Refrigerator Pickled Red Onions & Daikons

Posted on by December 7, 2020

12/6/2020 – We have too many red onions from the grocery store and some large daikons from the garden. A recipe here seemed good to use the onions. Made more onion pickling liquid than needed for the quart of onion so made a 12 oz. jar of Daikons sliced into coins. These are made to be stored in the refrigerator and eaten soon.

The pickling liquid was made with the ingredients below. The amounts of salt and sugar are a lot less than she used. Before adding it to the jars I tasted it and it was slightly sweet and the salt could almost be detected.

  • 4 cups apple cider vinegar
  • warm water at 2:1 ratio of the vinegar – See notes below of how this was achieved
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp pickling salt

The large red onion was sliced by hand into about 1/8″ thick slices and the two large daikons were peeled then cut into 1/8″ thick coins. The quart jar was filled with the onion slices and the commercial tall pickle jar was filled with the coins. We did not need all the coins so the tougher almost pithy coins were discarded.

The seasoned vinegar was poured into the jars until they were 1/3 full. The jars were then topped off with our well water. That provided for one part vinegar to 2 parts of water. The jars were then turned and shaken then put into the outside refrigerator to pickle for a couple of days.

Pickled Pepperoncini Peppers

Posted on by May 2, 2021

12/2/2020 – With the hard freezes coming we harvested on Nov. 30 all the pepperoncini peppers from Mary’s garden. We were surprised there were about 3 gallons in a 5-gallon bucket from the four bushes. Made the bent ones as slices this date pickled in pint jars two ways. Then made 3 quarts as slices. All had slightly different spice levels as an experiment.

Continue reading →

Korean Pork Stir-fry

Posted on by November 28, 2020

11/27/2020 – Mary made this with bok choy, green onions, and lemon from our garden. It was very good and one to repeat again. A little spicer and/or more ginger might be worth trying next time. This was inspired by the recipe by Marion here and her video where she said to only have two main vegetables in a stir fry to keep it simple. And, do not stir it too much.

Continue reading →

German Sauerkraut Preps with our 2020 Cabbage

Posted on by December 7, 2020

11/27/2020 – We have harvested our first heads of K-Y (Taiwanese) cabbage whose leaves were tender and not as stiff as standard store bought cabbage. Used two of them in our German kraut using the Excell spreadsheet ingredient calculator that provided the ingredient weights below.

K-Y Cabbages1737
Caraway Seed – 2gm /1000 gm cabbage3.5
Juniper berries – 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage3.5
Mustard Seed – 6 gm per 1000 gm of cabbage10.4
Salt – 1.6% of the cabbage27.8
Total1782.2
Projected 1/2 gallon jars at 1400 gm of cabbage per jar1.2

Actually made a 1/2 gallon and a quart. Both with space above the glass weight and not like we usually do where the jars are too full.

The next morning brine had accumulated to the top of the cabbage but did not submerge it. Mixed some 6% saltwater and topped each jar off so the glass weight was submerged. The water should have been 1.6% but the small amount of added 6% saltwater will make little difference.

12/7/2020 – Had two fresh heads of K-Y cabbage so made it into kraut. This amount made one 1/2 gallon jar that was full.

Cabbage gms1646
Caraway Seed – 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage3.3
Juniper berries – 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage3.3
Mustard Seed – 6 gm per 1000 gm of cabbage9.9
Salt – 1.6% of the cabbage26.3
Total1688.8

Sauerkraut with Our K-Y Cabbage

Posted on by November 27, 2020

11/27/2020 – Jeff suggested we grow Taiwanese Cabbage and research about that cabbage turned up that here it is called K-Y cabbage. So, we grew some and now have three heads. Two went into sauerkraut and one into coleslaw. Based on the amounts computed using our Sauerkraut Calculator we prepared the following.

Cabbage1737
Caraway Seed – 2gm /1000 gm cabbage3.5
Juniper berries – 2 gm per 1000 gm cabbage3.5
Mustard Seed – 6 gm per 1000 gm of cabbage10.4
Salt – 1.6% of the cabbage27.8
Total1782.2
Projected 1/2 gallon jars at 1600 gm per jar1.2
Actually made – 1/2 gallon mason jars1.4
That equates to 1200 gms per jar

Cajun White Beans and Sausage–A Quicky

Posted on by October 12, 2020

10/11/2020 – This is made with a large can of BlueRunner white beans and comes together in about 30 minutes. This cook was ok and has suggestions for making it really good. It is a lot different than but inspired by David Triche’s recipe here at a Facebook group.

This recipe has a lot of potential if it is not overheated/cooked. This effort ended up with the covered pot on a medium simmer that became a boil and went on until I found it and most of the peas had disintegrated.

The Ingredients

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 (27 oz.) cans Blue Runner Original Cream Style Navy Beans
½ cup Water
1 large Onions, chopped
1 medium Bell Pepper, chopped from our garden
2 stalks of celery
6 toes Garlic, chopped
1/3 lb. Conecuh Spicy Smoked Sausage, sliced into ½” diagonal slices
1 Tbsp. Cajun Seasoning
~1 Tbsp. Black Pepper to cover the 2 qt. pot

  1. In a pot, heat oil over medium heat add: oil and flour, stirring constantly to make a roux the color of peanut butter.
  2. Add the onions, celery and green pepper and stir occasionally until wilted.
  3. Add the garlic and cook until wilted.
  4. Add water and stir until the rouz is like a gravy.
  5. Add the smoked sausage, Cajun seasoning, and the can of beans.
  6. Cook for 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary, but don’t make it thin.
  7. Add the can of Bluerunner white beans and cook another 30 minutes. Taste and adjust any seasoning if necessary.
  8. Serve over rice.

This cook was while Mary was in Houston. Still, it turned out ok and has a lot of potential for a cajun side dish that is special but easy.

Next time try:

  1. Add no water until it needs it…if it does.
  2. Use bacon grease instead of vegetable oil to make the roux.
  3. Watch the heat level as this came to a boil at 3/4 of the simmer setting.
  4. It needs more punch–not heat. Add 50% more creole seasoning.

Smoked Pork Belly

Posted on by October 30, 2020

10/6/2020 – Smoked in the MES a fresh 4.25 lb. pork belly bought at Alabama Speciality Meats. Trimmed off the skin and the loose ends of fat. There was a thin end that was removed to not have it overcook. It will become tasso. This smoke turned out ok but not really different from a smoked shoulder.

Continue reading →

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Spicy Cajun-Cheese Stuffing

Posted on by October 5, 2020

10/3/2020 – We made a most wonderful meal that is clearly rated To-Die-For.

Several parts were made independently and then blended to make the meal.

  • Shrimp – 18-20 large shrimp were thawed, headed, shelled, deveined, and butterflied but not cut through. Rubbed in Kit Whol’s creole seasoning.
  • Spicy Cheese Stuffing –
    • 8 oz. creme cheese was taken out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature…almost.
    • 3 green onions from the garden, white and green parts diced.
    • half a 4″ long poblano hot pepper, from our garden, roasted today and chopped fine.
    • juice from half of a fresh lime
    • ½ cup of chopped fresh cilantro
    • Siracha. Two squeezes that were about 2 tablespoons total
    • Kit Whol’s creole seasoning
  • Half strips of Zeigler Bacon were initially cooked in a 400° oven to about 50% cooked with the meat turning slightly dark and the fat white. The strips were still limp and easily wrapped around the stuffed shrimp. While still hot, sprinkled Kit Whol’s creole seasoning on the top side.
  • Reheated Jasmine rice (about 1.5 cups) cooked several days ago with Ina’s broth and green onions from the garden. As the above quantities made more spicy cheese stuffing that could be used in the shrimp, about ½ cup was added to the warmed rice and stirred in. That was genius as it made the rice really special. There was still some leftover for another day.

Putting it Together

  1. The butterflied shrimp were filled with a glob of the spicy cheese and wrapped in a half-strip of half-cooked Ziegler bacon.
  2. Shook a somewhat heavy level of Kit Whol’s creole seasoning on them.
  3. The wrapped shrimp were seared on a grilling mat on the hot gas grill mostly with the lid closed until they were the pink shade of not-overcooked shrimp. Maybe 8-10 minutes.

They were served next to the warmed, seasoned rice.