Del-icious!

A few more recipes with my veg

1. Dill pickles

I can't say I'm a huge fan of gherkins. I thought I was, once feeling very cosmopolitan at an upper east side real, authentic New York deli, where my gargantuan club sandwich was served with the obligatory pickle on the side. Was I supposed to eat it separately or cut it up and put it in the sandwich, a la MacDonald's? Whatever the usual etiquette is, one bite was all I took, not finding the combination particularly appealing.

Where these mini cucumbers really shine for me is in the burger, (a la MacDonald's - you have to give them this, it works well and I know they are not the pioneers of this idea). Something crunchy, tart and slightly sweet works really well with the savoury, meaty burger, sweet and sour tomato sauce and cheesy...cheese. So, when I saw them for 49c a lb at the farm shop, I snapped up 4 along with a bunch of dill. Maybe my own will taste even better....

4 gherkins, sliced into 4 lengths each.

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

4 tbsp salt

1 tsp sugar

bunch of dill

4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half

1. Put the gherkin pieces into a clean, sterilised jar. (I recycle glass jars and put them through the dishwasher to sterilise).

2. Add the dill and garlic to the jar and push down.

3. Heat all remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar and salt dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. Pour the liquid over the pickles and put the lid on. Allow to cool before putting in the fridge.

They should be ready to eat in about a week.
This recipe is purely experimental, devised from many different pickling recipes, so it might not be quite what is expected!

2. Minestrone

The mother of all soups. Minestrone is perfect for clearing out the fridge. Use whatever you have available. Usually, some sort of pasta is added, which I can't eat right now! This is by no means authentic, so don't get upset 'cause it's not like your mum's or Nonna's!

2 pieces home-made bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 chili peppers, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 bay leaf

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cauliflower, broken into small florets

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup vermouth

1 tsp salt

black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1. Fry the bacon in a dry pan until crisp.

2. Add some butter to the pan, (about 1 tsp) and add the onion, garlic, chili peppers, yellow pepper, carrots and bay leaf and saute over low heat until soft.

3. Add the tomato, vermouth, stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

4. Add the cauliflower, lower the heat to medium and cover. Allow to cook for about 20 mins.

5. Adjust seasoning to your taste and serve, garnishing with paprika.

If you are not on a low carb diet, you could add:

1. A handful of pasta for the last 5-8 mins of cooking. (Until al dente, not too soft).

2. Some cannelloni or haricot or fava beans. (Empty a small tin in at the end)

3. Serve with croutons or crusty bread.

Parmesan cheese is always a good garnish. (For anything really)

3. Bacon

My homemade bacon finished its curing and was ceremoniously sliced into thin rashers by my husband. It was slightly too salty as the good Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall warned and would probably have been better with a little more sugar to achieve that 'bacon' flavour and less time in the cure. But, overall, I felt pretty good about my resourcefulness and frugality!