Wow.
So excited about this.
We live in Costa Rica now and own and operate a boutique hotel in Ojochal (Southern Pacific Zone) near the beaches and the mountains. Check it out here
It’s an amazing part of the world.
And you can get just about anything you want and need (and the restaurants are AMAZING! With vegan options at every single one).
But sometimes we can struggle to find ingredients we were used to in our prior life in Florida. Like spices. There aren’t 75 different spices available here. And we are finding out that that’s okay.
For instance – this modified recipe for DILL PICKLES is absolutely amazing. And tweaked to use simple, local ingredients found anywhere.
What You Need
1 1/2 pounds cucumbers. Medium to small are better. Don’t have to have Kirby or other special ones.
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and diced or smashed
2 tablespoons finely diced fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
You can make these pickles so that they’re shelf stable for up to a year, but the way we’re making them they’re good in the refrigerator for up to several weeks. Not likely they’ll make it that long because they’re so good.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Glass jar, never plastic. Can use old Veganaise jar – as an example. Wash it out thoroughly.
Cutting board, knives, etc.
Put the apple cider vinegar and water and salt in a small to medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. While it’s heating, prepare the dill, garlic, and get out the red pepper flakes. Slice the cucumbers by cutting in half first, then cutting each half in three to make spears (you can also to chips / coins or half spears or whatever you prefer). Make sure that you cut off the stem top and the bottom first – it can affect the flavor and the pickling. Don’t want that.
Put the garlic, dill, and pepper flakes in the bottom of the 1-2 jars you’re working with today. Pack the pickles in the jar, pretty tightly, but no so tight you can’t fit any liquid.
After your liquid is rolling… turn it off and wait for just a minute or two. Then pour it in the jar or jars as you’ve prepared them.
Put the lid on …
And this is the hardest part. Wait for 2 days to eat them.
OMG so good. So wonderful. Better than store bought and so easy.
Look for more posts coming soon. And ask us about our vegan Costa Rica adventures… where you can eat out every day (or stay in and cook!) while staying at our budget-Luxury eco lodge. Check it out at www.elmonofeliz.com
PEACE!
BE KIND!
(BTW – no pics yet because… well… we ate them. More soon!)