Curry Pickles

Up at the cottage at the Saturday market thers is a woman we call the preserve lady who has all sorts of wonderful canned goodies, jams, jellies, pickles, and chutneys.  We all really love her curry pickles.  We had an abundance of garden cucumbers which a new thing for me, I decided to try to male our own curry pickles.  The garden cucumbers were not specifically pickling cuccumber but since we don't eat a lot of cucumbers I had to something with the 4 cucumbers that my mother-in-law gave me, plus the 2 I had pulled out of my garden.

Pickles turned out to be pretty easy to make. Salting the onions and sliced cucumbers draws out some of the extra water, just leave it over night and then rinse well to remove the salt and your ready to go.  

These curry pickles are quite sweet but so tasty.  


I cracked open my first jar the next day, so tasty and lovely on hamburgers which I've been wanting all the time this summer.  Or even on the top of hotdogs, sandwiches, or even by themselves.


Curry Pickle
Original recipe from: homemade trade
Recipe makes 4 - 500ml jars

8 cups thickly sliced cucumbers (a bit extra would be good too)
3 small onions
1 tablespoon pickling salt
2¾ cups cider vinegar
1¾ cups sugar
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons pickling spice
1 teaspoon celery seeds 

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Remove the cucumber ends and then cut into thick slices. Thinly slice your onions and place with the cucumber in a large non-reactive bowl. Sprinkle with pickling salt and let stand, covered, for 24 hours.

Prepare 500ml jars, lids and rings. Wash in warm soapy water and then boil 5 minutes in the canning pot.

Drain the cucumbers and rinse them three times with cold water, draining thoroughly.

Combine your remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat in non-reactive pan.

Add the cucumbers and onions and return just to a boil before removing from heat.

Remove hot jars from the canner and fill with vegetables, using a slotted spoon to remove from the pickling liquid. Pack into jars and pour in liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Process 10 minutes for pint jars (500ml) and 15 minutes for quart jars (1 liter).

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
This is a moist delicious bread. More cake like then bread, but still good. I have made a few alterations from the original recipe that I altered even before I made it. Feel free to alter you specifications and post how they turn out.

This can be made dairy free by removing the chocolate chips or using dairy free chocolate.

3 eggs
1 cup olive oil (I cut that to 1/2 cup)
2 cups sugar (I cut that to 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup apple sauce (I add 3 individual pots of apple sauce, motts. It is not exact amount.)
2 tsp Vanilla
2 cups grated Zucchini
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I cut that to 1/2 cup, J does not like too much and I have also tried mini chocolate chips, which are not so obviously chunks of chocolate but still good.)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease to loaf pans or line with parchment (this make for easy removal.)

Combine eggs, olive oil, sugar, apple sauce and Vanilla. After combined add Zucchini and mix.

In a separate bowl combine all your dry ingredients.

Add dry ingredient to wet in three batches until just blended.

Divide batter between the two pans and place in oven for 1 hour. Test after 45 minutes. If toothpick comes out clean (try to avoid the chocolate chips, they will always look moist :)

Once done remove from oven and place on cooling racks for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Cool completely and enjoy. This recipe is really easy and tasty

Dutch Dilled Potato Soup

This recipe is from my lovely sister-in-law Marita com Weissenberg

This is probably my favourite soup in the whole world! Mother sometimmes makes it for me. Or I force people to make it for me. I have only been involved in making it once, and never will again (allergy to potatos), so I thought I'd pass the recipe along to the deserving.

Dutch Dilled Potato Soup

6 medium potatos
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups grated Gouda cheese
2 tablespoons white flour
2 tablespoons white wine (or sherry, as for the amount: go for it!)
3 tablespoons dill
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
vegetable stock

1) Put potatos, onion, garlic, bay leaves and butter in a large pot and cover with vegetable stock. Simmer until potatos are done.

2) Remove 2/3 of the potatos and mash them, then return them to the pot.

3) Add the milk and the cheese slowly, stirring constantly.

4) Mix the flour in cold water and slowly pour it into the soup, still mixing.

5) Add remaining ingredients.

6) cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then let stand for 30 minutes.