sblahnik - The Weekly Pickle

Week 5: Pickled Green Onions

Green onions – not the most common of pickled onion varietals but these are actually pretty good, totally simple and look cool to boot. Throw these in a sandwich, salad or Bloody Mary for some funion-y flair!

I was partially inspired by this pickled green onion recipe but changed it up a bit to make it my own. The amount of onions I used (26 to be exact) probably could have all fit in one quart jar but I put some smaller guys in an 8-ounce (half pint) jar. Also to note – I bought said green onions at the farmers market but could only find real fatties and next time I would probably go for the skinnier ones from TJ’s or another grocery store.

Finally, don’t be wasteful – save the tops for cooking, as garnish, whatevs.

Week 4: Pickled Radishes

sblahnik Pickle Project, Pickle Recipes January 28, 2016May 18, 2016homemade pickles, how to make pickled radishes, how to pickle radishes, pickled radish recipe

This pickled radish recipe is super versatile and yields excellent results (tried and tested). The radishes are great on their own – fresh, crunchy, flavorful – but now I’m also thinking about making those Mexican-inspired radishes with carrots and pepps to have with tacos. More pickled radish recipes definitely to come!

The recipe below is loosely adapted from here but tweaked slightly to make the perfect amount for a half pint jar and this guy, available at your local IKEA. And remember, you can always double, triple, etc. but this is a good amount to make to try out initially.

Week 3: Garlic Pickled Jalapeños

sblahnik Pickle Project, Pickle Recipes January 21, 2016March 13, 2017homemade pickles, how to make pickled jalapeños, how to pickle jalapeños, pickled jalapeño recipe, refrigerator pickles

Not sure if I’ll be making last week’s recipe again anytime soon but it’s a fact that these pickled jalapeños are good. Jazz up a grilled cheese, throw atop nachos for that professional sporting event feel or add some extra spice to chili. And of course you an use them for any and all Mexican dishes – tortilla soup, tacos, etc. So many options for these little flavor boosters.

They also couldn’t be easier to make and require so few ingredients that you could probably go pickle some right now! The recipe below makes about 2 full pint jars of pickled jalapeños, which is a lot for something you’re probably not planning to grub on super regularly. But you should probably make the full amount to avoid jealous, hungry friends you don’t want getting jalapeño business. Heh heh.

Week 2: Dill Pickled Carrots

sblahnik Pickle Project, Pickle Recipes January 14, 2016May 18, 2016dill pickle recipe, homemade pickles, how to make pickled carrots, how to pickle carrots, pickled carrot recipe, refrigerator dill pickles, refrigerator pickles

For week 2 I wanted to try something completely new. Refrigerator pickles, specifically carrots, seemed like a good idea – jury’s still out on whether or not this recipe is a keeper but it’s all about the experimentation.

This pickle recipe in particular (and a lot of recipes I’ll be trying out moving forward) are from this awesome and very appickleable (see what I did there?) book called The Joy of Pickling. Shoutout to my bestie Ally for giving me one of the greatest – and most useful! – birthday presents ever.

Week 1: Refrigerator Dill Pickles (“Quickles”)

sblahnik Pickle Project, Pickle Recipes January 7, 2016May 18, 2016cucumber pickle recipe, dill pickle recipe, dill pickles, homemade pickles, how to make dill pickles, how to make pickles, how to pickle cucumbers, pickle recipe, quickles, refrigerator dill pickles, refrigerator pickles

To start things off, this is the easiest way to pickle cucumbers and the recipe my mom has always used. These are crazy easy and super cheap to make, a true crowd-pleaser, and a great go-to gift for friends or coworkers.

I think these look the coolest when you use actual pickling (or “Kirby” cucumbers; at right) but you can also use Persian or English. Different cukes are good for different things – for example, pickling cucumbers naturally look the most like (duh) pickles, Persian are guaranteed in stock in most grocery stores, and English are good for different shapes and sizes (particularly stackers for sandwiches; see photo below). I’ve never used those super smooth, dark green garden cucumbers but I’m sure they’d work too. They just look funky, IMO.

A Pickle a Week: My Challenge for 2016

sblahnik Pickle Project, Pickle Recipes January 6, 2016January 7, 2016how to make pickles, pickle project, pickle recipes, pickles, refrigerator pickles, weekly pickles

the-weekly-pickle Happy 2016, and welcome to this self-prescribed pickle project/epic challenge. Starting this week (the first of the year), I’m planning to pickle something different every week for a year. AKA, a weekly pickle.

Why such a lofty goal? Some background – After years of mooching off my mom’s 24-hour quick pickle (“quickle”) recipe and dabbling in other pickling endeavors, it’s time to expand my horizons. There’s also some heavy inspiration here from Portlandia’s “We can pickle that!”

A few other questions this may prompt are: Why pickling, exactly? How will I possibly come up with 52 things to pickle? How many mason jars will this project require? The answers to all of those questions, and more, to come. I’ll also include ideas and recommendations for using said pickles (think interesting sandwiches, Bloody Marys, etc). Stay tuned!

And finally, a few rules and guidelines:

None of that hardcore canning nonsense – quick, easy, refrigerator pickles only…myself and anyone reading this probably isn’t relying on food preservation for their livelihood.
Can I pickle the same item twice? Yes, but only if a completely different recipe is used.
If I use a specific recipe (which will generally be the case), I’ll obvi mention it. Otherwise, some weeks may facilitate an experiment and/or combine elements of past and present recipes.

Sidenote: for any of my Bay Area friends, if you want to taste test, let me know. Pickle parties could be in the very near future.