Quick Asian Pickles

I am so glad to be done with termites…for now anyway.  We have had these crazy creatures in our house bugging us since we first saw their first “kick-outs” right after we moved in to our house 2 1/2 years ago.  You see, our house was supposed to be tented before we moved in but while I was giving birth to #3 that wasn’t really taken care of for me by my realtor.  Bummer to move in and find that out later but I’m over it now that everything is finished.  We had to move out anything that might possibly enter your mouth (I even packed up my play-dough) and all of our plants.  If you’ve seen my pantry, you know it was a lot to move.  A big thank you to my parents for housing it all in their guest room.  Thanks, Mom and Dad :).

This week I was recovering from a Sat/Sun migraine and the kids really wanted to make something so I opted for a surprisingly quick, quick pickle.  We had 2 pickling cucumbers and 1 lemon cucumber we picked from our backyard local Red Farm.  I knew it was enough for a jar so off we went.

 I’ve been staring at this “Asian quick pickle” recipe for a while.  I don’t know if any of the Asians make this kind of pickle but I’ve had similarly marinated Japanese cucumbers on my travels to the land of the rising sun.

Mix together all of the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved…minus the pickles, of course :)

Grab your cucumbers.  Cut off the ends, peel, and take the seeds out.

^—  They will look like this. Put the onions on the bottom of a jar (any jar because it’s not going into boiling water).  Then, have the kids stuff the cucumbers in a jar.

Pour the liquid and put in the fridge.  Enjoy almost immediately, but i think they were best the next day.

I let the kids snack on the leftover skins and seeds, then took them to my husbands office where he fangoriously devoured them all.

Asian Quick Pickles

(adapted from “Put ‘Em Up!“)

1 c. seasoned rice wine vinegar

2 T. low sodium soy sauce

2 T. sesame oil

2 T. raw sugar

a pinch or red pepper flakes

3 pickling cucumbers

1/2 a red onion or 1 large shallot

Here’s a lovely photo of my man and I whilst engaged, in Japan.  I love that country, the people, and the honor that abides there.

Canning