In a Pickle

There is something very comforting and satisfying about canning. I'm not sure what it is exactly.....Maybe it's a feeling of accomplishment or a feeling of self sufficiency or perhaps and maybe more likely, it's just an excuse to purchase more kitchen gadgets. Also, I just don't like the flavour of store bought pickles, which I find to be way too vinegary for me. So every year, I scour the supermarkets looking for enough small cucumbers to can up 20 liters or so of pickles. This is usually enough jars to make it through the year until the next canning season. Growing up, I remember many moms canning pickles and I don't remember one of them using a water bath to process the jars. Almost without fail, all of these moms would sterilize their jars, cold pack them with cucumbers and dill etc. and then fill them up with boiling hot brine and put on the lids. The jars would sit on the counter until each and every one sealed and popped. I have had notoriously poor luck with this method, and almost always end up processing with a water bath to make sure the jars seal. This year, I made pickles twice, and the second time they all sealed. WooooHooooo. The recipe I make each year comes from one of the sweetest little old ladies I've ever met. And any recipe you got from her was guaranteed to be good as she was a very excellent cook. I find this recipe to be well flavoured, not too vinegary, and just enough garlic and dill. I will preface that assessment with a comment that my family is of a Ukrainian background, and there is always a head of garlic in my fridge. If you are not partial to garlic you could leave it out........but that would be just ridiculous.....I'm mean they're pickles.....they're supposed to have garlic in them....aren't they? Anyway just in case you're interested, here is the recipe. Oh, and they have horseradish in them too. Her recipe uses just the leaves though, so they are very easy to work with. You could use a piece of the root instead, but that's more work, and she had found the same flavour in the leaf and it's just easier. For instructions on processing with a water bath and recipes go look here.


Mrs. C's Dill Pickles

Brine

14 cups water

2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup pickling salt

1 cup white sugar

Wash cucumbers prick each one with a fork and soak in ice cold water while you prepare the ingredients for the jars. The brine recipe makes enough for 7 one quart or liter jars. Sterilize jars and fill each one while still warm. The hotter everything is, the better your chances of them sealing on their own. If you are going to water bath them, you don't need to worry about keeping everything so hot.

For each quart jar:

4 black peppercorns

2 dill heads (one at top, one at bottom)

4-5 cloves garlic (each split in 1/2)

2 pieces of horseradish (3"X4" leaf or 1/2"X3" root)

1/4 tsp pickling spice

2 whole allspice

cucumbers to fill jar

Fill with hot brine leaving 1/2" head space at top of jar. Wipe jar edge with clean cloth and top with canning lid which has been prepared as per package directions. Put screw band on and wait for them to seal, or process using water bath method.

Chicken Tikka Masala For Dinner

Tonight I was intrigued by an old episode of America's Test Kitchen where they made a version of Tikka Masala. I am a big fan of East Indian inspired cooking, but do not often cook East Indian meals. So....... with some prompting, I decided to give it a go. You can go to America's Test Kitchen to see the recipe if you'd like to try. My thoughts on the recipe were, that it lacked a little of the flavour complexity that I had anticipated and the tomato flavour was a little too pervasive. That being said, the dish was pretty good, it just fell a little short on flavour. I think it might benefit from extra onion, and some green cardamom. I will have to investigate some other recipes for ideas on what spices to try before I try it again. It was a nicely laid out method and I will try it again. This little experiment did also give an opportunity to try out my Polder Temperature Probe, which is a handy little tool which takes the guess work out of cooking meat in the oven. I am sad to say I've had this little baby tucked away in a drawer for some time.......and I just love it! If you choose to try this recipe be forewarned that you should use caution when deciding what cookware to use in a broiler. I just ruined one of my favourite nonstick cookie sheets from Costco. Oh well! Lesson learned:)

Hello Toronto!

On my way back home I made a little stop over in Toronto to do some shopping. I always stay at the Sheraton Center downtown because it's central and close to a lot of shopping I like. A little searching on the Internet has resulted in great rates (as low as $125 per night but usually more like$145) for my stay. Once there, you are close to union station and are right on the subway route as well. The photo above was the view from my room looking across to City Hall. Every time a visit Toronto, I make a habit of using the subway, since I'd really never otherwise get the chance to. It's kind of fun......and when it's hot out, it's a lot faster than walking. In order to get to Efston Science (the most way cool science store ever) it was most necessary. It turned out to be much easier to access from the subway than I had even anticipated plus it brought me to Yorkdale Mall which I had not been to in YEARS! It really makes Eaton Center Mall look pretty shabby. Yorkdale is sparkling new and clean looking, and has all the major chain stores you're apt to be looking for and no junky stores. Well.....Yorkdale terminal is walkway connected to the mall and within minutes you are in. I walked clear across the mall to get to Dufferin Street so I could look for Efston Science, and it was directly across the street. I didn't have to waste any time looking for it, and that's a good thing since I spent 2 hours looking through the store before I purchased a trebuchet kit, some joke packets for my kid, 4 smencils and an annoying mosquito noise maker that comes on only in the dark.

Here's a photo in the Queen Subway Terminal. The Subway system here is so fast, and easy to use I was happy to have a real need to use it this time around.

China Town on Spadina is also just a 10 minute walk from the Sheraton Center and is another reason I like to stay there. While there is a Cora's (Totally the best breakfast restaurant I know of) within walking distance of the hotel, this morning I chose to grab a breakfast bun at the Furama Bakery on Spadina. There is an astounding assortment of fresh baked goodies for breakfast both savoury and sweet. Thank goodness because I don't like to eat sweet pastry for breakfast. They make an egg bun and also a bacon and onion bun that were good choices for the not too adventurous, and their curry buns and BBQ pork buns are awesome if you are feeling like something a little different. I'll also point out that this is a very cheap breakfast or snack if you find yourself shopping in the area. And if you find yourself in need of fresh produce, China Town is a really inexpensive place to find what you're looking for......I would really like to spend some serious time in this shop some day.

But, there are many many interesting options for food in China Town to say the least........and some of the options were unknown, yet unfortunately identifiable to me. I was intrigued by the BBQ orange creatures below.....but not enough to buy one.

The dumping house.........mmmmm.....maybe next time:(

Just around the corner and you're in Kensington Market. It's a quaint little neighbourhood filled with interesting and unusual finds from all over. It is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Toronto, and should be traveled on foot. It's filled with interesting shops, cafes and plenty of "interesting people". If you're into the hippy dippy, there's lots of it here. And apparently you shouldn't leave your car parked here too long.

This is another shot down one of the shopping streets in Kensington market.

But I ran out of time......

There is also St Lawrence Market which I did not have a chance to get to on this trip. It's well worth the trip also and is walking distance (but a good walk) from the hotel. It's got the best food market around and is pretty much a must see place if you are into food at all.

Another neighbourhood worthy of a look is Little India. It's a little more effort in transit, but is doable with one short subway ride plus a short streetcar ride. I think it only took 20-25 minutes to get there from the hotel. Little India is much smaller than China Town but is interesting none the less. There are some great restaurant choices, and if you are looking for a saree or a salwaar kameez....this is the place to get one.

These are by no means the only places to visit while in Toronto....but they are some of my favourites.