This is my last jar of pickling for the season. I've felt pickled out but wanted to finish up the banana peppers our neighbor brought and decided to make sweet banana peppers this time.
I found the basic recipe here but decided to spice it up a little extra.
Basic recipe: 2 cups white vinegar, 2/3 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon celery seed. I doubled that and added: 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon celery salt, 1/2 teaspoon Trader Joe's Onion Salt. Heated to a boil and poured over sliced peppers. I refrigerate all my pickled peppers in our extra fridge since I don't make a lot of jars.
There's no way of knowing if these are any good until we try them, around Christmas time. But here's a recipe that I can guarantee is delicious.
I tore this picture out of the British Ideal Home, November 2015 issue. The only problem is, I forgot to tear out the recipe! But with finding a basic recipe on Epicurious and then fiddling around with it myself I came up with a dish we love.
Butternut Squash:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and split squash and scoop out seeds. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread with softened butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and grate a little fresh nutmeg on top. Squeeze lime juice on and 1/2 teaspoon coriander and 1 teaspoon garam masala.
Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
While squash is cooking:
Saute one small red onion, thinly sliced and one clove garlic, minced. Add a little fresh spinach chiffonade and 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, cook 3-4 minutes.
Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, salt & pepper. You can add 2 tablespoons pine nuts but I didn't. I don't use them unless I can get ones from Italy.
Fill hollow of squash when out of oven, sprinkle with some feta cheese, crumbled and return to oven and cook 15 minutes more.!
Garnish with basil leaves and top with sauteed salted pecans.
It is incredible! I do admit to avoiding the feta pieces, just cannot learn to like it. I even bought the best I found at the store but still just do not like feta.
Here's mine the second time I made it. I keep trying to get it to look as pretty as the picture without much success but I doubt it tasted any better than mine.
I'm getting excited about all the fall cooking that lies ahead between now and Decembe when the really fun cooking begins. So enough pickling, that is unless it's pickled peaches for the Thanksgiving table like my mother always had. Come to think about it, she bought hers and I will too. We've already sampled one jar from a Texas company and they were wonderful. I'll post a picture of them soon.
Pickling's done and thoughts turn to mincemeat.
Hal Borland
Oh, yes, I'm one of those people who love mincemeat!
