Refrigerator Dill Pickles and Spicy Green Beans
It’s hot here in the DC metro area.
It’s been hot for weeks. Personally, I’m loving it, so you’re not going to hear me complain. I’ll take 100 degree temperatures over a blizzard any day. I might feel differently if we didn’t have air conditioning, but frankly, Mark keeps it so cold at home, and our building management keeps it absolutely frigid at work (I actually sometimes use a space heater; how ridiculous is that?), and I’m cold when I leave the pool at the gym, and it’s always freezing in stores, so I actually consider it a relief to go outside. Our pool doesn’t work any more, so I don’t spend nearly as much time outside as I used to, unfortunately. Anyway, although I don’t feel all that affected by the crazy heat (watch our A/C break now that I’ve said this), I’ve been feeling a bit summery in the kitchen. That is, I eat a lot of pickles during the summer so I’ve been making a lot of pickles. Actually, I make and eat a lot of pickles all year round, but I’m trying to make this post topical. Also, I have been making pickles from stuff I get at the farmer’s market, so that’s seasonal. In fact, I have a pint of yellow jalapenos that I think need a vinegar bath. And a huge bunch of radishes. But today I present you two very easy, classic refrigerator pickles that I made a couple of weeks ago and am now ready to eat.
Refrigerator Dill Pickles
1 cucumber (really, 2 or 3 pickling cucumbers would probably be better, but this is what I had)
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
few sprigs dill
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp pickling spices
pinch red pepper chili flakes
1 small clove garlic, lightly crushed
6 drops stevia or 1 Tbsp sugar
Chop the cucumber(s) into spears and lightly smash the garlic with the side of a knife. I also sliced the majority of the seeds off the cukes.
Put the rest of the ingredients except the dill into a large jar, cover, and shake to combine.
Put the cucumber spears, garlic, and dill into the jar. Top off with water if necessary to cover the cucumbers.
Refrigerate for at least a week (10 days is better).
Eat.
Spicy Pickled Green Beans
1 lb green beans, trimmed
1 jalapeno
few springs dill (optional)
1 1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red chili flakes
1 small clove garlic, lightly crushed
Trim the green beans. Lightly crush the garlic with the side of a knife. For extra spicy green beans, make a cut in the jalapeno. Add all ingredients to a large jar, topping off with water if necessary to cover the beans.
Refrigerate for at least two weeks (three is better).
Eat. (Don’t forget to eat the jalapeno too!)
In kitten news, my mother sent the kittens and me a care package. I got a ton of tea and the kittens got exactly what they needed: more toys. They took to the Turbo Scratcher right away. Torticia literally throws herself into playing; she’s so rambunctious and adorable:
Gomez is a bit more laid back, although he does leap around and act just as nutty. I think his philosophy is to sit back and let Torticia tire out their prey and so he can go in for an easy kill later. I don’t have the heart to tell him Turbo Scratchers don’t tire out.
For those of you who didn’t see it on Twitter, here’s my hilarious joke – it’s the Large Cat Toy Collider. We’re hoping to find the Gomez boson.
I don’t know why this surprised me so much, because they sleep together a good 80% of the time, usually in one of their two cat trees, but I was taken aback for a second to find both kittens on the back of my chair. I guess it is because both Tigger and Brachtune liked to sleep there but there is no way in hell they’d ever both be there at the same time. This picture somehow hides the fact that Gomez is now a full 25% larger than Torticia. He’s an enormous giant.
Josiane Said,
July 11, 2010 @ 11:29 pm
Oh, more refrigerator pickles recipes! I’ve got my first CSA basket of the season a few days ago and have turned a bunch of radishes into pickles following your recipe. We just opened the jar tonight and really liked the results, so I’m quite happy to see more fridge pickles recipes popping up here! I had never really been a big pickles fan, but now you got me hooked on experimenting and playing with them! 🙂
I have one question, no, two: once they’re ready to eat, how long they keep? And once we’ve eaten the pickles, can we re-use the vinegar (well, the pickling liquid, actually; sorry, I’m not sure what it’s called in English) to make a new batch?
renae Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 12:39 am
Josiane, I’m glad you liked the radishes! Any of these pickles should be good for at least a month or two in the refrigerator. I usually reuse the vinegar once or twice. I’m actually not sure how many times it could be reused, but I hate throwing it away. Usually after a couple batches, though, you need to top it off and then I find I end up getting the proportions wrong and it doesn’t taste quite the same.
Morgsn Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 12:10 am
Your pickles look so good! I have been wanting to make some myself. Those cats are adorable!!!
Chantal Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 6:52 am
A few years back, I opened my home to two kittens as well. Two brothers. They use to be together all the time, but grew apart as they grew older. Now, most of the time, if one is in our bedroom, the other waits at the door. There are still occasionnal mutual grooming sessions, but they are far inbetween. I hope your kittens never grow apart. Cheers!
Lisa G/K Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 8:21 am
Combing physics and kitty antics in one post – Kudos!
Stay hydrated and happy!
Lily Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 10:23 am
I can’t believe how quickly the kitties are growing! They’re so adorable–keep posting pictures of them!
kibbles Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
Perfect timing on the post, I’m coming into a heavy cucumber and bean harvest and am scrambling to consume them. Pickles! And kittens!
Carrie Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
Looks so good, are your pickles crunchy? i love pickles but only if they’re crunchy…
Josiane Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 4:57 pm
Thank you, Renae, for answering my questions! It’s good to know I can reuse the vinegar a couple of times – I, too, would hate throwing it away after only one batch. Good to know, too, that the pickles will keep that long, as I can see myself wanting to try them all and then having more than I can consume in a couple of weeks… I’m glad we’d be able to enjoy them over a slightly longer period if I go crazy with pickling the contents of our CSA baskets! 🙂
Jes Said,
July 12, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
Oh my goodness, cute kitten overload! Tortica is amazing with the toy & they look so darn adorable next to each other. As for the food, I could totally go for those green beans–I’m going to have to get some beans at market and make ’em.
renae Said,
July 13, 2010 @ 9:06 am
Carrie, yes, the pickles do stay crunchy.
MIchelle Said,
July 13, 2010 @ 11:42 am
Those pickles look awesome. Seems easy enough. Thanks for the recipe. I will be trying it out! BTW…the kittens are too cute!
Meg Said,
July 13, 2010 @ 2:41 pm
Oh man, it looks like Torticia even has a tummy seam where they stitched her together at the Kitten Factory, just like my cat. Killing me!
Courtney Said,
July 14, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
As someone who does NOT have AC, I can’t say I share your love of the heat and humidity, lol. But I DO love your pickles–thanks for the no cook recipes! Can’t wait to try them 🙂
Courtney
kibbles Said,
July 20, 2010 @ 6:04 pm
I totally made pickles out of my beans (it’s sad to find out purple beans still turn greenish when put in vinegar). Mostly I wanted to show you this photo of me with boy hair and doing a pose with a pig that I SWEAR is almost identical to a pic of you and your Pig. I laughed when I saw it! I think I may have done that pose inspired by you and your Pig. Hahah 🙂
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30108738&l=6e9145c645&id=1494145340
renae Said,
July 20, 2010 @ 7:41 pm
Kibbles, okay, I’m dying to see this photo but it says I don’t have permission! You’re teasing me!
kibbles Said,
July 21, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
Oops! Facebook lied to me. Also, when I say pig I also mean a stuffed pig though it would be awesome if I could get a real pig on my shoulder like that. Somehow in this pic the pig looks more deranged than me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/uberkibbles2/meandpig.jpg
renae Said,
July 22, 2010 @ 12:32 am
Kibbles, I love it! I love Folkmanis puppets, but you’re right, that pig DOES look demented. You look cute!
kathy mercure Said,
May 17, 2015 @ 2:47 pm
Hi there,
I write blogs for Global Pet Foods in New Brunswick, Canada. I love the photo you have of your kitten playing with the Turbo Scratcher on the hardwood floor. I’m doing a blog about cat scratch posts and I’m wondering if you would give us permission to use the photo if we credited you and your cat?
Thanks for your consideration. I’ll need to know by the end of May 2015.
renae Said,
May 17, 2015 @ 8:17 pm
Hi Kathy, yes, if you credit me (Renae Myers) and Torticia, you may use the photo. 🙂