Saturday, July 3, 2010

Sweet Pickles In 15 Minutes...Just in Time For The 4th of July.

     It's been busy here in Sonoma getting ready for our  annual 4th of July barbecue. In planning our menu this year, we decided to go for the traditional American organic beef burgers with all the fixings, two kinds of coleslaw, James Beards' sour cream slaw,  a tart Indian cabbage dish, an Indian style potato salad, mixed wild greens salad, and for dessert shortcakes.
    So this afternoon it was check and double check as I went over my supplies for the big day. Every summer I pickle everything I can get my mitts on from cucumbers to cherries, but in going through my larder, I noticed that I was running low on sweet pickles. The little cucumbers that I like to use for this recipe have been scarce around here as we had a late spring, and only now have gotten into really warm weather. But I found them today at the little Greek guys' place down the road. I quickly snapped them up and set out to make my 15 minute sweet pickles.
    I first ran across these fast pickles trolling the internet looking for what else..fast pickles. They're attributed to someone named Linda and that's all I know about the origins. I made a few adjustments to my taste and they've become a favorite at our house. This recipe uses something that I rarely use in my kitchen and that's the microwave. The cooking time is only about 7 or 8 minutes so counting prep, this is truly a 15 minute pickle.


Microwave Sweet Pickles



     Here's how you do it.
       Gather some small cucumbers. Wash them and slice them in medium sized rounds. You don't want them too thin or too thick.
       Place them in a microwave safe bowl along with
       1 cup of white distilled vinegar
       1/2 cup of white sugar
       1/2 tsp of celery seed
        1/2 tsp of turmeric
        1 tsp of brown mustard seed
       2 tsp of kosher salt
       1 thinly sliced onion
  Put it in the microwave, set it on high.
 Cook it for 4 minutes, then give it a stir.
   Cook it for another 3 minutes.
Place the pickles in sterile jars, seal them and bob's your uncle! You've got sweet pickles in 15 minutes!
If you don't have canning jars, no problem. Just place the pickles in any clean container and put them in the fridge to chill. You'll never buy store bought pickles again!
  Happy 4th of July to everybody, and good eating this weekend!

18 comments :

  1. you make them look so easy...I love the ingredients in here...amazing results in 15 minutes your incredible!

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  2. Pickled vegetables are so easy but yummy. Just made some last weekend too.

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  3. Neat trick! I always thought that pickling took weeks or months... I want to try this, sounds line a lot of fun!

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  4. I do love mine too. The adding of onion is a great idea.

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  5. Only 15 minutes, I would try that! I've never had homemade pickles. You are in Sonoma, my daughter is leaving for Sonoma State in Aug. I will be up in your area quite a bit!

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  6. That is a genius thing you've got going there!

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  7. @Gina,
    let's get together for coffee in town sometime. I live in Sonoma.Sonoma State is out in Rhonert Park

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  8. Lovely looking pickles. Never tasted sweet looking ones. I have to say, I have a penchant for real spicy ones to eat with Yogurt rice.

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  9. That is so neat! I'll have to remember this recipe when I need a quick fix pickle. Looks really good too!

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  10. Wow...that's fast! I love pickles with spices in it. We always eat it with prawn or fish crackers....very delicious.

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  11. I just posted a recipe for refrigerator Radish Pickles. Other than heating the vinegar with sugar and spices there is no cooking at all.

    I hope you take a look http://www.carolegbert.com/radish-refrigerator-pickles.

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  12. This is so easy! I never would have thought of using the microwave for pickles but it's genius and of course.. there's nothing better than home made pickles!

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  13. oh these are perfect for summer, we love anything pickled

    sweetlife

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  14. Thanks Kathy for visiting my site. You have a great and some delicious recipes out here. Following you to keep in touch. Best wishes, take care.

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  15. Yummy recipe! I make dill pickles every year but the long hard way, yours sound great. Thanks to you and Linda :)

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  16. It does not say how many cukes to use?

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  17. @Anon,
    whoops! Sorry to have left that out! Yikes! I usually cut the cukes and fit them into the jars first to see how many I need. Then sterelize the jars. It really depends on the size of the cukes you've got. I often have to make a second batch of the brine to fill the jars

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  18. I was a bit skeptical at first about this recipe because of the whole microwave thing, but I just made a batch of these and they are so good!!! And they are not even cold yet (couldn't resist a taste)! Thank you! Awesome recipe!!!

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