Quick Garden Pickles for War

Last week, our family joined our SCA kingdom in a war against our neighboring kingdom.  Fighters took to the field in their heavy armor beneath the summer sun and fought for their homeland and glory.  And when it was over, we were there with water and pickles! 

Pickles (the vinegar pickle juice in particular) has been found to be very beneficial to athletes and those who work in hot environments.  Not only do they provided needed electrolytes to better utilize the water you drink, they also can reduce muscle cramps!  While cucumber pickles are lovely, it was fun to switch it up with this fun giardiniera, or garden veggie pickles.

Passing out pickled veggies on the battlefield sidelines between scenarios

While you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, I chose carrots, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and cauliflower.  The bell peppers were probably in the highest demand, but they all seemed to disappear rather quickly!

Ingredients for 1 gallon:

~6 large carrots, sliced 1/4” or less

~1 head of cauliflower

~3 bell peppers, sliced in 1/4” strips

~1-2 onions, sliced in 1/8” strips

~5 cloves of garlic sliced thin

Brine:

~2 c. Apple cider vinegar 

~4 -5 c. water

~4 tsp. Salt

~4 tsp. Sugar

~1/4 c. Pickling spices  (the one I use contains coriander, cinnamon bark, mustard seed, ginger, fenugreek, bay leaves, dill seed, red peppers, cloves, fennel seeds, black pepper, and allspice.)

Bring brine ingredients to a boil in pot on stovetop.  Fill four quart jars evenly with veggies.  Once brine has boiled and allowed to cool slightly, pour evenly over veggies, ensuring all are covered with the liquid.  You may add more vinegar or water as needed. Make sure all spices make it into the jars as they like to stick to the pot.  Cover and allow to cool at room temperature overnight, then place lids and refrigerate for up to 4 weeks.  

Also good on the feast table

For more reading on the benefits of pickles, see this article from Cleveland Clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/6-health-benefits-of-drinking-pickle-juice

Tvare (Fir Whisk)

    Have you been following the findings in Lendbreen as the glacier is melting?  You can read up on it on the "Secrets of the Ice" website A little bittersweet, but archaeologists have been discovering all kinds of artifacts that are incredibly well preserved because they've stayed frozen for so long.  Most have to do with caribou hunting camps, but one find has really jumped out at me.  The archaeologist have determined that it was the remains of a Tvare, a Scandinavian whisk!  And the process is so elegantly simple!  The Saxon Forager also has a great video about these Here.

STEP ONE: Find a nice evergreen tree whose branches come out in an even whorl.  If you're going to be using it for food, make sure it's not a yew or other toxic wood.  A fun option is to use the top of your Christmas tree when you're done with it or need to trim the top!

STEP TWO: Cut the length you want your utensil to be below the whorl.

STEP THREE: Remove the needles and save for tea.  Trim center trunk/handle as desired.  You really have two options here.  Choose the side of the whorl that will make the right diameter handle for you: not too spindly and not too thick.

STEP FOUR: strip all bark.  I started to do this with a knife, but found it came off easier just peeling it by hand.  It was a little sticky, but smelled AMAZING!  I also whittled down the end I wanted to be flatter under the whorl of branches.

STEP FIVE: Drawing up the tines to the handle and pushing out a little bit to get them to the right angles, I held and wrapped with wire and allowed to dry completely for a week or two.  

I made a second Tvare out of the next whorl down on the tree, using the section of trunk above the branches for the handle as an especially large whisk with short, unbound tines for my big cauldron.  

It worked great!  I can't wait to make more of these in the future!  Maybe even make it a New Years tradition to make one from the top of our Christmas tree.