I'm in a Pickle

I am the fortunate recipient of this little gem:

It's my grandparents' recipe, typed out by my grandmother.  Their garden is exploding with tomatoes, zucchini, corn, and cucumbers right now.  Cucumbers have not fared exceptionally well in my own garden, so I decided not to plant them this year.  Good thing, because the grandparents have plenty to share!

I made Bread and Butter pickles today, which is quite easy to do.  You prepare the cucumbers and cover with ice for 3 hours.  The actual cooking and canning took me 30 minutes from start to finish.  This is a great recipe to start with if you're just getting into the canning thing. 

Wash, drain and slice 4 quarts cucumbers
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
1 garlic clove
Combine in a large bowl or pot, add 1/3 cup pickling salt, and mix well.  Cover with 2 quarts of crushed ice.  Let stand 3 hours.

Drain and remove garlic.



Combine in a large pot:

4 cups sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Turmeric
1 & 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
2 Tablespoons mustard seed
3 cups white vinegar

Bring this to a boil, then add cucumbers and onions, and cook for 5 minutes. 

Pack in hot jars, seal, and process jars for 5 minutes in boiling water.

Some tips for canning:
I have found it essential to have a canning kit - such as this one from Ball.  Trying to fish jars out of boiling water with a pair of tongs got old very quickly.  You'll need to have a large pot (mine is a 12-quart stock pot) filled about half-way with boiling water for processing the jars after filling them.  I also keep another saucepan on the stove with the lids and bands in simmering water.  After washing and drying the jars, I keep them warm on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven.  It is important to work with hot jars, lids, and bands in order to get a proper seal when preserving.  Be sure to adhere to cooking times and use exact measurements, especially if making jellies and jams.  It's not rocket-science, but it is precise. 

Good luck, and good eating!

Open Letter to Oxyclean

Dear Oxyclean,

I have a confession:  I've been away.  I doubted how great your oxygen power truly is.  I cheated on you, and bought other "stain removers."  Sure, they got the job done most of the time.  Sometimes I had to reapply, but they were satisfactory. 

The thing is, Oxyclean, you are pricey.  When young-uns are eating you out of house and home, and diapers take up most of the budget, it's hard to pay nearly $10 for a small bucket of you. 

Then it happened.  I had to come back.  My child's white school shirt got a red smoothie stain down the front, from the chest to the hem.  I soaked it, I sprayed it thrice.  And then I remembered.  Oxyclean, YOU were the one that eradicated baby poop from my daughter's beautiful smocked and embroidered dress.  So I took a deep breath and a dollar-off coupon, and threw you in my cart at the store. 

And I soaked the shirt for 4 hours.  And you did it.  You rid us of the smoothie stain. 

Thank you, Oxyclean.  I will never doubt you again.  I love you.

A Crowd-Pleaser!

Growing up, my mother says that I ate everything.  Rarely did she fix something for supper that we didn't like.  Imagine my shock when I discovered that my kids are horribly picky eaters!  My Fella (a.k.a. Husband) also has his share of likes and dislikes, therefore I can rarely please all four of us. 

Of all things, this eggplant recipe is one of the few meals that everyone likes.  I came across it last summer, when my grandparents gave me a beautiful eggplant from their garden.  The only way I had ever prepared an eggplant (and enjoyed it) was to fry it.  Boring.  Everything else I've tried just ends up a soggy mess. 

This is Crispy Eggplant Parmesan - a Sandra Lee recipe from Food Network.  I've tweaked it just a bit to my taste, and I have also substituted a canned spaghetti sauce when I was in a pinch. 

2 med or 1 large eggplant - look for one that is firm and shiny (if the skin is dull, it will most likely be past its prime)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
grated Parmesan
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375.  In one bowl, combine flour, salt & pepper.  In a second bowl, whisk eggs and water.  In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs, cornmeal, Italian seasoning, 2 Tbsp Parmesan, and salt & pepper.  Slice eggplant crosswise 1/4" to 1/2" thick.  Dredge in flour, then dip in egg, and then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.  Place on a rack over a baking sheet (line with foil for easy clean up).  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until eggplant is golden and crisp.  Thicker slices will need to bake a little longer.

(My apologies for the poor quality of the photos here - I thought there was enough light in the kitchen this evening.  Apparently not).

 

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 med. onion, minced

1 Tbsp. garlic, minced

2 tsp Italian Seasoning

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

 

In a saucepan, heat oil, then saute onion 5 minutes.  Add garlic, cook 1 minute more.  Add Italian seaoning, crushed tomatoes, salt & pepper to taste.  Simmer 10 minutes.



 

Change the oven to broil.  Overlap eggplant slices in rows in a large baking dish.  Cover rows with sauce and remaining cheese.  Broil 3-4 minutes or until cheese bubbles and begins to brown.
 

I serve this with salad and French bread, and my Fella doesn't complain that it's meatless - he is as Meat-and-Potatoes as they come.  Any leftovers can be used to make an Eggplant Parmesan sandwich.  Simply put it on a sandwich roll with a little extra sauce and cheese if needed, and toast in a toaster oven or under the broiler.

Enjoy!

Inaugural Post

There are so many bloggers out there posting pictures of their dinners, DIY projects, and other achievements.  And I fully intend to add myself into the mix!  Welcome to Fitz&Molly. 

My dream was to sing opera.  Then I got married and life happened, and now I am a fully-domesticated mother of two.  If anyone would have told me 15 years ago that I would grow to love cooking, gardening, and sewing, I would only have agreed with the cooking part of that statement.  It was inevitable though - I come from a family of fantastic southern cooks, gardeners, and sewists.  One cannot deny her heritage!

I am settling here in my little corner of the blogosphere because I am excited about what I do.  I hope you will be as well.

Here is a taste of what you will see in days to come:

 

Thank you for reading my blog.