by Anne Naumann
The last Good Food Box (small size) I received contained the following: three lbs potatoes, one head celery, one head of living green leaf lettuce (with the roots still attached), one honeydew melon, one package of a dozen or so green onions, one lemon, four pears, five apples, two lbs carrots, one head cauliflower, one pineapple, one grapefruit, and three beets. I still had an English cucumber from the previous month as well, so I was looking for something interesting to do with that. Luckily, I had a meal recently at Heart’s Choice vegan restaurant, and my dish came with a side of pickled vegetables as a salad. This is my version of a recipe that works to make something like that at home. It’s incredibly easy. I hope you try it!
Ingredients:
• ½ or so of an English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded (optional, can substitute with shredded or matchstick-cut raw beets or turnip, or small chunks of cauliflower)
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar, or distilled white vinegar, or rice vinegar
• ¾ cup water
• 2 teaspoons (or less, or can omit) sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
Instructions:
1.) Thinly slice (about 2 mm thick) the cucumbers (seedless is best), no need to peel first. Put them (and any other vegetables you are using) into a jar that has a lid (like a 650 ml or 1 litre mason jar) and add the mustard seeds, if using. Don’t fill the jar higher than about ¾ full of the vegetables.
2.) Create a pickling liquid of water, vinegar, salt, and sugar. It’s best if you combine the water and vinegar and heat it on the stove or in the microwave for two minutes, then add the salt and sugar to dissolve in the hot mixture.
3.) Pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables in the jar, leaving a couple of centimetres of space at the top.
4.) Let the vegetables marinate in the liquid for about 30 minutes. You can use them right away, or you can put the lid on and transfer them to the fridge and store for up to four weeks.
Click here to the Highland Park Community News home page for the latest Highland Park community updates.
