Pickled Red Onions

Pickled Onions are easy to make and store in your fridge

 Pickled red onions are a delicious and versatile condiment that can add a burst of flavor to various dishes. Here's a simple recipe for making pickled red onions:

Ingredients:

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

Optional: 1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Optional: 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns or red pepper flakes for heat

Optional: Fresh herbs (such as thyme or dill) for added flavor

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Red Onions:

Peel and thinly slice the red onion. You can use a sharp knife or a mandoline for even slices.

2. Make the Pickling Liquid:

In a mixing bowl, combine the white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

3. Add Flavorings (Optional):

If you like, add minced garlic, whole peppercorns, or red pepper flakes to the pickling liquid for additional flavor. You can also add fresh herbs at this stage.

4. Pack the Jars:

Pack the sliced red onions into sterilized jars. You can use one large jar or several smaller ones.

5. Pour the Pickling Liquid:

Pour the pickling liquid over the red onions, ensuring that they are completely submerged. Leave some headspace at the top of the jar.

6. Seal and Refrigerate:

Seal the jars tightly and refrigerate. Allow the onions to pickle for at least 1-2 hours before using. For best flavor, let them sit in the refrigerator for at least a day.

7. Enjoy:

Once pickled, the red onions can be used as a topping for sandwiches, salads, tacos, burgers, or any dish that could use a tangy kick.

Tips:

These pickled red onions will last for several weeks in the refrigerator.

Feel free to customize the recipe to suit your taste preferences. You can experiment with different herbs and spices.

The longer the onions sit in the pickling liquid, the more pronounced the flavor will be.

Pickled red onions are a wonderful addition to many dishes and can be a handy condiment to have on hand in your refrigerator

5 Things you can make with Apples that are Amazing

 It is apple season.  For us that means the sharp tart apples that make great pies and apple juice.

On our ranch we have a bunch of OLD apple trees.  They keep producing and producing so we feel each year we have to do something.   

5 Things to do with Apples....

Apples are delicious and easy!

1.  Make Apple juice and cider  This is easier than you think.  We do it in two stages.  The first bunch of apples go into the press after we we hand cut them, peel  and core the seeds out.   We get the same juice but we use the pulp from these to make our apple sauce.    When we have two big dutch ovens worth of  pulp we set this aside and then start throwing whole apples into the press.    Bottle the juice and drink.  It will hold in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.   It lasts all season if you  make apple cider.   You make cider by letting juice sit with a little air.  don't even have to refrigerate it.. just leave it in non metal or glass containers with a little cheese cloth over it.  In a few days (taste it)  skim off the mother vinegar and seal it.... don't let it go to vinegar!   We always put it in sterile jars and give it a water bath to stabilize it  but again you don't have to. 


 

Apple Sauce makes a great 
holiday gift

2.  Make apple sauce    We take the pulp from the first few batches of apples we put in the press.  (skins or not your choice) and put it into two large dutch ovens to cook at med temp for at least 25 min or until cooked through.  (careful not to scorch!)  Add to each Dutch oven...

• 1 cup (or more to taste) of brown sugar
• a quart of apple juice that you have just pressed
• 2 lemons squeezed
• 1 TBSP of Nutmeg and 1 TBSP of Cinnamon 
• Butter if that is your thing
• Note.. you don't have to add any spice or butter but many people do add a dash of cloves or ?

 We leave it chunky, but you can puree it.  Ladle it into clean sterile jars, screw the lid down lightly and water bath for 25 min leaving 1/2 an inch of air space in the jars and under at least 1 inch of boiling water.    You can read all about canning here...  this is the time to make variety applesauces.  Add strawberries, or pears.. it is your sauce!   This is also when we start making 25 extra of everything for holiday presents... we have a LOT of family.  

Super easy pie crust and apple filling

3.  Make apple pies.   Nothing is simpler than apple pie.  Our secret is in the crust.   We will be the first to admit the new Spectrum organic shortening is better for you, but we miss Crisco.  

Cold water crust

• 2 cups flour
• 1tsp salt
• 3/4 cup shortening (cold)
• 6-8 tablespoons of ice water

Place the shortening around the bowl and cut flour/salt into the shortening.  Don't overwork  -  leave it lumpy.   Drop a tablespoon of water at a time into the bowl and draw/cut the water into dough in small amounts  up the side of the bowl with a fork.  Do this till you can squeeze the dough together but NOT too moist.    Roll lightly into two balls and chill.  Roll out without touching too much... the TRICK is to not over work the dough on each stage.    HINT. You can replace the water with Sour Cream which is amazing but not on your first try!

Fill a pie with

• 2 cups of sliced apples,
• 6 pats of butter,
• sugar or honey to taste (2 tsp sprinkled or ?)
• 1/2 tsp each Cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Bake at 375 for  20 min and reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 10 -15 min till crust is golden.
You can brush it with egg prior to cooking to make it shine,  dust with sugar.  


4.   Make Apple cider vinegar as an organic Weed Killer.  Ok -  full disclosure needed... we are BAD at catching the cider at just the right time since we have jars and vats of this stuff after using the press.  We throw all the pulp and a little juice and water into big barrels and let it go to vinegar on purpose.  We put the cider in juice jars hoping to drink it.  Usually it all works.   If cider goes to far it becomes vinegar so we add it into the big barrels to go around the fruit trees both as a much and as a weed killer... it works.  All you need to do to make cider vinegar is to let the cider continue to have air and not remove the mother vinegar.  Note.   DO remove the mother vinegar (this is the pile of bacteria floating around) to stabilize the vinegar if you want to store the vinegar (it will continue to rot if you don't) ... but if you are lazy like us.. just pour in around the trees, mother vinegar, pulp and all when it smells strongly like vinegar and you have organic weed killer.  

5.  Special Apple Fritters (our way)  slice three apples 1/4 inch thick. Make your morning pancake batter.   Dip the apples in the batter and fry them alongside your pancakes.   Dust with cinnamon and confectioners sugar.  Serve on top of the pancakes.  The Crowd will go wild! 

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Follow the Castle Gardener.   Perfecting permaculture and organic practices that are NO WORK and can be done by a farm girl with nails..

The Best (I GIVE UP!) Home Made Tomato Sauce EVER

We laughingly call this our "I GIVE UP" sauce here on the ranch.   What that really means is we have Tomatoes, bellpeppers and every other veggie coming out of our ears AND we have had the first hint of cooler weather.

Since the farmers market tables are brimming over  what does that mean?  Time to make a one time push, make a pile of sauces and can.   We are all about no work here so we do it a little different.

No Work " I GIVE UP" Tomato Sauce

Our secret?  We make the sauce over several days in the OVEN in a huge dutch oven.   This lets us add to it as we are gleaning out the garden and gives it that slow cooked taste.  Our other secret? Put anything in.. and can up special versions of sauce as we go!

In a BIG covered Dutch Oven in your Oven (at 250 degrees)

Use Tomatoes from the Farmers Market

• Fill the bottom with 1/4 an inch of olive oil and coat the sides
• All the tomatoes you can find 
• Bell peppers
• Other peppers (if you like it a little spicy)
• Basil
• a Few shredded carrots (this cuts the acid from the tomatoes)
• and anything else...(wine, a little water?)
• Since we have the oven going anyway we always put garlic in oil and let it roast... THEN put it in the pan.

Or just keep adding all your garden tomatoes 

Just let it cook... but don't let it scorch so figure out your oven.  You can continue to add to it for a few days if you like... giving you time to tackle those out of control garden areas one at a time and add them to the pot

NOW.... From time to time use a strainer and push the mixture through it removing tomato skins or things you don't like.   

THEN... Pot up in different pots mixtures as you go (and have time) and turn the tomato base into  salsa or hot sauce.   Or, add chilies  and beef broth and create enchilada sauce, or egg plant to make a smooth purple marinara ... but just keep cooking your big dutch pan base. 

Go ahead and can each special sauce version.  Ladle it out of the main Dutch Oven, put it in a food processor then back into a new pot to cook for 25 min at a very low boil with any special veggie or seasoning add ins.  Put directly in sterilized jars leaving a 1/2 an inch.  Immerse in a pressure cooker for the recommended time. (read all about canning here)

At the very end take any remaining  tomato sauce left in the Dutch Oven and can that too.

HINT:  Eat Pasta or dinners with your special sauces each night... that takes care of  meal planning AND you can for the future.

Photo credit E. Borgnis

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Follow the Castle Gardener.   Perfecting permaculture and organic practices that are NO WORK and can be done by a farm girl with nails..

No Peel Plum Jam

It is that time of year and we have eaten all the fresh plums we can handle.  So into the canning process they go.

No PEEL Fast Plum Jam

This is a super simple recipe we have been using for years.

• Cut a bowl of plums in half, remove pits
• Cover with 4 to 4 1/2 cups of sugar
• Mix and let sit at room temp for1hour
• Cover with Water, bring to boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 min
• Allow to cool to room temperature (this may take a little while)
• Bring to boil again 4 times, returning to room temp between boils 
• The Sugar in the plums will keep them from spoiling so you can do this over a day or so
• Be sure to stir so the mixture will not scorch as you bring it boil, it will thicken with each cooling
• Spoon into sterilized jars and lightly hand tighten sterilized lids, leave 1/2 inch of room
• Waterbath at a boil for 25 min with lids covered 1/2 inch
• Remove and turn upside down to cool completely
• Lids will be naturally tight and sealed.  

Enjoy.. the texture comes out like a preserve and is delicious on pancakes and muffins!

You do not need pectin for this.  And it is no work at all....

You can learn all about canning here.  (it is much easier than they make it seem in this btw)


Photo:  Craig Rippens, Marin Farmers Market

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Follow the Castle Gardener.   Perfecting permaculture and organic practices that are NO WORK and can be done by a farm girl with painted nails..