Bumblebee Blog

August 20th, 2013

Solo lunches can be such delicious affairs. You can eat leftovers. (One of my all-time favorite foods.) You can eat standing at the frig. (Not recommended.) Or you can build a gourmet sandwich from fixins’ and condiments you have on-hand, such as these pretty and pink pickled red onions.

The fact is, some of my favorite type of restaurant menus to peruse are from sandwich joints. It’s amazing the wild and wonderful things humble sandwich restaurants can come up with—usually for less than $10.

Years ago, one of my favorite lunchtime breaks from work was at a restaurant that packed a pita with cheddar cheese, black and green olives. That’s it. Four ingredients. But it was packed full and then fired in the wood oven and served with a simple vinaigrette. Thinking back on it, it’s a good thing my metabolism was firing high in those days because that sandwich probably had about 1,500 calories—before the french fries on the side!

These days I like to keep specialty condiments in the frig for days when I have homemade bread and can justify the calories. Favorite ingredients include pickles of all types, avocados, hummus or other bean dip, arugula and anything cheese.

In my opinion, a food gets extra points if it’s pretty, so I wanted pretty pickled onions for my condiment selection. These onions fit the bill and make a perfect addition to the toasted Swiss, avocado and arugula sandwich I’m craving a lot these days. Total time is about an hour once you have assembled all your supplies and ingredients. You’ll take away about seven or eight little half-pint jars. You can give some as gifts or just hoard them all for yourself and those sandwich days.

Pickled Red Onions

In my opinion, a food gets extra points if it's pretty, so I wanted pretty pickled onions for my condiment selection. These onions fit the bill and make a perfect addition to the toasted Swiss, avocado and arugula sandwich I'm craving a lot these days. Total time is about an hour once you have assembled all your supplies and ingredients. You'll take away about seven or eight little half-pint jars. You can give some as gifts or just hoard them all for yourself and those sandwich days.

CourseCanning and Preserving, Condiments

Pickled Red Onions

CourseCanning and Preserving, Condiments

Ingredients

3 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons pickling salt
4 pounds red onions thinly sliced
2 teaspoons whole allspice
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
8 sprigs thyme

Servings:

Units:

Instructions

Sterilize 7 to 8 half-pint canning jars and lids in a water bath canner. While jars process, slice onions.
Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a dutch oven. Bring to a boil and summer until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add sliced onion to the vinegar mixture and reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Do not let the onions get soft.
Remove jars from water bath. Place 1/4 teaspoon allspice berries, 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, one bay leaf and one sprig of thyme into each jar. Transfer onions to each jar and top with the hot vinegar liquid, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Finger tighten lids on the jars to seal and process jars in the water bath canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let stand, undisturbed, at room temperature for 24 hours.
Check the jars. Properly sealed jars will make a POP sound as they cool and/or the metal lid will be slightly concave. If you can press the lid and make a popping sound, the jar is not sealed. Store unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use right away. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place and use within one year.

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Bzzzz August 14th, 2013

As I was browsing around over on Pinterest this morning, I was impressed with some of the solutions gardeners found to common gardening problems—organizing garden tools and supplies, protecting and supporting plants, labeling plants, nurturing and decorating. I have also seen some fabulous, clever and cheap garden solutions from garden tours in recent years, so I thought I would pull them out of the archives and share.

I have noticed that gardeners are quite thrifty in utilizing and repurposing available materials. Twigs, sticks and vines can be used to support plants, as trellises and even just for decor.

Sticks and vines clustered and tied to a center bamboo stake make a decorative and functional plant support

A series of larger sticks can be pushed into the ground for peas, sweetpeas and other plants that could use a bit of extra support. One year we used branches from mimosa trees that had blown down in a storm to create a cucumber trellis.

Sticks can also be pushed into the ground to create vertical supports for peas, sweetpeas and other plants that need support.

Tree branches salvaged after a storm were used in our garden to create a rustic cucumber trellis.

If you need to block off a path or area to discourage foot traffic, a collection of salvaged branches can do the trick.

Salvaged branches assembled to block a pathway

Unusual materials can also be repurposed in the garden for many purposes. I have often seen marine-grade rope draped to create attractive supports for trailing roses and vines.

Marine-grade rope can be used to support trailing roses and vines.

How about repurposing sandbags? They can be used to create temporary walls, garden seating or raised beds.

Sandbags can be used to create temporary and movable raised beds.

Tree stumps can be unsightly and expensive to remove. If it’s large enough, a tree stump can be repurposed as a novelty garden seat, table or planter pedestal.

A tree stump doesn’t have to be an unsightly eyesore in the garden. Re-imagine it as a garden chair!

Pickled Red Onions

Clever and Cheap Garden Solutions and Ideas