Try to find cucumbers that are uniform in size and firm — you don’t want to make pickles with old, floppy cucumbers.  Clean . . . → Read More: Sour Dill Pickles]]>

• Pickling cucumbers to fill suitable ceramic, glass or plastic crock (5#)
• Grape leaves
• Fresh or Dry Dill, Garlic, Chilies, Black Pepper, Mustard Seed, etc.
• 6T Kosher Salt
• 2 Quarts Water

Try to find cucumbers that are uniform in size and firm — you don’t want to make pickles with old, floppy cucumbers.  Clean cucumbers and cut 1/4″ off the blossom end and fill crock along with the fresh grape leaves.  I put the crock on it’s side and layer the cucumbers and leaves until full.  Add salt to a small sauce pan with half of the water and spices – use as much as you like.  We like really dilly-spicy-garlicy pickles here.  Bring to a boil and then turn off and let cool – add second quart of water to help cool it down.  Once it has reached room temperature poor brine over pickles.  If there isn’t enough brine to cover the pickles, make more with 1T salt per cup of water.

Put a plate or other weight over the top of the pickles to hold them down and cover the crock with a clean dishcloth and put it in the corner.  In a couple of days, skim any mold or scum from the surface of the crock.  If there is mold forming, do your best to clean it out.  Continue to skim the pickles every day.  Depending on the temperature and the amount of salt used in the brine and how sour you want your pickles it make take anywhere from one to four weeks for the pickles to be ready.  Just pull one out with a fork and test it.  Once they taste good, transfer to quart mason jars, cover with brine and move to the fridge.

Here’s what a NORMAL batch looks like, the white bloom is a good sign!

Here’s my current batch after a week – the brine hasn’t reached all the way in yet, they taste good but aren’t sour enough.

If the pickles taste bad, don’t eat them.  If they are mushy or rotten, don’t eat them.  It is normal for the brine to be a little viscous but it shouldn’t be thick or snotty (although some of this is pretty normal – it has to do with other bacterias that may be present in the ferment, it doesn’t mean it is bad, but in my experience lacto-fermented foods that end up snotty don’t have the bright and sharp flavor that makes them so good in the first place.)

Technique and instructions taken liberally from Wild Fermentation.

Mill everything tomatoes and peppers and combine in non-reactive pot with sugar and lemon juice and bring . . . → Read More: Jigsaw (Enigma, #3)]]>

Tomato Hot Pepper Jam

• 2.5# Mixed Heirloom Tomatoes
• Mixed chilies to taste (2 Orange Habenero, 2 ripe red Jalapenos, 2 Fish, 2 Thai dragon)
• 2 cups sugar
• Juice of one lemon
• big pinch of sel gris

Mill everything tomatoes and peppers and combine in non-reactive pot with sugar and lemon juice and bring to a boil.  Turn down to a slow boil and cook for 30 minutes skimming the foam.  Turn off the heat and let sit, covered, overnight.  Taste for seasoning and add more chillies or acid needed. Bring back to a boil and reduce to a medium heat, skimming and stirring frequently, cooking until it passes the plate test.  Ladle into prepared jars and process for 6 minutes.

Next year, I hope the tomato harvest aligns with the Rocoto Peppers.

Shake, with ice, serve in a cocktail class.  Maybe with a preserved cherry or lemon twist spritzed around the rim.

We’ve been searching for a cocktail to features Nocino della Cristina but haven’t . . . → Read More: Milk Maid]]> 3/4oz Nocino della Cristina
1/2 oz Galliano
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz citrus infused vodka
1 oz cream
1 egg white

Shake, with ice, serve in a cocktail class.  Maybe with a preserved cherry or lemon twist spritzed around the rim.

We’ve been searching for a cocktail to features Nocino della Cristina but haven’t had a lot of success until now.  That amazing walnutiness comes through clearly neither fighting with or overpowering the other spirits.  The Cointreau and infused vodka lend just a hint of citrus that peaks through the otherwise dark, herbally flavor.

We’ll try it with Grand Marnier and cognac next but I suspect the Cointreau and vodka keep it from becoming too heavy.

We’re looking forward to celebrating St. John the Baptist this year in addition to Emily’s birthday to the heady smell of black-end fingers and chattering of the squirrels by making our own Nocino.