Pickles again

I've had a few people asking me for the icebox pickle recipe I mentioned a while back so thought I'd post it here. It is so simple, and I'm sure the same as a million other recipes out there.

Annette's Ice Box Pickles

1 c sugar
1 c vinegar
1/2 c water

Boil together until sugar is dissolved. Pour over sliced cucumbers. The amount of liquid in this recipe was just enough for me to make 2 pint jars of pickles. You can eat them as soon as you want, but they will be better after a few days.

And that's pretty much it, folks!

Now, a couple notes from me:

I like to add celery seed, but it's optional. The same with onion sliced into thin rings. I think it adds a nice flavor. But please do not add red/purple onions, unless you want pink pickles. My husband and I could hardly choke those down a couple years ago. Our brains were up there saying "Sure, it's FINE" but our eyes were saying "Uh, I don't think so!"

Long live family tradition

My family's Independence Day tradition goes back quite a few years. Thirty-four to be exact. My father's aunt and uncle started having a potluck dinner and fireworks on that day. They had 9 children, so the family has grown quite large through the years as you can imagine. Add to that many friends of the family, and you have quite a large gathering.

My great-aunt and uncle passed away a few years ago, but the gathering simply moved across the street to my cousin's house, and for the most part has continued on in the same fashion. Something new that was added a few years back was a family tree shirt. I'm proud to say that my family has a branch on that tree. This years shirt was dedicated "In memory of Bobby." Bobby is my father, who passed away in March. I think he loved this holiday best of all, because it was filled with his favorite things--family, good home-cooking, and lots and lots of laughing and talking.




J wearing this years shirt.

J playing in the sand, around what I think is a horseshoe stake. I believe he was building castles.

J and his daddy climbing a tree.

J, with a bad case of cupcake-face and sunblock/bugspray/sweaty little boy hair, and a juice box courtesy of his Nana.




J and his daddy, with a really big sparkler.

Hey look, I snuck a picture of my husband in amongst all the pics of J. My wonderful husband had to work all day, then drove over to the next county, out into the boonies with little cell phone reception. (Important because he was on call at the hospital.) All just to spend a couple hours with my family, because he knows how much it means to me!

One of the more tame pieces that we did early on. This one was great, by the way. The name had the word popcorn in it, and it went on and on.

J and his uncle, Mr. GreenVeggie.

The boy is crazy over watermelon.

An ordinary man

The man pictured above is Randy, my cousin's husband. Randy passed away Monday, July 19th. It was sudden and unexpected. He came in from his shop, where he was working on a child's wheelchair, drank half a glass of water, and then died, with his wife by his side.

Every one is special in their own way, and everyone's life is extradordinary. But what was so special about Randy is that he was an ordinary man, in spite of the fact that he was dealt an extraordinary life.

Randy had a disease known as Polyostotic Fibrous Dysplasia. His bones were extremely fragile and he suffered from multiple fractures throughout his life. In spite of this disease, and the fact that he used crutches, and eventually a wheelchair, he led a completely normal life. He held down jobs, he married, had a healthy child, and did all the things he loved, such as gardening, camping, traveling, and riding a 4-wheeler. His heart was bigger than his stature, and he had the greatest wit.

Yesterday, the funeral home was completely packed. Every pew was full, people stood in the back, and rows of seats were added in another room for overflow. This man was beloved by family, friends, and his church family, that much was obvious.

For me, the biggest impact Randy made on my life was this: I learned, at a very young age, not to judge people by what you see on the outside, but by what you know is on the inside. And he showed me that obstacles only get in the way when you let them.

We'll miss you Randy, me and the rest of the "Outlaws."

Monday lunch

This was what I sent off in my husband's lunchbag today.

-A banana that is almost past its prime
-Ranier cherries
-Pasta sauce
-Pasta with lentil-rice balls
-Salad, comprised of raw vegges--kale, green bell pepper, squash, zucchini--and walnuts.
-Chipotle Parm. cheeze (not seen)
-A Mason jar of water (doesn't spill in his lunchbag) (not seen)
-Bottled organic tea (he's working his way through them, then not buying more) (not seen)
-Fork, spoon, and cloth napkin (not seen)

Today was his first day back at work after 2 weeks vacation! Note to hubby: Hope the cute cartoon I included made you chuckle, honey!

Cleaning out the fridge

Yesterday I decided it was time to use up the odds and ends from the fridge!

First on the agenda was using up some zucchini from our garden. They became giganto-zucchini while we were at Vegetarian Summerfest. And so I decided to make my first ever zucchni bread, and use a recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. First up was grating the zucchini.

Next up was wondering why Max was standing beside me the whole time while I was grating. So I decided to give him a taste and see if he liked it. This was actually his *second* nibble. Just plain ol' zucchini, folks, and he loves it! (And yes I scrubbed my hands after this shot! lol)

And here is the finished product. The first time I make a new recipe, I like to exactly follow the directions, unless I am veganizing it of course. So I used the entire amount of sugar and oil that was called for, which was a lot. Each time I make the bread in the future I will reduce both of those, until I reach the minimum 'goodness threshold' as I like to call it.

I had both leftover lentils and a frozen bag of brown rice, so decided to make Lentil-Rice Balls, from Vegan Lunchbox. I made over 100, and froze the great majority. Granted, they look a little dried out in this picture. That is my usual experience with them, actually. But the great thing is you don't eat them by themselves, but as a replacement for meatballs in spaghetti or on a sub with marinara, so if they are a little dried-out, you don't notice.

My mother brought over 2 cucumbers that her neighbor grew in his garden. I used

my cousin Annette's icebox pickle recipe to whip up these tasty treats.





I had 6 ears of peaches and cream corn that I boiled up. Oh my goodness! So yummy, and needs no salt or butter, just shuck and silk, boil for 30 minutes or so, and chow down!

So all total I've got 2 loaves of zucchini bread, 6 ears of corn, 100+ lentil-rice balls in the freezer, along with a bag of frozen grated zucchini.

Berries

Here is the main portion of our raspberry crop for the year, with a few early blackberries thrown in. Our raspberry bush keeps growing each year, sending up new canes all over the bed. Hopefully each year we will have more and more of these beautiful berries!

Ice cream

We made homemade ice cream one night with J. I found a Cuisinart ice cream maker at a yard sale for $10 a couple of months ago--a real steal! I think it might have been used once before, and all the paperwork was with it.






I used the chocolate ice cream recipe from "Vice Cream." I love that there is no soy or rice milk in this recipe, and that cashews are used.

J decided he would like to help.

And the verdict?

J thought his vegan ice cream, in his 'natural' ice cream cone, was yummy! He didn't miss the dairy one bit!