No-Can Dill Pickles

Most people don't think of making their own pickles. And, if you have to "can" them (which means put them in jars and and make sure the food is prepared such that it stays safe to eat after sitting on your kitchen shelf), how many people are going to bother? Canning can be fun but it's definitely a whole lot of work.

Then there are these easy refrigerator pickles. You make them and they will keep in your fridge for about 4 months. After that, they start getting mushy. No jars, no hot brine. And the amount you make isn't too much more than a jar of dill pickles. They are quite tart, and deliciously dilly if you use fresh dill. You can use dried dill but it's not the same. Remember: if you buy a bunch of dill and only use a few sprigs for this recipe, chop up the rest and stick it in a small bag in the freezer. It keeps its fresh dilly flavor much better than dried dill and you get your money's worth out of a bunch of dill. For more tips on herbs, check out this post from a couple of years ago.

You need to use unwaxed cucumbers which aren't that hard to find. If you have a garden, all your cukes are unwaxed. :-) If you don't have a garden, English cucumbers, the long skinny ones that are wrapped in plastic, are unwaxed. The other nice thing about the English cucumbers is they are seedless.

This is a great time of year to make pickles because cucumbers are usually quite a bargain in late summer.

Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles
(makes about 4 cups)

1 ½ pounds unwaxed cucumbers, scrubbed well
1 Tablespoon table salt
several sprigs of fresh dill
about 1 cup natural rice vinegar + 1 cup seasoned rice vinegar or use all seasoned rice vinegar (sushi vinegar) for a little more sweetness

Slice the cucumbers thinly with a knife or a food processor. Layer the cucumber slices with the salt in a colander set in the sink. Place a plate on top and a heavy can on the plate to weight down the cucumber. The salt draws out the water and the weighted plate squeezes it out. Let stand for 1 hour. Rinse the slices with cold water to remove the salt and drain well. Layer the cucumber with the dill sprigs in a 4 cup tall container that covers tightly. Pour in enough vinegar to cover cucumber completely, which should be 2 cups. Refrigerate. Best if you let them soak up the dilly vinegar for at least 24 hours.

Delicious by themselves or on sandwiches.

From Preserving in Today's Kitchen by Jeanne Lesem, Henry Holt and Company, 1992.

Part II: Iron Chef, the kid's edition

Last week, I attended the second half of the Boulder Valley School District's Iron Chef competition for kids. This time around, the competitors were middle schoolers, grade 6-8. Definitely more skills here - very serious kitchen skills!

The rules are:

• cook up a lunch meal that comes in under $1.20 per student
• must include a serving of milk, fruit, veggies, whole grain, and protein
• all the ingredients have to be available to the district's food service
• do it in 90 minutes

Judging categories include adherence to the rules, as well as appearance, flavor, and proper sanitation. The judging was done by the district chefs, two elementary school students, two middle school students, and 3 community judges including Bradford Heap who owns two restaurants in the area and is a self-described Ann Cooper fan.

Ann Cooper is a huge champion of getting real food into school lunches and we in Boulder are lucky to have her running the district's food service operations. She is a supporter of the Food Revolution and is working hard to change what school children are fed through numerous organizations such as the The Lunch Box and Food Family Farming Foundation, Salad Bars to Schools, and Lunch Lessons. She is one busy lady!

Four teams competed, representing three schools:

The Crazy Cajuns from Centennial Middle School prepared Mexican Street Tacos filled with chicken and some fresh pico de gallo. This was served with Mexican rice and sensational lime-zest flavored black beans.

The Flaming Lemons, also of Centennial Middle School, served a Pesto Turkey Panini filled with sautéed red peppers and mozzarella cheese and a colorful fruit salad on the side.

The Monarch Mustangs showed some fancy plating skills with their Rubik's cube of watermelon and pineapple served with a Philly-style cheesesteak hoagie and "Quickles," their version of quickie pickles. They gave me the recipe for the Quickles, which they said I could share with you. Quite tasty!

Finally, Aspen Creek's Blue Striped Pineapples made a chicken gyro open-faced sandwich served with a Tzatski sauce and Greek salad. Fresh and tasty and showing off some very nice knife skills.

And the winner, for the second year in a row, was the Crazy Cajuns.

The Crazy Cajuns accepting their certificates and a check for Centennial's PTA from Ann Cooper

Each and every participant did a great job. Their food looked and tasted great. Congratulations, awesome young chefs!

"Quickles"
(from the Monarch Mustangs of Louisville, Colorado)

These are great with sandwiches, particularly cheesesteak!

½ cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pinch black pepper
2 large cucumbers, peeled and cut into ⅛" slices

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, soy sauce, salt, and pepper until combined. Add the sliced cucumbers and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is even better, they say.  I tried them after about 1 hour and they were delicious.