Refridgerator Pickles

I am excited!!

I am so excited to FINALLY be posting to Bonnie's wonderful blog!! I was a little (well, a lot) unsure of how to post, but not any more!!! That is because Bonnie gave me a lesson that began with photography and ended up here!!! Yippee!! So....without further ado...

These are my favorite refrigerator pickles. I make them every summer when cucumber season is heavily upon us. I love, love them. They keep for a month in the 'fridge and if you eat 'em up you can add a cucumber or two to the leftover brine before throwing it away. A replenishing of sorts. You can make them spicy or not, it is up to you. If you are in the 'not' category, just leave the red pepper flake out.

Refrigerator Pickles
Makes 1 quart and keeps one month in the 'fridge.

1 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
7 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dill seed
5 or 6 small cucumbers, taking off strips of the peel, and sliced into 1/8 thick rounds. (the best kind to use are Kirby, or pickling cucumbers, because their skins are not bitter or tough, and they have less seeds. However, I have used other kinds of cucumber with success)
1 white onion, cut into half moons, and thinly sliced.

Place the vinegar, sugar, pepper, salt, cloves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes (if using), and dill seed in a quart jar (or other container of the same size). Put on the lid and give it a good shake until sugar and salt is dissolved. Add the cucumber and onion in layers, pressing with a spoon to compact and press into the brine. Put the lid back on and give it another good shake. Place in the 'fridge for 4 hours to marinate. Yum!

Jodie's Sushi Rice and Jono's Favorite Roll

if you're wondering why i haven't posted a menu this week, it's because i haven't made one. oh how i despise not having a menu ! but, we're pretty much just trying to eat out of the fridge/freezer/pantry this week. we're doing pretty well, if we are an ingredient or two short, i just run out and get them. so far, we're still UNDER BUDGET !! hoooray !!

the other night we did very simple sushi. the only ingredients we did were cucumber, avocado, cream cheese and tamago. i had run out of sushi rice vinegar so i tried my friend jodie's recipe for making your own ! it was great. i'll never buy sushi rice vinegar again ...

here's how you make it ...
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 TBLS sugar
1.5 tsp salt

mix in a bowl, zap in the microwave to help the sugar dissolve. i probably took it out and stirred it two or three times over a minute's zap ...

and that's it. use how much you need and save the rest for next time ...

as for this fancy inside out roll. my boy reckons this is the best way to eat sushi. he's always disappointed when we go to a sushi restaurant that doesn't have these. so ... i tried my hand at it and he said it was better than the one he gets at the sushi shop ! how's that for a compliment ?! it really was quite easy. Just roll the sushi mat with glad wrap (plastic wrap) before you start, otherwise you'll be picking rice out of your mat for years to come !

Do your rice as you normally would, sprinkle with sesame seeds and then turn it over. Add your ingredients as you normally would, only you're doing it on the seaweed, not the rice. I did cucumber, avocado and cream cheese for jono. Roll as per usual. Cutting is a bit tricky but if you have a sharp knife, you'll be fine.

That's it ! Easy and yum !!