Foodie thread

[pepper]

What do you prefer for pickling? I have been using Bernardin for years but it's not the crisp and flavor I would like. I'd like to try something different.

 

[Ruderunner]

For shelf stable pickles we use Mrs Wages brand mix. Available from Walmart so you might be able to get it online.

To help keep things crunchy we add a little food grade calcium chloride.

For refrigerator or crock pickles, just water, salt dill, garlic and a little each of peppercorns, mustard seed and red pepper flakes.

 

[pepper]

For shelf stable pickles we use Mrs Wages brand mix. Available from Walmart so you might be able to get it online.

To help keep things crunchy we add a little food grade calcium chloride.

For refrigerator or crock pickles, just water, salt dill, garlic and a little each of peppercorns, mustard seed and red pepper flakes.

That's mostly how I do the refrigerator pickles too, but I use a lot of garlic cloves so I can eat that once the pickles are done lol.

I checked Amazon for the Mrs. Wages, they have it but it's crazy expensive (gotta love shopping on Canada Amazon) $53 for a small pack of it. There is also Mrs Wages lime, it's 25% calcium, it is $15. Interesting thing is all the comments everyone uses it for "water glassing" eggs rather then pickles. I had to look that up and apparently it keeps eggs fresh for a long time.. very interesting.

For now I just ordered some alum powder and Old Bay spice mix. Next time I go to Walmart I'll see if they have Mrs Wages.

 

[Ruderunner]

$53 must be a typo.

 

[pepper]

$53 must be a typo.

Lol nope. A lot of the time on Canada Amazon if it's food and not made in Canada it's crazy expensive. I am guessing Mrs Wags is US made.

 

[pepper]

I picked some peppers to stuff for supper, taco stuffed peppers and mexican rice. It was so good!

Fresh picked peppers and dill:

Cut them so they are like a boat. Don't cut the stem off or everything will leak out. You want them stuffed to the max. I take the seeds out then put a layer of grated mozzarella cheese on the bottom:

Then make the taco mix as you would for tacos and stuff it with that. Bake at 400. At the same time I cut up the jalapenos, put in my favorite spices and a couple tomatoes whole to make the rice. I was lucky that two small tomatoes were ripe on the vine:

I also had leftover homemade sour cream so I put some dill and spices in that to dip. Also had a bit of taco mix left so I used it as a side. More cheese on top just before it comes out of the oven. This is the finished dish:

 

[pepper]

I forgot to mention I also cooked bacon and cut it up, mixed that with the ground beef after adding the taco spices.

 

[pepper]

A couple of my pickles with a grilled cheese. They are big boys but I want to try bigger. So far so good, they are delicious after only a few days.

 

[pepper]

Tomorrow I am going to make cowboy candy for the first time. @Meadowlark it seems to be big in Texas, a lot of the how-to YouTube videos for it are Texas folks. Have you ever had/made it? If you have if love some suggestions if you have any. (Or anyone who has made it).

 

[Ruderunner]

Whirlwind the last couple days. Made and canned 5 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 4 quarts of pickled beets, 3 quarts of sweet hots, 3 quarts of dill chips, 3 quarts of green beans and 5 gallons of borscht.

I picked a 5 gallon bucket of beets and used what I had handy, no way we'll go through that much soup. Oh, there's more coming too. Best year ever for beets, usually only get a gallon a year.

I picked 6 heads of cabbage, cored and froze 3 for stuffed cabbage later, still have 3 to do something with.

 

[Ruderunner]

Another busy weekend. Picked the last of the pickles, bunch of green beans, Hungarian peppers a nice green bell, couple small exploded cabbage and little over a peck of tomatoes.

Prepped everything yesterday and canned this morning: 3 quarts sweet hots, 1.5 quarts pickle chips, 3 pints gherkins, 8 pints beans 4 pints peach salsa and 6 quarts of goulash.

I'm quickly running out of jars, plenty of pints for beans but out of quarts for tomatoes.

 

[Ruderunner]

Cause I'm BLT!

AC DC fans should know how to say it.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Forgot to take a picture. Last week made my "summer Pizza" I get yellow and red tomatoes, layer them alternate around a pan, mix together some riciotta cheese and motz and parm, toss in some fresh basil leaves and drop all over the tomatoes. Bake. my pizza dough is homemade. BTW. so pretty. Love colors when I cook.

Have pickled in the past, raddishes, but husband does not eat them. So stopped. He just like pickles, but does not eat enough of them to be worth my time to pickle compared to the cost at the store.

 

[Ruderunner]

Cheese on top? Wouldn't that hide the tomatoes? We do Margherita style Cheese first so the veggies dry out a bit.

As for pickles, in our area it's much cheaper to make our own. Crock pickles are nearly free and sweet hots average about 2 dollars a quart vs store prices of 6 dollars.

Carrots in a Crock with dill and a little garlic are very good and easy.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Cheese on top? Wouldn't that hide the tomatoes? We do Margherita style Cheese first so the veggies dry out a bit.

As for pickles, in our area it's much cheaper to make our own. Crock pickles are nearly free and sweet hots average about 2 dollars a quart vs store prices of 6 dollars.

Carrots in a Crock with dill and a little garlic are very good and easy.

The cheese is doloped about not spread evenly, visual of tomatoes still there accented by the green basil . The other stuff, carrots etc. have to have someone help me eat it, husband not into all that. One jar of pickles lasts a long time in our home.