Bread and Butter Pickles

I first made these pickles after a friend gave me a bounty of cucumbers fresh from her garden, and I knew I needed to find a way to use them before they went bad.  This Bread and Butter pickle recipe solved my problem and was very uncomplicated to make.  Even though it isn’t exactly garden season at the moment, you can still find cucumbers at the grocery store and have these stashed in your fridge year round.  They keep for about a month in the fridge and also make great gifts!  I haven’t encountered anyone who doesn’t appreciate a jar of homemade pickles to snack on!

Start by slicing your cucumbers into coins and soaking them in icy water along with onions and a bunch of salt.  Let them sit for at least 2 hours to ensure the pickles stay crunchy.  🙂

Bread and Butter Pickle ingredients

Then you just bring the vinegar and all the seasonings to a boil.

Drain the cucumber and onion, and add to the seasoning mixture on the stove.

Turn the heat off and transfer everything to a jar.  Let it cool to room temp, put the lid on and store in the fridge for up to a month.  Yum!

Bread and Butter Pickles Recipe

1 lb pickling cucumbers, like Israeli of Kirby,  sliced into coins
1 small yellow onion, sliced as thinly as possible
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup raw honey
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
A pinch of celery seed
1 bay leaf

1. Combine the cucumbers, onion and salt in a large mixing bowl of very icy ice water and let them sit for 2 hours (this will help keep the pickles very crunchy).
2. Meanwhile, bring the vinegar, honey and seasonings to a boil in a large pot.  Drain the cucumbers and onions and add them to the pot.  Bring back to a boil, immediately turn off the heat, and transfer the entire mixture to a glass jar.
3. Once the jar cools to room temperature, put a lid on it and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Makes about a pint

From:  It’s All Good

Roasted Carrots with Honey and Soy Sauce

As much as I’m mourning the loss of swimming, beaching and ice creaming weather, I’m also loving all the comfort foods that we get to indulge in this time of year.  I saw these brilliantly coloured carrots at the grocery store and picked them up based on their colour alone, I just couldn’t pass up such a pretty vegetable.  I decided to try roasting them in a honey and soy glaze because not only is this recipe extremely simple and showcases those colours, it just seemed like a very fall thing to do.

Carrots

They’re even more vibrant when they’re peeled!

I chopped them into 1 – 2 inch chunks in order to expose more beautiful colour contrasts.

Boil them for a few minutes, just until they lose some of their firmness.  5 minutes or so.   Then you just have to drain them, toss with the honey-soy dressing and put them in the oven at 450 F for 15 minutes (or until totally cooked through). They will be nice and caramelized at this point, and your fork should glide right through them like butter 🙂

Roasted Carrots with Honey and Soy Sauce Recipe

8 Carrots, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch lengths2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil2 tbsp honey2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 450 F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Place the carrots in the water and cook until they just begin to lose their bite but aren’t completely soft, 5-6 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the olive oil, honey and soy sauce in a large mixing bowl.  Drain the carrots thoroughly, add them to the bowl with the honey mixture and stir to coat them evenly.
4. Transfer the carrots to the prepared sheet pan and roast, stirring now and then, until completely caramelized, about 15 minutes.  These are good served hot and at room temperature, too.

From:  It’s All Good

Honey Pancetta Pizza

“It was leftover pasta”, my coworker said about his lunch and immediately had my attention. “In a fig and honey reduction.”  I was instantly drooling.  I had to have something fig and honey related for dinner, and decided a pizza might work out deliciously.  (I may also have had pasta for dinner the previous two nights in a row…..)  A distinct lack of figs at my local grocery store forced me to adapt my plans and go with Italian smoked bacon as a replacement.  Not a horrible compromise.  I then added a bunch of other delicious toppings and drizzled with honey.  This hint of sweetness really put this pizza over the top.  A  most excellent addition 🙂

I started by frying up some red onion, red pepper and the bacon, and let it get nice and browned.

Sautéed red peppet, onion and pancetta

Then I created a solid pizza base out of a large pita, tomato sauce and grated old cheddar.  Simple and delicious.

Pita, tomato sauce and cheese base

Then I threw on the aforementioned pepper mixture…

Onion, pepper and pancetta topping

And added some ricotta.

Ricottoa topping

Then it went in the oven until appropriately toasty.

Honey Pancetta Pizza

Fresh basil and a drizzle of honey finished it off.   TO DIE FOR.

Honey Pancetta Pizza Close-up

Honey Pancetta Pizza Recipe

1 tbsp olive oil
1 Large pita
1/2 cup Tomato sauce
3/4 cup grated old cheddar
1/4 sliced red onion
1/2 sliced red pepper
1/4 cup pancetta
1/4 cup fresh ricotta
1 tbps fresh basil
1-2 tsp honey, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat frying pan on high heat and add olive oil.  Once oil is heated, add onion, peppers and pancetta.  Cook for about 15 minutes, until softened and browned.
3. Spread tomato sauce on one side of the pita and top with grated cheddar.  Top with pepper mixture and ricotta.
4. Bake in oven until cheddar cheese is melted, then turn on the broiler for a few minutes to brown the crust.
5. Top with basil and drizzle of honey.  Serve and enjoy!

Char Siu Pork

You know that really delicious, sweet and tender pork you had a dream about the other night?  No?  Just me? OK.  Well, this char siu pork is definitely dream worthy, and I thought everyone should have the recipe.  It’s an amazing Vietnamese marinade – garlic, honey, hoisin, five spice, etc. – and can be used in oh so many ways.  On sandwiches, in soups (like pho!), rice paper wraps, or pretty much anywhere, really.  It’s more than fine all on it’s own too.

Char Siu Marinade

The longer you can let this marinade, the more delicious it will be.

Then, bake @ 475 F for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping and basting the pork in the marinade every 10 minutes.  Don’t dump it all on right away, because the sugar will burn.  But if you just put it on a bit at a time, it will help form a nice sticky glaze.  MMMMmmmmmm sticky glaze…

Char Siu Pork

Here is one potential serving option:  on rice, with a bean salad on the side!

Char Siu and Bean Salad

Or sliced up and used in pho…

Pho with Char Siu

 

Or buried under a bunch of other toppings to make up rice paper wraps!  This will very likely blow your mind.

Char Siu Rice Paper Wraps

Char Siu Pork Recipe

2 1/3 pounds boneless pork shoulder (tenderloin works well too)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 ½  tbsp rice wine or dry sherry
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
2. Cut the pork into strips about 6 inches long and 1 ½ inches thick.
3. To make the marinade, take a large bowl and whisk together the garlic, sugar, five-spice powder, hoisin sauce, honey, wine, soy sauces and sesame oil.  Add the pork and use a spatula or tongs to coat evenly.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours, turning the pork 2 or 3 times.
4. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, line up pork on top and reserve the marinade.
5. Roast, basting every 10 minutes, for 30 to 35 minutes.  The pork is done when it looks glazed, is slightly charred and registers about 145 Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer.
6. Let the meat stand for about 10 minutes to finish cooking and seal in the juices.

From:  Into the Vietnamese Kitchen

Honey Plum Chicken

Plums are juuuuust coming into season now, and I suggest using them in the following fashion: chop up some fresh ones and cook with honey, soy sauce and red wine.  And sautéed garlic, of course. Now use this intoxicating saucey/broth mixture to cook some chicken breasts.  The chicken will become infused with this sweet and savoury flavour combination, and the texture will be beyond juicy.     Mix in some veggies too if you like.   Also don’t forget to drizzle the sauce over some buttered basmatti rice, and your delicious, saucy meal will be ready to eat!

Start by chopping up some colourful veggies if you like…

Veggies

Sear up some chicken and chop up some plums…

Honey Plum Chicken

Mix together the wine, honey, soy sauce and plum preserves and pour over the chicken.  And feel free to use a skillet if you’d prefer.  It gives everything a bit of a “rustic” flavour…I’m not entirely sure what that means, but it’s definitely a good thing.

Simmering Honey Plum Chicken

Mix in your veggies and serve on a bed of rice.  Or noodles.  Noodles are always an option for me. And don’t forget what I said before about the drizzling of the sauce.  It’s mandatory.

Ta da!

Honey Plum Chicken

Honey Plum Chicken Recipe

2 – 4 Large chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves
2 cups red wine
2 bay leaves
¼ cup plum preserves
½ cup honey
¼ cup soy sauce
2 plums, pitted and chopped
2 cups chopped veggies
Green onion, sliced

1. Put the chicken breasts in a large bowl and add the red wine and bay leaves.  Toss to coat and leave to marinate about 1 hour in the fridge.
2. In a separate bowl, add the plum preserves, the honey and soy sauce.  Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Remove the chicken from the wine, then brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the garlic.  Stir it around in the bottom of the pan for a couple of minutes to release the flavour.
5. Add 1 cup of the wine, the chopped plums and the honey-plum-soy mixture.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, and juicy.  At least 20 minutes.  Add veggies a few minutes before serving so they stay tender-crisp.
7. Serve on a bed of noodles or basmati rice, and cover with spoonfuls of sauce.