Back!

Finally back in DC, and I started the new job today, so things have been a bit hectic. Laos and Vietnam were both excellent. I was happy to find that some of my favorite fruits were in season, including dragonfruit and rambutans. I love the tropics!

Yummy dragonfruit! If you haven't had a dragonfruit before, the flavor isn't terribly strong, but they're refreshing and vaguely similar to a kiwi in texture and taste. They're one of my favorites just because they're so visually striking, with the dramatic red exterior and the white(or sometimes pink) interior.

I'm a little overwhelmed now by the current state of my garden though. The morning glory that I battle regularly has taken over and needs to be cut back from a lot of my plants. I have loads to harvest anyway, including loads of tomatoes and eggplant. I need to get started on my garlic planting now too!

Laos!

This month will end up being a quiet one on the blog posting front, largely because I'm in Laos right now! I have a new job starting at the end of the month, so I decided to take off on vacation to visit a friend in Southeast Asia for a couple weeks beforehand. Hopefully, my garden is faring well in my absence!

In the meantime, I'll be enjoying some lovely tropical fruits (rambutans and longans and dragonfruits, oh my!).

Quick pickles

I went to the store last night to pick up my non-iodized salt for pickling some peppers, and, sadly, I forgot to pick up the rubber gloves necessary to make chopping massive quantities of jalapenos tolerable. In the mood for pickling anyway, I mixed up a quick batch of refrigerator pickles using a recipe my mom sent me a couple years ago.



I had a few cucumbers that needed to be used, and I've tried this recipe before, so I can attest to its deliciousness. Mom says she found the recipe in an issue of Navy Family (?) a few years back. Here you go:

GRANDMA’S QUICK DILL REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

3 large cucumbers, unpeeled

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½ in. strips

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 T. salt

1 T. dill seed

¾ cup sugar

½ cup white wine vinegar

Cut cucumbers crosswise into 1/4 in. thick slices.

In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, bell pepper and onions. Add salt and dill seed; stir well. Let stand, uncovered for 1 to 2 hours; stir occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and vinegar; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the vegetables and mix gently. Spoon into large glass or ceramic containers. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 day or up to 3 weeks. Drain before serving. Makes 8 cups.

No fancy canning equipment required!

So. Many. Peppers.

While other people are struggling with their late summer zucchini bounty, I've got peppers everywhere. So many peppers. Hot peppers, sweet peppers, red and green and even a purple one. I've already managed to fill a couple of quart bags of them to freeze:



I've been desperately trying to find some pickling salt, because I'd really like to try pickling some of these, especially the hot peppers. I've had no luck so far, so I might just try to pick up some non-iodized salt from Giant this evening to use instead. I'm also going to be picking up some rubber gloves, because I know those jalapenos can burn!

Anyone else doing anything interesting with a pepper bounty?