pickled radish

we grow radishes for my hubby as it's a fav childhood memory of his picking a fresh radish straight from the garden to crunch on.

not one of my favourites however we've had super radishes growing so have needed to harvest them before he's gotten to eat them all so needed to find a pickling recipe.

 

ingredients

2 cups radishes, sliced, ends removed

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tblsp salt

several dashes herbs of choice

2 cloves garlic

8 cloves

method
1. slice radishes; set aside
2. place one clove garlic and four cloves in each of two medium mason jars; slice open garlic a bit if it's a large clove
3. combine vinegar, salt and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. add herbs to vinegar mixture
5. pour vinegar mixture over radishes in a large bowl; stir until all are covered
6. transfer radishes to jars, and then cover with vinegar mixture. top off each bottle with enough white vinegar to cover the radishes
7. put in fridge, let sit for a couple hours/days, and enjoy.


found this one online here which suited the ingredients in my cupboard however want to try another one with coriander, ginger and peppercorns next.

actually quite enjoying these now they're pickled! great in brown rice salads and on sandwiches. i'm a convert!

nanna's pickled beetroot

for tania... for your recent beetroot crop. :)

a nanna recipe i'll hold with me always.

ingredients
about 6 large beetroot
1 cup Vinegar Brown
2 cups water
3 cups sugar
pepper and salt
glass jars for storage (sterilise the jars in boiling water or in the oven)

method
1. remove leaves and cut off the stalks and the tails and scrub the beets clean.
2. boil the beets in a pan with enough water to cover them, until firm soft. remove beets from the water once soft and cool slightly.
3. set the now red water aside for later. remove the skin of beets, recommend the use of gloves.
4. put the red water that the beets were boiled in back on the heat, add brown vinegar, water, sugar, pepper and salt back on the heat and bring to the boil.
5. cut the beetroot into slices about 1/2cm to 1cm thick (or to your liking) into the mix of boiling liquid. bring back to the boil.
6. turn off the heat, and add the sliced beets to the glass jars, cover beets with liquid, pouring liquid to the top of the jar. HANDY HINT : before placing lid on, release air bubbles by running a knife down the side of the jar.
7. set aside to cool.
8. store along with all your other preserves. store in fridge once opened.

nothing like home preserved beetroot. if you've only ever had tinned beetroot - you need to try this!

cucumber and carrot pickles

source 'better homes and garden magazine' august 2008.

ingredients
4 lebanese cucumbers
4 carrots peeled
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
8cm piece of ginger, shredded
4 star-anise

method
1. cut cucumbers and carrots into 1cm x 8cm strips and put in a sterilised jar.
2. put vinegar and sugar in a medium heavy based pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. add ginger and star-anise and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. pour vinegar mixture over prepared cucumber and carrot. seal the jar and stand for an hour before serving. store for up to two weeks in the fridge.

tips...
...serve with any chinese meal or plain boiled rice
...toss through salad leaves or put on side of curries and spicy foods.
...great with tasty cheddar cheese
...top pickles with a drizzle of sesame oil and sesame seeds just before serving

i have plans for this for our weekly stir-frys. :)

free living challenge - day 37

goal... to abstain from spending hobbies - to focus on finding daily joy in no cost living.

today's joy...

easy to avoid spending temptations today... spent half of it driving to visit family!

reading is the joy of today.  thought i'd bring you some reviews of my favourite books of the moment...

ordered this magazine a while ago and it arrived this morning... love those knocks on the door for deliveries!
its more than a just a mag... organic gardener essential guides - this was the first of 3 that are now available. great gardening resource for things like pest management, planting/variety/season/climate advice, pruning techniques... first one released was 'getting started', then there is 'fruit' and 'vegies a-z'. 

  

' vegies a-z' is available in newsagencies now and you can order the previous guides online here.

other books on my bed side table for reading this week are...

recent op shop book finds...

for $2 each these were a bargin! there are a few recipes that a bit different from those in my nanna's recipe book in preserve and pickles....  will bring you some of those recipes when i've had a chance to try them out.... things like strawberry and vanilla jam... yum.   claire garland's knit and purl pets are very cute! found out yesterday that my sister is expecting my second nephew... oh how exciting!  i love having excuses to make cute kids toys.  my knitting skills are basic at best but this could be something fun to attempt in coming weeks with the focus of this challenge! have some bamboo wool at home that i'd love to use.

something i have not done in years... since uni days i guess... is utilise libraries for interest reading and resources.  i guess in our online world, searching the net for resources is our first instinct... however i still love having hard copies of books to flick through in my fav comfy seat and a sunny corner... and when i need to refresh my gardening knowledge or tips for a new crafty hobby to pick it off the shelf and read through rather than having to switch the computer on.

have utilsed my husband's uni library recently to check out some sewing books i've seen recommended in other books i've bought in the past few months...  this is one of them...



and might i say a fabulous layout of sewing techniques, machine problem solving etc... from one recommendation i'm searching for a pre 1978 version to buy for  my own collection.  i'm enjoying getting into the second hand books stores recently. much more fun then turning to amazon or book depository. however if i don't source the right version i may have to resort to that.

we moved recently and going through all our stuff makes you realise how much you have and having really utilised its potential. our books are definitely something i need to use more... to spend the time to read them cover to cover and then be able to turn back to them when needed now that i'd know what advice they hold. how am i to know what wonders then have inside if i haven't spent this time?!

hope this inspires you to delve into a wonderful book that has sat undiscovered for too many days. blessings to all for a lovely weekend.

green tomato pickle

for the friendliest neighbour in the world - ken.

and for my tomoato plants that were damged by storms. and they are super tomatoes - home made compost is amazing stuff.

ingredients
750ml vinegar
3kg green tomatoes
1kg onions
small handful of salt
1/2 tspn pepper
1kg sugar
3tblspn curry powder
3tbspn mustard powder

method
1. chop onions and tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, mix well in a bowl, then leave to stand overnight.
2. next day, drain off the fluid. add 3/4 of vinegar, bring to the boil and boil for 10minutes. add the sugar, bring back to the boil, stirring. then boil for 1hour, stirring often.
3. mix remaining vinegar with the dry ingredients. add to the pot and stil until well combined. boil for 5minutes then bottle and seal.

trying this today. let you know the results. can't say i've ever eaten green tomato pickle before!

cucumber pickles

for me. i love pickles.
i couldn't believe how easy creating my own pickles could be.

ingredients
4 large cucumbers
2 cups white vinegar
1.5 tblspns sugar
strips of red pepper (optional)
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup hot water
2 tspns seeded mustard (optional)

method
1. wash cucumbers, slice thinly and arrange in layers sprinkling salt between layers - cover overnight, drain well.
2. combine vinegar, hot water, sugar, mustard seeds and salt and bring to the boil. simmer uncovered for 15minutes. add cucumber, bring to the boil. put in jars.

NOTE: rock salt does not work as effectively as using a salt mill. lesson learnt.