little vinegar, a little spice.

Seasonality temporarily upended,

(vegetable-based) anxiety alleviated.

And the picklemania? Totally manageable.

pretty pickle therapy.

bounty.

Quick Pickled Watermelon Radishes 

& Fennel.

(will fill one quart jar)

1 bunch watermelon radishes (about 3-4)

1 large fennel bulb with stalks and fronds attached

1/2c unseasoned rice vinegar

1Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2tsp sea salt

2tsp organic sugar

2tsp freshly ground coriander seeds

2 star anise pods

2Tbsp toasted sesame oil

Pickled Purple Cauliflower

crank up some tunes, it's pickling time again.
Asian-Style Pickled Purple Cauliflower.

The prettiest purple pickles you ever did see.
  

Raw purple cauliflower, pre pickling.

Sometimes I have control issues. Sometimes, at the height of summer, when all manner of gorgeous fruits and vegetables are cheap and abundant, my eyes grow significantly bigger than my stomach. This is how I wind up with two overstuffed produce drawers and a refrigerator shelf devoted entirely to experimental pickling projects. The ability to peruse the local farmstand and pass up a whole basket full of gorgeous freshly harvested purple cauliflower is something I do not posses. For those of us suffering (?) with this produce buying compulsion, quick pickles are a lifesaver. And these particular quick pickles are a knock-you-on-your-ass stunner. Vibrant purple with a crunchy raw texture
and a slightly spicy bite.

They'll kick up the flavor profile of any Asian-style noodle or vegetable dish and,
as a bonus, add a a big bold punch of color.
Pretty purple (knock you on your ass) pickles!
Say that three times fast...

Coriander seeds and purple cauliflower.

Asian-Style Pickled Purple Cauliflower
(makes about 1 quart)

One medium head of purple cauliflower,
washed and cut into florets (about 2cups)
1/4c apple cider vinegar
1/4c unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2tsp sea salt
1/4tsp ground black pepper
1/2tsp organic sugar
1/2tsp ground coriander seeds
1 small garlic clove, peeled
2tsp sesame oil
1 small dried chili pepper, halved
(such as chile de arbol)
or
2 tsp red pepper flakes

Cauliflower and pickling liquid, ready for the fridge.

Place cauliflower florettes in a clean 1 quart glass jar.
Add garlic clove and dried chili pepper (or pepper flakes).
In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegars, salt, pepper, sugar,
coriander and sesame oil.
Pour mixture over cauliflower, seal the jar and give it a good shake.
Refrigerate overnight or for up to a week, allowing time for flavors to develop.
Give the jar a little shake every now and then to redistrubute pickling liquid.
Will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

Pickled Chard Stems

hell yes, we can pickle that.
Quick Pickled Chard Stems.

Chard stems: scrubbed, sliced and ready for pickling.

Get ready dear readers, it's chard week here in the slow club kitchen. Despite the best destructive efforts of the local slug population (slimy little fuckers), I've got a bumper crop this season. This is not a bad position to be in, but it does force a little on-your-feet thinking to avoid drowning in brightly colored leaves or becoming excruciatingly bored eating the same dish night after night. How to preserve this gorgeous bounty??  A stumbled-upon image of sriracha pickled chard stems on the Bon Appetit website was a miraculous revelation.
Of course, pickling is the answer!
PICKLING IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER.


I've hybridized a couple of recipes, this one from the New York Times, and the aforementioned sriracha pickled chard stems. The result is sweet, briny and spicy; enjoy them on their own, add the pickles to a summer noodle or salad dish or, if you're feeling a little on the ambitious side, pair with this raw pine nut goat cheese. 

So lets crank up some punk (the So So Glos' new album"Blowout" is my summer pickling soundtrack) and get down to brining.

Chard stems packed and ready for pickling brine.

Quick Pickled Chard Stems

(fills one 8oz canning jar)

1 cup of chard stems,
leaves removed

3/4c unseasoned rice vinegar

1/4c water

2Tbsp sugar

1Tbsp kosher salt

1/8tsp coriander seeds

1/8tsp black or pink peppercorns

1tsp sriracha

Wash and scrub chard stems and trim off any remaining bits of leaves. 

Slice stems into batons roughly the height of your canning jar, minus 1/4" for headspace. 

Pack stems into canning jar.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt, spices and sriracha in a small sauce pan
and bring to a light boil.

Stir until sugar and salt has dissolved.

Pour hot brine over stems, cover and refrigerate.

Leave for at least 2 days and up to 2 weeks for flavors to develop before eating. 

Will keep for up to 1 month in the fridge.

The finished product.