Dill Pickles & Beet Relish

With an abundance of pickling cucumbers and beets showing up at our local farms/markets Gail and I decided to take advantage. On Saturday afternoon we made 8 quarts of Dill pickles and 2.5 pints of Beet relish.

For the sake of variety we made 3 quarts of whole pickles, 3 quarts of pickle spears, and 2 quarts of pickle 'chips'
Dill Pickles
8 pounds 3-4 in long pickling cucumbers
4 cups white vinegar
12 cups water
2/3 cup pickling salt
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill
8 heads fresh dill
Preparation:
1. Wash cucumbers and place in receptacle with cold water and lots of ice. Soak in ice water bath for at least 2 hours but no more then 8 hours. Add more ice as necessary. While soaking cucumbers sterilize 8 quart size canning jars and lids.
2. In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring the bring to a rapid boil.
3. In each jar, place 2 half cloves of garlic, one head of dill, and enough cucumbers to fill the jar. Then add 2 more half cloves of garlic and a sprig of dill to the top of each jar. Fill the jars with hot brine and seal the jars.
4. I found many conflicting ways to process the sealed jars in a hot water bath to make sure the seal. I processed them upside down in a sauce pan so that only the lids were covered with boiling water for 10 minutes. 6 of 8 jars sealed this way.
5. If jars have sealed store pickles for 8 weeks in a cool dry place before eating. Refrigerate after opening. Any jars that have not sealed can be kept in the refrigerator. Pickles will keep for up to 2 years if stored in a cool dry place.
We added mustard seed and/or red pepper flakes to some of the jars. We used Dill from our garden, while the cucumbers came from Keown Orchards and the garlic is from Red Fire Farm both by way of our local farmers market.
The real difficulty is having to wait 8 weeks to eat them! We decided we couldn't wait so last night we opened one of the jars of spears just to give them a taste. After a few days the pickles were crisp and tasted good, but certainly needed more time.



Some of the extra Beet relish was eaten the next day in a sandwich.
Beet Relish
3 lbs raw beets
1 tsp superfine sugar
1 lb shallots, finely chopped
2 cups cider or white wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 tbsp pickling spices, place in a cheesecloth or spice bag
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
Preparation:
1. Place the beets in a large saucepan. Pour over enough water to cover them, and add the superfine sugar (I used plain granulated sugar as it would be dissolving so to me it doesn't matter). Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour or until the beets are soft and cooked. Drain and leave to cool. When cool enough to handle peel and dice the beets into small, even pieces.
2. Put the shallots and vinegar in a pan and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Add the chopped beets and the bag of pickling spices. Stir the mixture, add the granulated sugar, and cook gently until the sugar has all dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook at a rolling boil for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
3. Remove the spice bag, then ladle into sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4in (5 mm) head space and making sure there are no air gaps. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove jars and let cool. Store in a cool, dark place. Allow the flavors to mature for 1 month and refrigerate after opening.
Relish should keep for up to 9 months.
We were expecting 4 jars of relish but ended up with 5 so we decided to set 4 aside to mature for a month as the recipe calls for and enjoy one right away. Gail enjoyed some on a veggie burger and I've had it with chicken salad in a sandwich. We used 5 of our own golf ball sized beets, the rest of the beets as well as all the shallots came from Allandale Farm.


Pickle recipe can be found at AllRecipes.com & the Beet Relish recipe is from Preserve It! which is a very visual excellent introductory cookbook to food preservation full of great tips and recipes for novice canners and preservers covering everything from fruits and vegetables to herbs, fish, and meats.

The gift of gardening (knowledge).

'Tis the season to spend time with family, loved ones, and maybe even exchange a few gifts. As Hanukkah winds down my gift giving is nearly done, culminating with an afternoon/evening of lovely activities with my girlfriend tomorrow.
My gift receiving included a bundle of gardening knowledge in the form of some excellent reading material to keep my mind occupied with thoughts of growing veggies throughout the cold northeast winter.

For inspiration:

Barbara Kingslover, along with husband Steven L. Hopp & eldest daughter Camille Kingslover recount their experiences of eating homegrown (whenever possible) or locally sourced food for a full year. They grow their own vegetables, raise their own poultry and buy the majority of their other food directly from farmers markets and other local sources. Thus far Animal, Vegetable, Miracle has been an entertaining read month-to-month chronicles interspersed with her husband's short and extremely informative resource filled commentaries and daughter Camille's reflections and recipes offer a younger perspective alongside simple looking recipes for all seasons.

Entering the food gardening world, my intent is not to grow all of my food. I would like to grow some of my food and reap the physical & mental benefits of tending a garden. That being said I've found Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to be an informative and fun read. I've visited the AMV website and intend to try out some of the recipes found in the book.

For useful in the garden reference:

A how-to/encyclopedic guide to the ins and outs of vegetable & herb gardening The Kitchen Garden Grower's Guide is an extremely amazing guide for most levels of gardener. From seed to harvest to food preparation and storage I will be referring back to this book for many years to come. One thing I find especially helpful is that this book is geared towards those who want to plant a small garden, not a massive farm.

Another encyclopedic reference book, The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control covers all the basics of plant diseases and management. Each listing covers common disease or pest problems, and useful tips to manage them without the use of chemicals. The book is full of pictures identifying garden diseases and insects. You could bring this to the garden and match your plant to a photo in the book. It seems that in most common cases identifying a disease or insect should be a smooth process.

Even if I'm not fortunate enough to be granted a plot at one of my local community gardens this coming year, I probably will be the following year. Both of the above books will be helpful for years to come, whether I am gardening at a community plot or my own yard (when i don't live in a condo).

For the kitchen:

Storey Country Wisdom Bulletins such as Food Drying Techniques are 32-page how-to guides for practical and useful topics. The techniques presented in this bulletin are very basic and explained in an easy to follow manner. This certainly isn't the be all-end all in food preservation but it is a good start for some simple small scale techniques that can be done in any kitchen, even as small as mine.

Quite the haul of valuable and interesting gardening resources to keep my head filled with thoughts of planning my own garden. Cheers and well wishes for a happy and healthy winter related holiday & new year for all!

The Garden Primer.

This afternoon I picked up Barbara Damrosch's The Garden Primer at my local bookstore. It seems like a fairly comprehensive and beginner friendly reference book. The early parts of the book deal with rudimentary topics such as what plants need in order to grow properly, preparing soil, gardening gear, & proper planting methods.

The other parts are laid out by plant specifics- annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables, bulbs, fruits, lawns, etc. The vegetable section looked really detailed, going in depth on harvesting and growing tips. With the holidays approaching soon I'm sure this will be the first of various gardening related books I will be delving into in the next few months. Kitchen Gardeners International has a great interview with Barbara Damrosch from March 2008. It can be viewed here!
You can learn more about Barbara, at the Four Season Farm website.