REFRIGERATOR DILL PICKLES

When I was about five years old, I watched my dad build a sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles, and mayonnaise, and I decided that it was time for me to start eating pickles as well. So I uncharacteristically asked my dad to add a couple pickles to my sandwich. I quickly realized why I never put pickles on my sandwiches: I didn’t like them. I still don’t, and I’ve since learned that it’s because I dislike both vinegar and dill.

My husband, on the other hand, adores pickles, especially Claussen Dill Sandwich Slices. He regularly eats pickle sandwiches: just bread, mayonnaise, and pickles. It never occurred to me to make pickles. I don’t have a garden, and I don’t do canning. Recently, though, my uncle was telling me about his pickle-making adventures last summer, which included making refrigerator pickles. I immediately realized that refrigerator pickles would be like my husband’s favorite Claussens, so I had to try making them just for him. They turned out great. My husband says they’re better than Claussen pickles, and they make him very happy, so I keep making them even though I’ll never eat them.







REFRIGERATOR DILL PICKLES

1½ pounds pickling cucumbers
3 tablespoons coarse salt, divided
1¼ cups white vinegar
¾ cup water
1 package fresh baby dill (⅔ ounce or so)
6 cloves garlic, minced

1. Wash cucumbers well. Cut off ends. Cut lengthwise into halves, quarters, or ¼-inch-thick sandwich slices, or slice crossways into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Put cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them with 1½ tablespoons salt. Toss well. Let sit in sink or a bowl for about 2 hours. Rinse cucumbers well; set aside.
2. In a small pot, combine vinegar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in remaining 1½ tablespoons salt. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a 1-quart glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, put dill and garlic. Add cucumbers. Pour vinegar mixture over top. Add more water, if necessary, to fill jar. Cover with lid. Allow to pickle in refrigerator for at least 3 days before eating. Pickles will keep for about 3 weeks.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 6 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 0 g sugars, 0 g protein.

PERFECT OIL PASTRY

Oil is interesting stuff, when you think about it--such interesting, useful, and varied stuff. Each kind of oil has its own set of fascinating uses. An automobile engine needs oil to run smoothly--or at all, really, if you want it to run very long. Mineral oil can be a moisturizer (it's a main ingredient in lots of lotions) or a laxative (according to the bottle--I've never used it for that purpose), and it works great for removing labels from jars and bottles. And then there is the multitude of different vegetable (and fruit and nut) oils that are used for cooking: canola, corn, grapeseed, hazelnut, olive, peanut, safflower, sesame, soybean, sunflower, walnut, and more. Of course, all these cooking oils have different uses. Neutral oils, like canola and safflower, are pretty much just good for cooking food. More flavorful oils, like sesame and walnut, are mostly used in small quantities to add a certain taste to foods. Furthermore, one can find creative uses for any kind of oil, as my husband's two older brothers discovered as young boys. There's an amusing story in the family lore about Roger and Larry covering the kitchen floor with vegetable oil and then using it as a "skating" rink. Naturally, this caused their babysitter great consternation.

Oil can also make a great pie crust, but before you pastry purists out there turn up your noses at such blasphemy, let me assure you that it is an amazingly flaky crust that turns out perfectly every time and brings me tons of compliments. It is delightfully quick and easy, and it’s vegan, too. In fact, it's the only pie crust recipe I use. I inherited the recipe from my mom (it's the only crust recipe she uses too), but I always found that the recipe didn't make enough to fit into my slightly extra-large pie plates. I always had to roll the dough so thin that it tore easily, causing me much frustration (so much, in fact, that usually my husband would step in and take over to reduce my stress level). So I finally rewrote the recipe to make a larger amount, and now it is perfect (thus the name).

PERFECT OIL PASTRY

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil*
½ cup cold water

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour oil and water into a measuring cup; add all at once to flour and salt. Stir lightly with a fork until combined.
2. Form into 2 balls; flatten dough slightly. Roll out each ball between parchment paper. (Tip: If the surface under the parchment paper is dampened first by wiping it with a wet cloth or sponge, the parchment won’t slide around while you roll.) Fit into a 9-inch or 10-inch pie plate. Trim edge to 1 inch. Fold edge under and crimp as desired. Use second half of dough for top or a second single-crust pie.

Makes 2 single-crust pies or 1 double-crust pie.

*I generally use the neutral-tasting canola oil, especially for sweet pies, but for savory pies and quiches, olive oil (or part olive and part canola oil) is excellent.

ZUCCHINI AND CORN SOUP

Today is National Zucchini Day. I didn’t eat zucchini growing up, which is a shame, since it’s a good source of vitamins and trace minerals, including vitamin C, vitamin K, the B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. It’s not that I didn’t like zucchini; it just wasn’t served in my home. I suspect that my parents had eaten far too much surplus zucchini from their families’ gardens every summer and were tired of it by the time I was born. As an adult, I’ve been making up for lost time, eating zucchini in as many forms as possible: steamed, sautéed, as pancakes, in bread and muffins, even in cake, and, in this week’s recipe, in soup.

Although I generally think of soup as a winter food, this recipe tastes like summer, full of zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and basil. However, as long as you can find decent fresh zucchini and basil in the grocery store, you can prepare this soup year round. In fact, it would be a perfect summery pick-me-up in the middle of a dreary winter.

ZUCCHINI AND CORN SOUP

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into ½-inch slices
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
1 15.25-ounce can corn kernels, drained, or 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
4 cups vegetable broth
½ cup finely chopped fresh basil
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, or 1½ tablespoons dried parsley

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add shallot, and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic, zucchini, salt, and pepper. Raise heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, corn, broth, basil, and parsley. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately with crackers or bread.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 177 calories, 8 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1180 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 8 g sugars, 4 g protein.

VEGETARIAN BAKED BEANS (PLUS REVIEWS OF VEGETARIAN HOT DOGS)

July is both National Hot Dog Month and National Baked Bean Month, presumably because both are consumed in large quantities on the fourth. These designations for July may make the month seem unfriendly to vegetarians, but this does not have to be the case.

To begin, there are many vegetarian, even vegan, versions of hot dogs, generally made from soy. My personal favorite, pictured below, is Loma Linda Big Franks. They have the best flavor and texture, in my opinion, and they are vegan, but they are difficult to find in stores. They aren’t sold anywhere in my town, although while researching for this post, I discovered that they are available, at competitive prices, at amazon.com and sagegrocery.com.

However, since I couldn’t find Big Franks in my local stores, I decided to test three of the vegetarian dogs that were sold locally. Out of these I found two to be decent options, although neither replaces Big Franks as my favorite. The Yves Meatless Hot Dog, my least favorite, lacked flavor, other than a rather strong smoke flavor, but it had a decent, though slightly dry, texture, and it is vegan. The LightLife Smart Dogs possess probably the best balance of healthfulness and taste. They are vegan and made with non-gmo soy. They have good flavor that my husband (who is a flexitarian) thought tasted similar to beef hot dogs, and the texture is almost as good as my beloved Big Franks, though I found them to be just slightly rubbery (but I’m very picky about food textures). Finally, I tested Morningstar Farms America’s Original Veggie Dogs, the only non-vegan version, which also epitomizes the problems with many traditional meat substitutes: I found the flavor and texture to be almost as good as Big Franks, but, unfortunately, the Morningstar Farms dogs are typical processed junk, including corn syrup and other less-than-healthy ingredients.

As for baked beans, vegetarian versions can be just as tasty, and more healthful, than traditional versions with pork or bacon. And a homemade from-scratch version is tastier than the Bush’s Best Vegetarian Baked Beans from a can. Serve them with a vegetarian hot dog, and enjoy July!

VEGETARIAN BAKED BEANS

1 pound dry navy beans or great northern beans
1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
½ cup brown sugar
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Rinse beans. In a large pot, combine beans and 8 cups water. Cover and let soak overnight.
2. Drain and rinse beans. Return beans to pot. Add 8 cups fresh water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30-60 minutes or just until tender, stirring occasionally. Drain beans, reserving liquid.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, combine beans, 1½ cups reserved bean liquid, and remaining ingredients. Transfer to a 2½-quart casserole dish and cover dish with aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 2½ hours, stirring occasionally. If necessary, add additional reserved bean liquid.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 230 calories, 3 g total fat, 0 g cholesterol, 265 mg sodium, 70 g carbohydrates, 15 g fiber, 10 g sugars, 9 g protein.

TOMATO AND FOUR HERBS PASTA SAUCE

My basil plant that was a bit spindly a couple weeks ago has become so full and lush that it is nearly a basil bush, so I decided I had better start using more of the leaves. My favorite way to use fresh basil is in pasta sauce.

I grew up eating spaghetti about once a week with Prego sauce, and I still enjoy Prego Organic Tomato and Basil Italian Sauce, but making my own sauce is definitely superior. Since I use canned tomatoes, it doesn’t take much longer to make my own than to heat up a jar of Prego. This sauce is very flavorful, thanks to the blending of four herbs. My favorite herb, basil, is the dominant note, but the other herbs give the sauce balance and additional flavor. I like to complete a pasta meal with garlic bread and a green salad or a steamed vegetable (broccoli is my favorite).

TOMATO AND FOUR HERBS PASTA SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
¼ cup minced fresh parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried parsley, crushed
½ cup minced fresh basil*

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic, and cook until garlic is golden.
2. Add tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, parsley, and basil. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens a bit and comes together, 15-20 minutes. Serve with 12 ounces of any pasta, cooked, and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 81 calories, 5 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 355 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 5 g sugars, 2 g protein.

*I don't recommend substituting dried basil.

ROTINI AND BLACK BEAN SALAD

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my scale. I waited far too long to purchase one. A basic non-electric model, it weighs up to 6.5 pounds and is more than adequate for my purposes. I use it regularly for weighing smaller quantities of produce bought in bulk for use in recipes, and it’s great for dividing a batch of bread dough into equal proportions to make even loaves.

The scale also works well for weighing the 8 ounces of tri-color rotini—which generally is sold in a 12-ounce box—needed for the following recipe. This is my husband’s favorite pasta salad, and it’s easy, healthful, and filling—thanks to the combination of pasta and beans. It’s perfect for summer meals, especially picnics.

ROTINI AND BLACK BEAN SALAD

8 ounces tri-color rotini
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8¾-ounce can corn, drained
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
1 ripe avocado
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ pint grape tomatoes, halved

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, or 2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook rotini according to package directions until al dente. While rotini cooks, combine all dressing ingredients and mix well. Set aside. Drain rotini and rinse briefly under cold water. Drain completely.
2. Place rotini in a large bowl. Add beans, corn, and green onions. Toss gently. Pour dressing over rotini mixture and toss again, gently but thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
3. Just before serving, peel and chop avocado and toss with lemon juice. Add avocado and grape tomatoes to salad. Toss and serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition facts per serving: 505 calories, 15 g total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium, 50 g total carbohydrates, 8 g fiber, 4 g sugars, 11 g protein.