Jarred

Beets and Turnip Pickles

‘Is it safe?’ that is the question I always wonder about when it comes to making homemade pickles. My husband and I used to make sweet pickles from Japanese cucumbers we grew in the garden, the recipe found in the Oregonian FOODDAY decades back. The whole process took three days but we enjoyed the strong acidic sweetness, after all it was an award winning recipe. The following year when we were ready to make another batch I could not find the recipe because of my fine organizing skills. I went through an entire box of newspaper clippings (mostly recipes). It disappeared into a black hole of paper mess!

That was before Google. I simply called the FOODDAY canning hotline to unintelligently explain ( I hope it was not recorded) that recipe to the lady on the other end because I did not remember the name. After she had listened to me for a few minutes with great patience, she understood what I was talking about. She sent me a print out of the recipe, free of charge.

My husband wished to make pickles with a much simplified recipe. No hot bath or soak in lime. Just vegetable, salt and water. He researched on-line plus getting tips from Lost Arts Kitchen’s Chris Musser’s Sour Beets recipe in an article publlished in the April issue of ‘MIX’  a Portland based magazine.

After 7 days of the fermenting process it was ready to taste. Oh no darling, you go ahead. I insist…No tingling in your body anywhere? How about your eye sight? Hallelujah, you’re gonna live! We cured the beets! Preserved the turnip!

 

Make 1 quart of beets pickle

Equipment: wide mouth quart jar, disposal glove to prevent staining your hands

• Fresh beets 2 pounds peeled
• Sea salt 4 Tablespoons plus additional 3 Tablespoons
• Ginger roots 1 Tablespoon finely minced (optional)

1. Julienned the beets with mandolin or food processer.
2. Sprinkle with the 4 tablespoons of salt and ginger (if using); mix well.
3. Pack the beets into jar. Press with end of wooden pin to pack tight and to express enough liquid to cover. In case the beets are not submerged in the liquid, add some brine made with 3 Tablespoons sea salt dissolved in 1 cup of water. Leave 1 inch of head space in the jar to allow for expansion.
4. Put lid on and place on the tray or casserole dish to catch overflow. Leave at room temperature for 7 days then refrigerate. Inspect carefully if mold forms on the top – this is not good…

  Turnip – Do the same as aboveCrunchy and tangy, they go well with many dishes.With barbeque chicken

Or crispy pork curry

Meanwhile in news from home front - Wildly prolific strawberries in our back yard are ripening fast. I think I should call my neighbors to spread the joy.I’m supposed to be on a diet so the chocolate mousse I had was in the teeny weeny cup, I made up for it with lots of whipped cream though. The recipe was in the February bon appetite magazine. I used hot chocolate instead of espresso. It was not as good as mine (actually from Marc’s No recipe.com).

Annual ‘Fun in the Park’  was last Saturday and Sunday and was held in one of city’s parks. Right off the bat I saw this banner. Oh Yeah? I’m calling Matsumoto Shaved Ice. But my husband’s attention went to Huge elephant ears – Wow it must be elephanourmas! What?…ah…yup!Copper art – I liked the sun flowerAn artist, Ron Sheldon, with his wife. They happened to be friends of a friend. How about that, a few minutes ago we’re total strangers.

Machine quilts made by Zewei O’ConnorThe rooster quilt, with amazing details!.

Go Ducks!Go Beavers! ….Garden ornaments are neat. Sorry I didn’t catch your name.

Recycle with Soifer original, creative and fun creatures There were many other vendors but they decline the pictures. Also present were several authors and poets signing books. Local singers and dancers performed in the event also.

This tent housed the city’s middle school and high school student’s art and photographs.

The corner of the same park has the Korean War Memorial Wall. My husband and I visited the evening of last Memorial Day.

 

 

 

Side Effect

Steamed Lotus root and greens

‘It’s not easy being green’. Kermit the Frog is right. I know I will never be a vegetarian. However, my inner thoughts are telling me I should be more sparing on meats and stay away from sweets or was that my waist line talking? When I feel heavy (literally) I must go for a green (er) dish.

This dish’s crunchy lotus roots were satisfying and require only one skillet plus it is low-fat. The only thing I would do differently next time is omit the vinegar and use lemon juice instead. Vinegar gives this dish some tanginess but discolors the greens. Over all this is a simple dish yet the variations could be endless. Although we had it as a main dish, it would be a great side dish.

Ingredients for 2 servings

Equipment: non-stick skillet with lid

• Lotus root 2 tubes (see picture) Scrub skin well under running water. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
  
• Leafy greens – Swiss chard, collard greens or bok choy roughly chopped.
• Olive oil 3 Tablespoons
• Vinegar or lemon juice 2 Tablespoons
• Whole grain mustard 1 Tablespoon
• Water 1-2 Tablespoons

1. Soak sliced lotus roots in a bowl full of water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce by combining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, vinegar(or lemon juice) and mustard in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Pat dry lotus roots with paper towel. Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet at medium high heat. Lay lotus roots in the skillet and slightly brown both sides.
   
4. Pour water in the skillet then immediately cover with lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes.
5. Coat greens with prepared sauce then place over the lotus roots, cover with lid again and steam for additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve as is or with a little bit of soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

My husband had a business conference to attend and give a presentation at Emerald City. 4 days of movie madness on Netflix at home or 4 days of exploring the city (and some shopping), it was a hard choice but I chose the latter and went with him. This patch of land is near our hotel.It rained practically every day in the Seattle area. I was forced to be inside of the mall…not really. The weather was dry enough one afternoon, I strolled through Bellevue City Park next to Bellevue Square Mall. Still quite chilly, blossom of double cherry could still be seen here.Tiny Japanese cake shop Fumie’s Gold was at the edge of the park. I bought a Mount Blanc cake.

I ate at a section of the park called Belvedere.One single red rose I spotted stood out against the green back ground.

We had pretty good ramen at Kukai (空海) restaurant in Bellevue.

2nd visit to Lynn's Bistro in downtown Kirkland was again a pleasure. We tried three course dinner for $30 per person (They also offer three course for $40). Marvelous dinner rolls were welcomingly warm.

Before heading home, we stopped at KiKi’s delivery service. Just kidding. It’s a Taiwanese bakery. Most breads are $1.75. $5 if you buy three.The vanilla pudding we ate in the car. I don’t want to brag but mine are a notch silkier.The side effect of good eating is already happening. More green diet have to be enforced.

These calla lilies are gift from neighbor. She kindly pointed out that I spelled calla lily wrong in the last post. I like her and her mom!Too much light maybe? Taking good photos is difficult but correcting photos using computer program is even harder.