Refrigerator Dill Pickles

About a month back my cucumber plant exploded and decided to give me WAY more cucumbers than I could or would want to eat fresh throughout the week. Thank goodness I only planted one. I started thinking of what I could do with all this produce, and after giving some away to people I know, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at pickles. I remember as a child when my aunt would bring by some freshly pickled cucumbers each summer and they were amazing!

Now, I still do not have all the equipment for canning and have a few fears about the process (should have paid better attention when my dad canned a bazillion different things each summer), so I looked into refrigerator "canning". This method is a cinch. Basically, all you do is combine the ingredients in the jars and leave them there for a few days to do their thing and then you're done. Sounds like my kind of life. 

You'll love these refrigerator dill pickles. Slightly sweet, with a nice tang from the vinegar and dill combo. And so much better than store bought (no added preservatives or dyes). You just can't get any fresher than this!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles
(recipe adapted from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh dill
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 medium-large cucumbers
3 cups water
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3 tbs. kosher salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Add 1 minced or pressed clove of garlic and a few springs of dill to the bottom of each jar (don’t stress over exact amounts, you can add more if you like).
2. Cut the cucumbers into spears or whatever shape you like. 
3. Add the spears to the jars, packing in as many as you can without having to force them in.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar.  Heat over low heat, stirring well, just until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Cool the mixture. 
5. Once mixture has cooled, pour into each jar over the cucumber spears so they are completely covered. Top with an additional few sprigs of dill, if desired.  
6. Screw on or close the lids of the jars.  Repeat with remaining cucumbers, making additional brine as needed. 
7. Refrigerate for two (agonizing) days. Enjoy! Continue to store in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 3-4 16 oz. jars or 2 IKEA KORKEN 34 oz. jars

Weekend in Logan

 Michael and I visited my mother in Logan this past weekend, considering we technically only have one more of those before we move away to Tallahassee. Michael spent Saturday morning down in Salt Lake working with his dad on the old Jeep. My mother drove down and picked me up early in the morning, then we headed back up to Logan. We, of course, stopped at Target in Centerville, because my mother LOVES Target. I still can't believe there isn't one in Logan yet. That town NEEDS a Target.

Anyway, she was in search of old Halloween DVDs, which we didn't find. So, we made it back to Logan in time to visit the Gardener's Market. It was cold, damp, and definitely felt like fall. Sadly, the less than perfect weather made many of the booths scarce. But the produce stands were abundant. Look at all the beauty.

  After the Gardener's Market, my mom and I perused some local shops for holiday decor, then went shopping for my birthday! Kohl's had its Power Hours, and so we took advantage and my mother bought me a LOT of jewelry for a really good price. I'm trying to get back into accessorizing. I've never been really big on it, because I always feel like I'd rather buy a shirt than a necklace or earrings for the same price. But we got super lucky and found some really cute stuff.

Michael eventually came up to Logan and made it to my mom 's house where we had Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup along with a yummy loaf of Asiago Bread we purchased at the Gardener's Market, watched her old Halloween videos (yes, the were actually VHS), decorated around the house, and snuggled Jack (the coolest dachshund in the world).

It was really nice to just relax on Saturday after a really busy (and somewhat stressful) week. I even got to see my dear friend Natalie! She came over to watch movies, then we stayed up talking and visiting until about 1:30 a.m. Boy, was I tired for 9:00 p.m. church the next morning!

Church in my mother's ward was nice. She is in the Logan 1st Ward, which just celebrated its 150 year anniversary. The chapel itself was beautiful with old pipes, pews, and sacrament trays that you deposit the used cups in little tube thingy-s on top. It was cool!

After a nice nap after church, we headed back to Salt Lake, happy from our nice relaxing weekend. It was good to just do some fun things that we wanted to do, and to get a little bit more in the holiday spirit. This is definitely my favorite time of year!

Four-Ingredient Tomato Sauce

I have made this recipe 3 times in the past couple of weeks, it's that good. We have a large amount of tomatoes still coming in from the garden and this is a great way to use them up. I've never tasted a homemade tomato sauce that is this good. The fact that it simmers for 4 hours, might have something to do with it! ;) 

This is a great "base" for recipes that call for tomato sauce. You can jazz it up with fresh herbs, or just use it in a basic pasta dish. We made a really good Shrimp and Bacon Spaghetti with Fresh Basil the other night, using this very sauce! (I'll have to share that recipe sometime in the future). Go here for 10 Tasty Ideas for this sauce.You won't be sorry!

Four-Ingredient Tomato Sauce 

(adapted from Simple Bites)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 large cloves of garlic, peeled
6 - 28 oz. cans tomatoes, diced or whole
2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Open cans of tomatoes and using a food processor, purée until smooth. 
2. Pour the tomato purée into a large stock pot and begin heating over high heat, just until it reaches a simmer, then reduce heat to low and continue simmering. 
3. While olive oil is heating over medium heat in a small saucepan, finely chop garlic. When olive oil is hot, add garlic and stir continuously for a minute or two, but do not let the garlic brown.
4. Add about a 1/2 cup of tomato purée to the garlic mixture. Stir and let cook for about 1 minute and the olive oil will take on a golden color.
5. Add garlic, oil, salt, and tomato mixture into the large stock pot with the rest of the purée and stir well. 
6. Simmer on low to medium-low heat for at least 4 hours, until sauce reduces to about 1/3 of the original amount, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove from heat and portion into freezer-safe Ziploc bags or containers, and freeze.

Notes
- At the beginning of your tomato puree simmering, you may notice a good bit of tomato "foam" on top. You can skim this off if you like, but otherwise, it will just cook into the sauce and be fine. 
- As I stated above, you can use LOTS of fresh tomatoes from the garden in place of the canned variety. You'll need about 30-35 decent size Roma tomatoes, or 15-20 large round tomatoes to get the same equivalency.