Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
My first quick pickle!
I made watermelon rind pickles the other day. I made them from a recipe in the wonderful Sweet Home Café Cookbook: A Celebration of African American Cooking. The book was on a list of ten essential cookbooks that the Washington Post has put together — I’m always curious about cookbooks and I’ve enjoyed getting installments of that list in my inbox each week. Anyway, I have read this book cover to cover. It is a keeper, full of good stuff — recipes, photos, history, too.
It’s hot out. Watermelon tastes so good on hot days. We used to give the rinds to our hens (when we were keeping hens) and it really helped them survive the hottest days of summer. Watermelon is hydrating and helps anybody feel cooler in the hottest days of summer! But we don’t keep hens anymore so any watermelon rind has been going into the green recycling bin (for food scraps and lawn debris — the City of Portland composts this stuff). Then I saw the recipe. Watermelon rind pickles — I hadn’t tasted one of these pickles in years and the idea of making something delectable from something that would otherwise be thrown away was just intriguing.
It’s hot out. I confess, I like the idea of canning and putting food by in jars. I’ve done it just a couple of times, making jam. But man, is it sweaty work! No, quick pickles won’t keep more than a couple weeks in the fridge but five minutes simmering in a small pot sure beats the swelter of a full-on boil of a huge pot in this heat. Made with sugar, water, vinegar, heaps of sliced fresh ginger, sliced jalapeño, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves, black peppercorns and star anise, these have a sweet pickle flavor but also a bit of an after burn on the tongue. They are delicious.
So now I am looking for quick pickle recipes or book suggestions. I know some master gardeners hang out here ( Mr. & Mrs. side pocket, I am looking at you with beseeching eyes!) so please share your favorites with me! For instance, does anyone have a good recipe for Mexican pickled carrots? (Ann loves those.) How about relishes or quick chutneys? Has anybody else caught the pickle making bug?
The weekend begins now. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.
