MMMMMMMMMore pickles

This moning my canner was still out on the stove from yesterday's canning project.  I thought I might as well get another small pickle project done before washing it up and storing it away.  Todays project is pickled carrots.  I like the italian style ones and Ben enjoys the mexican style ones, so I did both. The following recipe is enough brine to make about 6 pints of pickled carrots.

To start with, sterilize your jars.  Then you'll want to make a pickling brine.  This time I used this recipe:    
    5 Cups vinegar
    1 Cup water
    2 Cups sugar
    2 Tablespoons sea salt
    4 Tablespoons mustard seed (whole)

You will also need:
     Carrots (about 1/2 lb per pint jar)
     Garlic (1 clove per pint)
     Onion (1/4 Cup per pint of Mexican style)
     Jalepeno pepper (1/2 pepper per pint of Mexican style)
     Green bell pepper (about 4 cut sticks per pint)

Bring the brine to a boil.  In the mean time, wash-peel and cut your carrots.  For Italian style I made carrot sticks and for Mexican style I cut rounds. 

Peppers, onions and garlic add flavor and color to your pickled carrots

Start with Italian style pickled carrots. **It  is important to start with these because when you cook the Mexican style ones the brine will get too spicy due to the jalepeno peppers.**

Place a pinch of mustard seed in the bottom of the sterilized jars along with a pinch of whole leaf oregeno.  Add a whole garlic clove (I like to slightly crush them with the side of my knife first.)  Then add your raw green pepper sticks.

Place  your cut carrots into the hot brine.  Cook this on medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the carrot sticks are al dente.

You can fit about 1/2 lb of carrot sticks in a pint jar

Next add these hot carrot sticks to your jar using tongs.  Cover these with brine leaving about 1/2  inch of headroom in the jars.  Now put the lids and rings on jars and set aside on a towel on your counter.

For Mexican style pickled carrots:

Cut your cleaned carrots into rounds.  Cut jalepeno peppers in rounds and dice onions in large pieces.  Add these to the remaining brine and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until al dente.

Cooking the mexican pickled carrot mixture

Add 1 slightly crushed garlic clove to bottom of each hot jar.  When the carrots mixture is cooked add that to the jar.  Be sure to include jalepeno pepper slices in each of the jars.  Cover with hot brine leaving about 1/2 inch of  headroom.  Add lids and rings.

Place both  Italian and Mexican style carrots into your water bath canning rack and waterbath for 10 minutes.

Remove from canner onto a towel on your counter and allow to cool.  Once completely cooled  remove the rings and label your jars.  Store in a dark cupboard for at least 1 month to allow for all the flavors to mature.  Ours should be ready to go for Thanksgiving!

Yummy Mexican and Italian pickled carrots!

What am I gonna do with all these little green tomatoes?

Pickling is a great way to preserve your

green end of season tiny tomatoes

We've had torrential rains for the last few days.  October in the Pacific Northwest is the wet cold season and now that the rains have started, there's no telling when they'll end. 

I still have 3 large yellow pear tomato plants in the garden that are producing. All this heavy rain is causing them to split as they ripen.  So today I went down and filled my pockets with tiny green tomatoes for pickling.  Then I grabbed the pruners and harvested a handful of anise flowers and oregeno from my organic herb bed along with about 8 garlic cloves that didn't get planted earlier this week.

Yellow pear tomatoes are about 1/2 the size of cherry tomatoes

When fully ripened they are a bright yellow, but these green ones

will be better pickled

Organic Anise flower from the boat garden

Garden fresh organic oregeno from the herb beds

These garlics didn't make the cut for planting but they will

compliment the small tomatoes for pickles

Back in the kitchen, I washed all of my items and pulled out the canning equiptment again.  First thing was to sterilize 4 quart jars and start the water to boil in the canner. 

In a seperate pot I brought these ingredients to a boil for the brine:

     *1 1/2 Quarts of white venegar

     *1 Cup sugar

     *1/3 Cup sea salt

As the brine was heating  I placed a pinch of mustard seed, corriander, and a few black pepper corns along with a few sprigs from the fresh herbs in the bottom of each jar.

No need to measure, just add a pinch to each jar

 Next I drained the tomatoes and packed them raw into the jars and added 2 cloves of peeled garlic in each jar.

So pretty!  The tomatoes and garlic cloves are the same size

Once the brine was boiled, I removed it from the heat and poured the hot liquid over the  tomatoes and herbs.  I left 1/2" of head room in the top of each jar and then added the lids and rings.  These went into a hot water bath canner at a boil for 10 minutes. Next I pulled the jars out and set on a towel on the counter where they will cool.

Pickling tiny tomatoes is quick and easy

Once they're cool I'll remove the rings, label the jars and place in the cupboard for at least 1 month.  After brining for a month these will be delicious little pickles and would make a nice garnish for bloody mary's or compliment any relish tray.

Vinegar..... The miracle GREEN product in your cupboard!

Orignal posting:
Tuesday, July 14, 2009


From smog in the air we breathe, to BPA in our bottled drinking water, our modern world seems to be bombarding us with toxins. One small step we can take in our homes is to replace many of the household chemicals we use and replace them with eco-friendly and non-toxic substitutes. Vinegar is one of the best!

Here's a short list of uses for good old fashioned distilled white vinegar.

Weeds plaguing your yard or driveway? Instead of Round-up or some other harsh weed killer try using full strength vinegar. This tried and tested method to kill unwanted plants and weeds really works. Be sure to be careful not to spill on plants that you love. The natural high acid content in the vinegar will cause the plant to die. This may take a repeat application if after 1 week you see new growth, but it does work!
Need a little more time on a winter morning? Instead of scraping the ice from your windshield in the a.m. try this. At night coat the outside of your car windows with a solution of 3 parts venegar and 1 part water. You'll be thrilled when you gain time for an extra cup of coffee before heading out to work.

Chrome looking dull? Don't waste your hard earned money to buy fancy chrome sprays that may be harmful to the environment,. Instead simply douse a soft cloth in full strength vinegar and rub on your chrome. Shiny, clean and eco-friendly!

Your organic lettuce hard to clean? Add a drop or 2 to rinse water and any bugs that hitchhiked in on your harvest will float out in the rinse.

Eggs cracking when you boil them? Add 2 Tablespoons of vinegar to the water and this will prevent the cracking.

Extra greasy dishes? Add a Tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy dish water and it will cut through the grease easily and eliminate odors too!

Don't do windows? You'll change your mind when using this amazing cleanser. Simply combine 1/4 Cup of vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of dishsoap and 2 Cups of water in a spray bottle. Windows clean to a streak free shine with ease.

Looking for a good GREEN all purpose cleaner? Easy. mix equal parts of water and vinegar. This cleanser is great for kitchen and bath and causes no harm to the environment.

So take that small step and replace some of your household chemicals with vinegar solutions. You'll save money, your health and best of all you'll be saving the planet!

Remember when we all do our small part, we can change the big picture!