Homemade Dill Pickles (fast. . . no canning required!)

So far I've made three batches of homemade dill pickles. Every morning I go into the garden, there's a another "surprise" cucumber. This is my best cucumber crop yet. A few years back, my first pickling disaster was so salty, it nearly required eating a pound of bananas to offset the spike in my sodium levels. A detox from dill pickles then ensued. This recipe is forgiving and allows for some latitude in the amount of salt you'd like. I prefer my pickles a little more briny and less salty.

 The cucumber season has been plentiful. I planted about six seeds back in April indoors. They were about two or three years old. Truth be told, cucumber seeds will produce better the older they are. (When they fall off the cliff in terms of their germination rate, I have no idea--but I had read this fact about the cuke seeds and fortunately for me, I am always saving seeds.) Thus, I am experiencing my first "old cucumber seed" bonanza this summer.

 At first, I wasn't sure I'd have room for them--they spread and like tons of garden space. If you're savvy about it and have the "energy"--they will climb a trellis. I skipped the trellis. But I did give them plenty of room to grow. I have pickling cucumbers and slicers. The difference being, one is for pickling (obviously). The pickling cukes are smaller and quite prolific producers. I companion planted them with two bronze fennel/dill plants and zucchini. I love the bronze fennel against the bright green of the other foliage. Companion planting tip: always plant dill with your cucumbers!  

Grab some pickling cucumbers the next time you're at the farmers' market. Then rush home and make these dill pickles. Or next  year, plan ahead and plant your own cukes. They are incredibly easy to grow and will do well in containers, too. The best cucumbers are made from the most freshly picked cucumbers. Ask the grower when the pickles were picked. 

Ask if Peter Piper picked them. . . just get them as fresh as you can.

Grab some pickling spices. The difference in your pickle flavor will be amazing. The McCormick's brand is the one I used. 

Because you aren't using a water bath canning method to make these pickles, they are only good for about four-five days in the fridge (if they last that long). Store them in a glass container with a lid and enjoy!

Homemade Dill Pickles 

*Adapted from Rachael Ray

3-4 pickling cucumbers sliced on the diagonal about 1/2" thick

1 cup white vinegar

2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cloves garlic minced

2 T. fresh dill chopped

2 tsp. pickling spice

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, add vinegar, sugar and salt and bring just to a boil. In a medium bowl--one that is a bit flat (so the cucumbers can be submerged in the vinegar to soak up all the goodness) add your cucumbers, garlic, fresh dill, and pickling spices--toss together in a bowl. Pour the warm vinegar mixture over all of this. Carefully toss the pickles around a bit to make sure the pickles all have a chance to soak up this yummy mixture. Store them in the fridge. These are better after they've had a chance to cool. *Note: if you taste the mixture and feel there needs to be more salt, just sprinkle more over the pickle/vinegar mixture.

Black Garlic And Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (Eat to Live Lunch Perfection)

My hummus cravings are strong. I have no problems with the garbanzo bean at all. It dresses up nicely, plays well with others and holds its own. This plate represents a nearly perfect Eat to Live lunch. And it was prepared in, what else, my new Vitamix blender (I heart the Vitamixer)! It shares the plate with a lot of cabbage--then a side of fruit. Always with the fruit in the ETL plan. I served my hummus and cabbage in a whole wheat wrap and layered in fresh spinach, two thin slices of avacado and a few thinly sliced carrots. The flavor comes from the hummus all the way.

I added two cloves of black garlic and two cloves of regular garlic. (Black garlic has an amazing flavor--if you can get your hands on some, do so immediately!) Two things Dr. Fuhrman also supports besides the greens--onions and garlic. Good thing, because I don't think my dedictation to this plan would work otherwise.

I wanted to share my "lunch" with you all. This is not a rocket science lunch here. I will say, I am easy to please when it comes to lunch. I am usually pretty hungry by around one--which is when I typically eat my lunch. Sometimes later--before three for sure. With ETL--you are consuming the salad first--rememeber? Well, in the case of my lunch today, I made sure my salad was incorporated within my wrap. Maybe Dr. Fuhrman would not agree with this idea, but I had a hard time wanting to eat a salad before my hummus wrap.  

Vegan Sausage-less Roll-Ups (Vegan Cooks for A Crowd!)

This is my finished project--see the filling--all nice and full!

Just keep filling and rolling!

Get-togethers=Stress! What to bring? What do I have on hand? What will the ‘mixed’ crowd of carnivores enjoy? Will my husband and I be the only ones to eat this vegan dish? Arrgghhh! So you get it, right? Cooking for a ‘crowd’ is not relaxed cooking for me. Not by a long shot. However, when you marry a man that is the oldest of nine kids, you inevitably will find yourself cooking for a ‘crowd’—no less than 25 at any family gathering depending upon who is in town at the time. That is what I faced yesterday. Sort of a pre-holiday hazing: my mother-in-law’s birthday. This visit called for a vegan appetizer and dessert. I knew right off—chocolate vegan cupcakes—an easy one, and something everybody will love (me, too!). The appetizer part, well, let’s just say, if I open one more vegan cookbook to a “hummus” page, I will scream! Okay already, we know the mighty garbanzo bean can perform miracles—its uses are endless for vegans. But I was not in the mood to stuff a mushroom, puree a chickpea or create a platter of olives! I wanted a Wow! item—something that will get folks asking: This is vegan? What’s in it? And I found it in a little cookbook I found at a used book sale and I paid only $1 for: The Soy of Cooking by Marie Oser. These are the things in life that make you all smiles inside. I found this book on a table and paged through it immediately recognizing its potential for joining my cookbook arsenal—and for a buck, what could go wrong? This cookbook (published in 1996) seemed to be ahead of its time in that I find recipes in it that are of the “not-so-bean-and-grainy” types—which I have lamented about before. She offers substance. When I found the vegan sausage roll-ups, I immediately thought of those yummy Pillsbury roll-ups I’ve had in the past made with croissant rolls—filled with sausage stuffing. But to re-create this as a vegan delight—well, I just had to give it a try.

A word of advice about vegan-take-along dishes: You will be “representing” when you create a vegan appetizer. I think it is important to consider this when deciding what dish to offer the non-vegan crowd. Yesterday was a non-vegan crowd. I am not a good ‘appetizer’ cook. It creates a level of stress that is unbearable for me (or is it the anticipation of the crowd that stresses—probably both). I’m a dessert or main course kind of gal. I just shrink when I have to concoct an “appetizer”. I hope this recipe helps alleviate some of the stress you’ll have this season and maybe add this to your ‘crowd’ dish assortment. This recipe was inspired by the recipe in Marie’s cookbook. I made a few changes—and this was a quite tasty dish!

Vegan Sausage-less Roll-Ups

For the filling:
1 package frozen chopped spinach—thawed and drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 package Gimme Lean sausage flavor
¼ cup red cooking wine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Spike salt-free seasoning or S & P to taste
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large sauté pan, warm the olive oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes—until onions begin to soften. Next, add the Gimme Lean sausage and be sure to break it up with a spoon—let this cook for about another 3-4 minutes. Add the drained chopped spinach and remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Taste for flavor—add whatever you’d like! Turn off heat and prepare the dough.

For the dough:
½ cup soy milk plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup spelt flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
A dash of fresh ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 package of Mori Nu Silken Tofu (in the box, Firm) *I just slice it with a knife

1 teaspoon agave nectar

3 tablespoons lemon olive oil for brushing before baking and after!

Place the soy milk and lemon juice in a bowl and set aside. In a food processor, pulse all of the dry ingredients. Add the tofu and blend until small crumbles begin to form. Then add remaining ingredients—pulsing the blender as you go. Let the food processor run for about 30 seconds on and off—and then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times with oiled hands! Roll to about ¼ inch thickness. Take the stuffing and lay a line of it across and roll some of the dough over it. Take another line of the stuffing and roll the dough over it again and keep doing this until you have the dough filled and rolled. Trim off the ends. Score the top of the dough (so it will be easy to cut after baking!)—and brush with some olive oil prior to placing in oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Slice into pieces. Brush with lemon flavored olive oil again—this really helps the appetizer have a zing taste! If you want, serve with a dipping sauce—I forgot my sauce—but these were just as tasty without. The dough may be dry, so be sure to brush with olive oil after baking them! Yum!

Horseradish Cream Dipping Sauce (*optional)

1/3 cup vegan mayo

2 tablespoons horseradish
1 teaspoon lemon juice


Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve with roll-ups.