Leanna’s Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Leanna’s Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients

6 to 8 pounds cucumbers, scrubbed and sliced into ¼” thick rounds
10 fresh dill sprigs
2 tbsp dill seeds
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, sliced into thirds
1 quart water
3 cups white vinegar
1 cup Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canning/pickling salt

Directions

In a large pot, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil; cook and stir just until salt is dissolved. Place a sprig of dill in the bottom of each sterilized canning jar.

Pack layers of cucumber and onions tightly into the jars, leaving ½ head space. Place garlic pieces and dill sprigs into the jars and sprinkle with dill seed.

Pour liquid mixture into jars to cover the cucumbers. Move the cucumbers around with a knife to release any air bubbles. Make sure the liquid covers the cucumbers, onions and dill completely.

Cover tightly and refrigerate for 48 hours. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

January 2012 Garden Update

Yes, I am a slacker blogger! Sorry!

The garden did fabulous this winter. We changed a few things that we have done in the past and learned some things about the new microclimate in our yard.

First off, we decided to keep the screen porch mostly free of plants this winter. It's usually cramped with salad greens, herbs, aloe vera and what ever else we are trying to save from the frost. This winter we only kept the parsley on the porch and that was mainly for easy access while cooking.

We knew we had to go bigger this year with our garden of salad greens so DH added a 2x8 bed that we made into a mini greenhouse. using tomato cages topped with chicken wire, we built what DH affectionately called his "ghetto greenhouse." It was covered with a large plastic paint tarp from Ace Hardware. During the bone chilling (for us desert dwellers anyway) and very wet 3 week winter (LOL!)- the garden stayed warm and the greens thrived. We had several varieties of lettuce, swiss chard and broccoli.

The Ghetto Green House

Inside the Ghetto Green House

We also used the paint tarps to keep out potted herbs out of the frost. We pushed out outdoor tables together and tented them with the plastic tarps. A few bricks held the plastic down in the wind. All the potted plants stayed under the tables during the cold snap.

Last year my neighbors on either side of me replaced the old wooden fencing with new brick walls. Since then the frost warnings have meant nothing to us. When the low temp is supposed to be in the mid 40's - I have a birdbath full of ice. We've had to be extra careful this winter to make sure everything was protected.

We try and reuse and repurpose what we can. I saved some plastic containters from the trash at work. They are fairly large clear containers that caterers use to bring ice to the office during parties/meetings. They are very durable and as soon as I saw them I thought they would make terrific hot caps. We tried them out on some containers I found on clearence at Kmart (Main and Lindsey in Mesa, I love that place!). We are growing brocolli raab and so far - so good. DH and I both see lots of recipes in cookbooks that use brocolli raab but we couldn't even find it in stores. I've since learned that Sprouts carries it ($2.99 per lb -not!).

Brocolli raab with our repurposed hot cap!

The front garden was awesome on it's trial run and we will certainly be keeping it up. I was running around like crazy picking peppers and tomatoes before the frost and all for no reason at all. Although the lantana was killed last year by the frost - it did not touch anything it the front garden this winter. In fact- I still have flowers on the tomatoes. I'm going to let the current plants stay, just to see how they produce for a second season. Trial and error!

Peppers and tomatoes picked before the first frost. We let them ripen indoors. We had a few problems with hungry little birds when we let the peppers ripen on the vine so either way they would have been harvested early. They tasted great!

Grilled Zucchini

Today's harvest from the garden, sitting in my new grilling basket from Sur La Table at Casa Paloma in Chandler.

Ben will be grilling our first zucchini of the season today. Lucky for us, we still have some oranges to use for the zuccini marinade this afternoon. These (behind the zuccini in the photo) are Arizona Sweets from the neighbor's tree. They keep for weeks as long as you put them in a cool spot.

To make Ben's grilled zuccini- First, slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/2 to 3/4 inch planks or rounds. Squeeze some OJ on the slices and let them sit for about a half hour to absorb the flavor. Right before grilling, spray the squash with a litle mist of EVOO and sprinkle them with garlic salt. Toss the slices on a very hot grill until grill marks appear, flip and cook for a few seconds on the other side.

Check out the varegated purple sage we grow in the herb garden. It almost looks too pretty to chop up and use in a recipe.

A Good Week

Today's yield - tomatoes, oregano, lavender and eggs

The weather has been fabulous for the last week and a half - mostly in the 80's. This has made the hens very happy and the older girls are laying again. Even little Camilla gave us an egg yesterday, her first since late March.

The Early Girl and Better Boy tomatoes in the front garden are yielding about 2-3 tomatoes a day for us. The pepper plants are growing well and setting flowers, but that's it. Not a pepper in sight. There is one large zucchini that Ben will probably pick next weekend. He loves to marinate them briefly in fresh orange juice and sprinkle them with garlic salt before throwing them on the grill.

The cooler weather has stopped the herbs from bolting and going to seed but we were not so lucky with the lettuce. Lucky for us the chickens don't mind bitter end of season lettuce.

The newest additions to the flock are now 15 weeks old. They are still several weeks away from laying eggs but they are showing interest in the nesting boxes so that's a good sign.



Lucy, Molly, Piccata and Speckle



Speckle - our Delaware Hen

April Garden Update

This year we decided to expand our veggie garden to the front yard. The big frost killed nearly everything so instead of cutting back we decided to rip out and replant. This year we have over 20 tomato plants, a mix of hybrids and heirloom varieties. I'm trying squash again since we had such a big crop last year. I even planted celery this year so it will be fun to see how that works out.
We have our big lettuce crop and tons of herbs for cooking too. As usual the plants that grow the biggest and the fastest are the weeds!

This is one of the tomatoes in the front of the house where the lantana had been for about 5 years. The lanata looked awful after the big frost and we decided it was time for it to go. Due to the lack of hours in direct sunshine- the lantana never bloomed much so it was just a big ugly bush. No great loss when we ripped it out. Like my neighbor proved last year, the tomatoes seem to like the front yard. We did minimal soil amending yet these tomatoes are doing much better than the plants in the main beds in the back yard. They get less direct sunlight here so maybe that's helping. There are peppers a few feet away and they seem to be growing very well too - a shock because I've always had a black thumb when it comes to growing any sort of pepper. I am the only gardener in Arizona who manages to kill off all my peppers every year. Most folks I know have the same bell or hot pepper plants for 3-5 years. I'm crossing my fingers for the red bells I planted last month.


In the main raised bed we have our lettuce, at least until it bolts or we eat it all. This year I threw in some mixed seed packets. We ended up with some beautiful red speckled lettuce and a very hearty long green leaf lettuce that must be some sort of romaine. It is super crunchy and great on sandwiches.

The herbs are really taking off after the recent rain. This is one of the pots of oregano. We added more oregano and parsley this year since we never seem to have enough. I finished the long overdue task of dividing the chives. I will never put that chore off again. The chives were so compacted that I ended up breaking them apart with a screwdriver. Most ended up in the garbage but the healthiest bulbs are now doing well in a bigger container. The sage is also beyond it's usefullness after 5-6 years so I planted some purple and some varigated sage. The older plants are now flowering so I hope to be able to harvest some seeds. I still have to decide where to plant the spearmmint and peppermint I purchased. We have a new wall of the southside if the yard so I want to see how plants do in that area before I commit. So far everything is growing well but that may change in the summer heat.

These are the last of the winter/spring desert wildflowers in the front yard. I was lucky enough to be home before the storms hit this weekend and I was able to gather seeds this year. I'd like to have flowers in the back yard next year so I plant them in the fall.

Solar Oven Eggs and Cheese

Solar Oven Eggs and Cheese

Today was windy but sunny. Too windy to work in the garden but a perfect day to get out the SOS Sport Solar Oven and make breakfast. I set the oven out to preheat and I added a brick. The brick is painted with black bbq grill paint and actually serves 3 purposes in the oven. It elevates the dish for more even cooking, and holds heat so the oven stays hotter if a cloud passes in front on the sun. The bonus is that it also keeps the oven from blowing off the table on windy days.

I used the same ingredients I use to make an omelette on the stovetop (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites, 1 oz grated cheese, 1 tsp non fat milk). Cheese is a must. I am trying to lose weight and live heart healthy so I try and keep cheese to a minimum. Trader Joe's carries interesting but inexpensive cheese and I picked up Cotswald Double Glouchester this week. It has a great flavor that goes well with eggs and I love the chives added in.

I mixed everything together and poured the mix into an old First Class cabin casserole dish that I found at the US Airways Company Store for about 50 cents. Buttering the dish makes for easy cleanup. The eggs and cheese took about 30 minutes in the preheated oven. I topped the dish with more fresh chives out of the herb garden. Breakfast for one without turning on the stove - gotta love it.

October: Unprocessed - Friday Farmer's Market

Since we're trying to eat local and organic when possible, on Fridays I love going downtown shopping at the Downtown Mesa Farmers Market This isn't one of the larger farmer's markets in the valley but it has everything I need. Naturally there are vegetable vendors and most sell other items as well. Herbs can be purchased fresh, dried or in pots ready to plant. You'll find cheese, bread, pasta and pasta sauce, and lately Dr. Hummus has been selling and giving samples of what I think is the best tasting hummus ever. (Oh, his pita chips are excellent too!) There's also tie-dye t-shirts and craft items. Today one of the ladies was selling lovely tote bags that she made.

As you can see above the heirloom tomatoes were fabulous today. I'll be saving the seeds to start over the winter for my spring crop. They did very well for us this year. I also bought some organic cucumbers and fresh corn.

I'll be making more mayo (aioli) this week so I actually went to the farmer's market today for some eggs. If you like fresh eggs this is the place to get them. They go quickly so get there early. Crack them open and you'll see how different they are from anything you can get in the store. The yolks are a deep yellow compared to the eggs I an used to seeing. Curious about where the eggs come from? One of the vendors has a photo album, so you can see the hens along with their hen house and their grazing area. You won't find that at Fry's.

Lemon Verbena From The Herb Garden

So much for bringing the outdoor inside. The verbena wilted and looked terrible within five minutes of taking this photo. I'll be drying it instead of enjoying it in the livingroom. It smells wonderful!