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Thank you for visiting my website. This is still a work in progress. Most of my pictures were taken in year 2011, but this blog was started just February 2012. This is a whole new adventure for me. Although my blog is about gardening and food, it is far be it from toiling in the dirt or tasting cuisine. There is a lot to share and learn. I am very very excited. Here is a challenge for you.

Pickled Watermelon rind?

 Exactly right! Who would have thought that you can pickle water melon rind? Well, I got to try it and it is pretty good. My husband said it almost tasted like chunky pineapple tidbits, less the cinnamon flavor. It is certainly new to me, but I am the kind of person that don't like to waste anything. This has a new taste and I like it. I have yet to try other ways to use water melon rind, but here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients: (Yields 5-6 pints)
4 lbs watermelon rind
2 cups vinegar (white)
2 cups water
4 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole spice
1 lemon, sliced thin

Brine
1/4 cup of salt
1 quart water

Preparations:
Pare watermelon rind and remove all pink. Cut into cubes and soak overnight in the brine solution.
Drain rind, wash  in fresh water and drain.

Combine all remaining ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Add rind a few at a time and boil for about 30 minutes. Pack rind into sterilized jar and cover with with boiling syrup and seal. Process in boiling water path for 10 minutes.

Pickled Okra

I grew up eating Okra and I love it. It  has a different texture and one would have to acquire the taste I think.  It is a very common vegetable in the Philippines. When I moved to western Canada, I could only find them an Asian store, where as here I can find them in most of the food store. I was impressed the first few Sundays I was at church, sisters with home garden were giving away their extra Okra, I was in heaven.

Last Christmas, a friend gave me a jar of pickled Okra for a present. I hesitated for about 3 months thinking that although I like Okra, I couldn't really imagine the taste of pickled slimy Okra. When I finally opened the jar and tried it, I wished I had opened it sooner. It was not what I expected at all. It was crunchy and almost better than the fresh ones. I really enjoyed it so I decided to pickle some of my pickles from the garden.

I followed a recipe by Paula Deen.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fresh Okra
3 teaspoons dried dill
3 teaspoons sugar
2 cups of water
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons canning and pickling salt
3 (1 pint) canning jars, with lids, sterilized
My addition:
1/2  teaspoon of Ball Pickle crisp granules, in each jar

Preparation:
Sterilize all jars and lids. Note that this recipe is for 3 pint jars. Divide Okras evenly between the 3 jars. Place 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of dill (or Italian seasoning), and 1/2 teaspoon of pickle crisp granules.

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring it to a boil. While mixture is still hot, pour it into the jar and fill it up leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Wipe the bottle rim clean and place lids. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes making sure the water level covers the entire jars. Remove from water bath and cool on the counter.