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cooking

Quick & Simple Pickled Everything

May 18, 2020 by gracefulfitness Leave a Comment

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I love pickled things; cruchy, salty, tangy vegetables are my jam.

Unfortunately, really good pickles are hard to find and when you do, they can be pretty pricey.

Fortunately, making them is crazy easy. For real.

Here’s a basic brine to pickle anything.

(This “recipe” is for refridgerator pickles, no canning necessary)

Per PINT mason jar:

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar (or any other vinegar, my preference for this is the ‘clean and basic’ flavor of white vinegar)

1/2 cup water*

2 teaspoons salt*

2 teaspoons sugar*

Vegetables! Any combo, cut to your preference, enough to pack however many pints you plan to make

Optional add-ins:

1-3 peeled raw whole cloves garlic, a pinch or two red chili flakes, 1-2 fresh clean rosemary, dill, chives, or thyme sprigs, a bit of chopped onion, a pinch or two of a premade dry pickle spice blend, a teaspoon of dry mustard seeds, a pinch of dry dill, 1-2 bay leafs, a pinch of coriander seeds, a few allspice berries…the options are wide open really!

Step One: Prepare your vegetables by washing and cutting them.

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You can cut them however you’d prefer; keep in mind that the thicker the cut, the cruchier the vegetable will remain and the thinner the cut, the easier to pack into the jar.

Step Two: Make the brine.

Bring the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a gentle simmer.

Step Three: Prepare jars** and pack them.

While the brine heats, prepare your jars by washing them with soap and warm water then packing them.

To pack, put any “add-ins” in the bottom of your clean jar then tightly pack your vegetables in the jar, leaving at least a quarter inch of “headspace” between the top of the vegetables and the rim of the jar.  Or add-ins can go on top, for these pickled carrots I did both.

I prefer to pack the jars very tight because it maximizes the pickles-per-jar and balances the brine to vegetable ratio to my liking.

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Step Four: Pour the hot brine into the jars to just cover vegetables. Depending on what vegetables you have and how tight you pack them, you may have a little bit of leftover brine, you can discard it or save it in a jar for the next batch.

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Step Five: Let cool for 10 minutes then put your two piece ring lid on.

Let cool another 30 minutes then store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Full disclaimer: I often keep these in the fridge for months but every single recipe I’ve ever read says just a few weeks.  You will know if they’ve gone back by mold or film on the surface, if they don’t look spoiled, they aren’t.

 

My favorite combos with this brine and technique

My Papa’s Rosemary Pickled Carrots

Carrots cut into sticks

2 medium rosemary sprigs per jar

2-3 cloves peeled whole garlic cloves per jar

a generous pinch of red chili flakes

(I also used pickling spice in the pictures above but I think I prefer without so the rosemary is more dominant)

We made these every year with garden carrots growing up and canned them for pantry storage, it was a revelation when I realized I could make them with store bought (organic, they taste so much better) carrots and make them just a few jars at a time without having to break out the canner!

Jalepenos and Carrots

My take on Zanahorias en Escabeche, or spicy pickled carrots.

Thinly slice carrots and jalepenos or, like I do, use the slice option on your food processor for quick and easy. very thin cut veg, follow method above.

We love these on “fajita salads”, tacos, rice and beans, really anywhere you would use hot sauce.

Share your winning combos! I’d love some more inspiration!

 

*This balance of salt, sugar, and vinegar is my preference but it is not a solid “rule”. If you are new to making refrigerator pickles I suggest you start with these ratios then decide for yourself what your preference is; you can increase the vinegar and decrease the water if you prefer a really vinegary pickle, just go for 1 cup of liquid per pint. You can also adjust the sugar and salt balance up or down (or skip the sugar all together, I personally like how it helps balance to intensity of the vinegar and brings out the sweetness in the vegetables).

Note: when you are canning fruits and vegetables for long term storage unrefridgerated, you must stick to the recipe for food safety, since these are stored in the fridge you have much more room to adjust and play with the balance.

**Please use canning jars for this because they are designed to withstand the heat of the near boiling brine.

 

I like to joke that my garden is a “Pickle Garden”, I cannot wait to get all the cucs, okra, green tomatoes, squash, and green beans in brine!

Other preserved/pickled posts

Lacto-Fermented Cucumber Dill Pickles

Lacto-Fermented Pickled Vegetables

Kimchi

Preserved Lemons

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Posted in: cooking, DIY, Fermented Food, food, gardening, recipes Tagged: homemade pickles, pickle brine, pickled carrots, pickled jalepenos, pickles

Resourceful

April 29, 2020 by gracefulfitness Leave a Comment

In these wild, crazy, challenging times I have been reaching out the my resources more than ever. I have many personal “resources”, or stress management techniques, I’ve cultivated over the years, including this list, but this post is about sharing the online resources I return to again and again for mental, physical, and spiritual grounding.

Here’s my short(ish), very current list:

Podcasts

10 Percent Happier This is a new find for me. I had heard host Dan Harris’s story several times and of his 10 Percent Happier “brand”/concept but just started listening to the podcast this week. The interviews cover a wide breadth of topics all within the theme of increasing your personal well-being, often from a Buddhist standpoint. I especially enjoyed the episode with Sylvia Boorstein, Is it Still Okay to be Happy?, which was part of the inspiration for yesterday’s post.

“Joy is a necessity right now, not a luxury.”

-Sylvia Boorstein

Tara Brach this woman…insert heart eyed emoji…she is an amazing Buddhist teacher who’s “talks” have picked my heart and head up off the floor to many times to count over the last several years. (or just as often pulled my head out of my ass). I come back to her Anger; Responding, Not Reacting talk again and again, as well as the two part Awakening Through Anger- The U Turn to Freedom but one of the things I really appreciate about her talks is that they are all relatable, they are about our humanness.

And now for something completely different; Chris Kimball’s Milk Street is my current favorite cooking podcast. It’s a lovely mix of education, food history, and food memoir.

Life Kit: NPR is another new find for me. I’ve listened to several of their 10-30 minute episodes on being human on everything from how to grocery shop during a pandemic to how to make tiny changes in your life to elicit big change. These mini episodes feel a little bit like crib notes for life.

Online Exercise

Vari-Move by Liz Reynolds is an online subscription service with the mission statement of encouraging members to move their bodies in a variety of ways, from HIIT to yoga to myofascial release work; a one stop movement shop! Full disclosure, Liz is one of my closest friends and colleagues, as well as a very sought out Charlottesville local teacher, and I’ve been a guest teacher teacher on Vari-Move twice so far (my dance based conditioning classes are available for members in the archives anytime).

Pilates AnyTime is an awesome Pilates online subscription service that has a HUGE library of classes at all levels, Pilates styles, and workout lengths from top teachers around the country (world?). They are geared a bit more towards Pilates pros/intermediate students and towards equipment work but for the nominal monthly fee, there is plenty on there for even the “Pilates curious”.

HASfit I stumbled upon Coach Kozak and Claudia’s YouTube Channel years ago and it’s remained a ‘go-to’ resource when I need a full body & creative strength and cardio workout. I appreciated their positive, not punishing, and approachable approach to exercise. They offer most of their content free!

DocJenFit (instagram, YouTube, Podcast) is my current health professional crush. Jen Esquer is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who loves to educate and empower people in their bodies (hmmmm, no wonder it resonates with me 🙂 )

Me 🙂 I am an excellent resource for myself after nearly three decades of studying movement, exercise, fitness, and physical wellness. I can be a resource for you too; here’s what I have to offer

Virtual Mat Pilates Classes and Privates through Posture Studio Pilates, for more information and booking click here

Virtual “Mini Workshops” through Gracefulfitness, for more information and booking click here

Past Gracefulfitness blog posts on working out/exercise can be found by clicking here

Gracefulfitness on YouTube can be found by clicking here. I am returning to my YouTube Channel after a 5 or 6 year hiatus, the content is minimal right now but I will be adding more weekly!

Two notes in closing, first none of the above were solicited plugs and it is definitely not a comprehensive list but rather a very “in the moment” list of resources I go-to. Second, please share your resources in the comments! Also feel free to “plug” yourself, what do you have to offer this community right now?

In mental, physical, and spiritual health,

Faith

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Posted in: Blogging, body image, cooking, coronavirus, Covid-19, goals, interval training, Pilates, quarantine, running, strength training, workouts, yoga Tagged: 10 percent happier, Chris Kimball, Coach Kozak, Dan Harris, DocJenFit, Gracefulfitness, HASfit, Life Kit, Milk Street, NPR, Pilates AnyTime, Posture Studio, Sylvia Boorstein, Tara Brach, Vari-Move
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I am Faith Levine, a movement instructor, home gardener, mountain biker, hiker, pickle maker, closet poet, and best of friend to some of the most amazing women in the world.

I’d love to hear from you,
gracefulfitness@live.com

Header photo: Meredith Coe

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Hi, I'm Faith! New? Check out I Am for my story, I Cook for recipes, and I Move for some motivation to get moving! I'd love to hear from you, e-mail me gracefulfitness@live.com
Header photo: Meredith Coe

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