Friday, January 27, 2012

Pickled Cucumbers + Lunch Bowl

I don't know when my appreciation for pickled foods started. But I must say I'm hooked! You can actually make pickles in just one day using a brine of apple cider vinegar, water and spices. This recipe is based off of In the Raw's Icebox Pickles, I so appreciate the use of apple cider instead of regular vinegar! yay :)

Funny "pickle fact" about our family: My sisters and I went to drama camp when we were kids. As an activity the camp stood around in a circle and said tongue twisters. Our little sister, Brooke had one in mind and wanted to share it with everyone, it was: Mr. Pickle went into a Pickle, with his friend Pickle. Haha It didn't make any sense! Priceless moment...

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Pickled Cucumbers:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Chili flakes (for heat)
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp dill leaves

Combine ingredients for brine in a small jar, add thinly sliced cucumbers. Let sit overnight in fridge, and That's it, pickles! You can even reuse the brine, store it in the fridge and keep putting pickles into it.

Now for the bowl. I love making these bowls because it means I will have a good lunch for the few days :). Everything can be prepared ahead of time and just stored in the fridge until ready to eat. I topped it with kasha (toasted buckwheat) which gave it a nice surprise of crunch! Drizzle with olive oil and you're good to go!

pickled cucumbers, quinoa, red pepper, kale salad, mushroom/onion sautee, lentils, topped with kasha and olive oil

bowly bowly bowly bowl


Simple Wilted Kale Salad:
1 head kale
Salt, to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
Pepper, to taste

De-stem kale and slice into bite size pieces. Add rest of ingredients and massage until broken down.

Mushroom/Onion Sautee:
7-8 mushrooms, sliced
1/3 onion, sliced
salt, pepper
1 clove garlic
oil, for frying

Fry onions in oil for 2-3 minutes, add rest of ingredients, cook until mushrooms and onions are tender.

We made a bowl like this before for our Sketch-Free Student Eating series a while back too. Check it out!

We submitted this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend this week.


6 comments:

  1. wow..wonderful presentation of flavors...looks superbbb & inviting..
    just found your space..awesome space you hve..
    excellent posts with stunning cliks..
    Am your happy follower now..;)
    do stop by mine sometime..
    Tasty Appetite

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    1. just checked out your blog! great recipes! and photos! Thanks for following us :)

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  2. I totally made pickles for the first time this Summer and LOVED them! This recipe is a bit fancier though, I'll probably have to add it to the list :)

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  3. This looks delicious--I can't wait to try it! I really love any kind of bowls like that with lots of fresh vegetables. I, however, am not a huge fan of pickles. Do you find that using the apple cider vinegar in the picking process eliminates some of the bitter taste that pickles usually have? Thanks for your input!

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    Replies
    1. these pickles were moreso sour than bitter, you could add some natural sugar to subside the bitter taste :)

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