Quick pickled cucumbers

Just like my zucchini this year, my cucumbers have gone crazy, which is nice since last year we literally had 2 before ash from a fire wiped them out. I’ve had so many all at once that I’m now making pickles! Sandwich pickles, dill pickles, spicy pickles, sweet pickles, you get the picture, lots of pickles.

I use a mandolin slicer to get the cucumbers all the same thickness, just be very very careful….I’ve cut myself too many times to count. White vinegar is what’s traditional for pickling, you can use apple cider or rice wine vinegar they are also good. Want to add a little spice? Try 1/2 a jalapeno and some sliced garlic. Want sweet pickles? Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and reduce the salt. You can just put these in the frig and they’ll be ready in a few hours. But what I’ve been doing it putting them outside for a few hours to start the fermenting process and then putting them in the refrigerator, so you get some of the benefits of fermentation. So 1/2 fermented 1/2 pickled….fickled? Haha.

You really can’t mess these up, they’re so easy, just adjust to your taste and enjoy. You can also reuse the brine just add more cucumbers, dill, garlic etc. You can use this to make Giardiniera, I made some and it came out great. The sky’s the limit with pickling!

Quick pickled cucumbers

1 1/2 cups water

1/3-1/2 cup vinegar

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 Tbsp pink salt

1 tsp pepper corns

pinch of turmeric (optional)

4-5 sprig of fresh dill

sliced garden cucumbers

Fill a large mason jar with cucumbers and whatever other vegetables, peppercorns or herbs you’re using. Add salt, sugar and turmeric to vinegar, sit and let it slightly dissolve, add water, pour over cucumbers, put the lid on and patiently wait. Easier said than done! Enjoy.

Zero waste, imperfectly is still moving towards zero waste

I’ve had this site now for over a year and yet I have posted only a handful of times. The biggest reason for that is that I’ve been somewhat intimidated, mostly in regard to the zero waste category. It doesn’t matter that I’m not doing zero waste 100% perfectly. I follow Anne-Marie Bonneau on Instagram, her profile name is zerowastechef, she posted “we don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly…we need millions of people doing zero waste imperfectly”. Which is the absolute truth.

Overwhelmed? No biggie, start with reusable grocery bags, produce/bulk bags, some jars and a reusable water bottle. Try looking at thrift stores for mason jars instead of buying some. I got my most recent glass water bottle at a thrift store for only $3.00.

Having meatless meals is another way to lower your carbon footprint. Too difficult? Try just one a week, need some ideas, search for #meatlessmondays. Small sustainable changes are the key, we can all do zero waste, imperfectly.