I was on a mission. I had gone to 3 different grocery stores in search of ONE RIPE AVOCADO. All I could find were rock hard ones. I needed one for TONIGHT. I was starting to get hangry and made one last attempt at my least favorite grocery store chain ACME. Wouldn’t you know they had a plethora of soft avocados. If I had stopped there first I know that they wouldn’t have any worth eating but since I was on a wild goose chase they were able to meet my needs in an attempt to lure me into being a frequent customer. I doubt that will ever happen. Before I made it to the back of the produce section with the avocados I was walking past the weekly sales and goodies that were featured that week and saw something amazing. The BIGGEST Cauliflower I had ever seen in my life. Seriously the size of volleyballs. AND THEY WERE ON SALE!!!. 2 of these massive heads for $5.00. Unreal! All I could think to myself was “I could make so much pickled cauliflower with these puppies”.  After a week of crazy canning a few weeks ago I thought I was done for the season but when I stumbled upon these beauties I knew that canning pot was calling my name. I am going to need to start stashing all my pickles underneath beds, in the back of my closet, in the linen closet.  There is probably a reason why these veggies were so huge. Most likely GMO or something unnatural but I am going to look past that temporarily, still tastes like a cauliflower to me.  From these 2 massive heads of cauliflower I was able to make 9 jars of Spicy Pickled Cauliflower, Mom’s Cauliflower Salad and a Giardiniera.

Mom started my addiction to pickled cauliflower last summer when she made a batch and shared a few jars with me. It’s yet another great recipe from Marisa McClellan from the blog Food in Jars. She does a great Youtube video in her kitchen and describes how easy it is to make these pickles. They are lemony/spicy/full of garlic and vinegary. I had 6 jars in my pantry and knew I needed more due to the fact I eat an entire jar in one sitting. Good thing Nate hates cauliflower and doesn’t really care for pickled things. YESSSS!!!!

Spicy Pickled Cauliflower

Makes 3-pint jars

From Marissa McClellan

1 ½ C Vinegar

1 ½ C. Water

2 Tbsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Cayenne

Bring this brine to a boil.

In hot jars pop in a slice of lemon and stuff jar with raw cauliflower. Really push it down/cram it in. Add the following to each jar:

½ tsp. Peppercorns

½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

½ tsp. Mustard Seeds

1 Clove Garlic (I smash it a bit)

Add hot brine to jars and top with a slice of lemon. Process jar in hot water bath for 5 minutes.



After making 9 jars of pickles I decided to make another one of my favorite recipes from Mom. It’s a garlicky cauliflower salad. It’s salty with a lot of garlic and lemon juice with briny capers and green olives. MMmmmm!

Mom’s Cauliflower Salad

1½ lbs. Cauliflower cut up into florets

1 C. Green Olves

Capers to taste

1 Clove Garlic minced

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

½ C. EVOO

½ tsp. Salt & Pepper

1.     Blanch cauliflower for 3 minutes in boiling water, drain.

2.     Toss cauliflower with green olives and capers

3.     Mash salt and garlic to make a paste

4.     Mix paste with lemon juice. Strain (I don’t usually do this part) and toss with cauliflower.


I still had a bit of cauliflower to use so I decided to make refrigerator giardiniera. I just found a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen that I was dying to try out. I will eat just about anything pickled.

Giardiniera

From America’s Test Kitchen

Makes four 1-pint jars

½ Head of Cauliflower (about 1 lb.) Cut into florets

3 Carrots peeled and cut on bias into ½ inch pieces

3 Celery ribs cut into ½ inch pieces

1 Bell Pepper, Stemmed, Seeded, Cut into ½ inch strips

2 Serrano Chiles, sliced thin

4 Cloves Garlic sliced thin

1 C. Dill, stems and leaves chopped coarse

2 ¾ C. White Wine Vinegar

2 ¼ C Water

¼ C. Sugar

¼ C. Kosher Salt

In a large bowl mix together cauliflower, carrots, celery, bell pepper, chilies and garlic. Pack into jars. Place dill into a cheesecloth bundle and tie up with twine. Combine Dill bundle, vinegar, water, salt and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cover, remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes. Remove dill bundle and bring brine back to a boil.  Pour over veggies. Let cool before placing in fridge. Giardiniera needs to marinate for 1 week. Will keep for up to 1 month in fridge.

** I strayed from the recipe slightly. I used plain white vinegar because it’s all I had on hand. Giant was all out of Serrano chilies and so I used jalapenos for this batch. I also forgot to add the dill but threw in some dried dill into the brine. I’m sure my Giardiniera will taste a bit different but I think it will still satisfy my vinegar cravings. 

I busted out my cheese kit from Mom and Dad a few weeks ago and attempted homemade mozzarella. It was edible but needed perfecting. I decided to try my luck with ricotta cheese instead.

Funny side story: In High School I was part of the super cool Theater Group.  I was so into being a “techie” and participating backstage in all the plays. It was my life, until I got a boyfriend, then I only spent 50% of my life in the theater. Each year we participated in a yearly One Act Play competition. There was a Regional Festival, States Festival and New England Festival.  For multiple years we were luck enough to participate in multiple festivals. I loved it! The only thing I hated about these festivals was the food. We were required to buy a meal ticket and without fail at EVERY SINGLE FESTIVAL they served LASAGNA. Oh man I really hate lasagna mostly because I despise ricotta cheese. Hate the stuff. I won’t eat stuffed shells, calzones or anything that contains the vile stuff.  I am not a picky eater and will eat almost anything even if I don’t care for it with the exception of this. So I would starve when we went to festivals. I would always come home hungry and full of gas. I hadn’t reached the comfort level of tooting in front of my friends yet, another long story for later.

Fast forward to 2012. I was a nanny for an Australian family who LOVED ricotta cheese. They smeared it on crackers, toast, and sandwiches or fed it by the spoonful to the baby. GROSS! They couldn’t believe I didn’t like it. I made gorgeous lasagnas for this family and for their friends but refused to eat it. They thought I was crazy. I was. One day I was FAMISHED and Amelia offered me cracker spread in ricotta with salt and pepper. Surprisingly it was good. I can hear Sarah saying, “ I told you so!” She happens to love ricotta too. I soon was eating ricotta regularly whenever I was working for this family.  They had a more liberal cash flow compared to me and did all their grocery shopping at Whole Foods and would buy a tub of ricotta every week. It was from a Vermont farm and cost around $7.00 for a pint. While grocery shopping I decided to snag a container while at Trader Joes, it was less than $2.00 and I picked the low fat version to save on some calories. DISASTER! It was SO GROSS! It tasted nothing like the ricotta I had while working.  I tried buying the full fat version the following week at Trader Joes, still GROSS! I realized they must be doing something right in Vermont to make this fluffy and wonderful cheese.

 Imagine my excitement when I gathered all my supplies to make my own ricotta cheese. Dreams of recreating the rich tasting ricotta from Vermont in my own tiny kitchen for a fraction of the price?  Could I do it? Sadly the ricotta I made tasted nothing like the stuff from Vermont. I don’t know what they do but it looks like I will either need to attempt this again after doing more research or just bite the bullet and pay the stinking $7.00 for a tub of this magic cheese.

DIY Ricotta Cheese


1/2 c. cool, chlorine-free water (I used filtered)
1 tsp. Citric Acid
1 Gallon of Milk
1 tsp. Cheese Salt

Step 1: Pour water into a small bowl and stir in citric acid.

Step 2: Pour milk into a large pot, add the citric acid solution and the cheese salt and stir well.

Step 3: St the pot over medium heat and heat, gently checking the bottom of the pot with a slotted spoon for signs of scorching every 2 minutes or so. Avoid stirring as much as possible to allow curds to form. If the milk seems to be sticking, reduce heat to medium low. Heat milk to 180 degrees, do not allow milk mixture to boil over!

Step 4: As soon as the curds and whey separate clearly (you will see white curds floating in yellowing whey when you move the curds) turn off heat and let stand undisturbed for 10 minutes. 

Step 5: Line a colander with cheesecloth and carefully pour curds and whey into colander. Drain until the cheese reaches the desired consistency, 15-30 minutes. Cheese will last up to one week in fridge.

All of the supplies you will need for this culinary adventure.

The magic is starting, the separation of curds and whey. Where's little Miss Muffet? What the heck is a tuffet (sp?) I should just Google that.

Final Product. Inferior competitor to Vermont Ricotta. WHY ME?!?!?!

A couple of weeks ago I had a hankering for some of Mom’s Chili. It was something she would make in colder weather for a hearty Sunday meals, Super bowl or when we had the occasional guest come over to eat. I always enjoyed it because it was like baked potato bar at school. She would make a basic chili and let us dress it however we wished. Chopped onions, shredded cheese, black olives etc. Sometimes she would make a pork chili with green chilies as an alternative. No really one of my favorites, I liked to red kind best.  I was telling Heather my sister how much I wanted some of Mom’s chili. Heather apparently doesn’t have much of a memory of this so called chili and couldn’t remember eating it as a kid. She probably blocked it out of her memory since onions were involved. Since I didn’t know how to make it I called her up and got the usual response. “Well, I don’t really have a recipe, I just kinda throw something together in a pot.” MOM! HOW CAN I REPLICATE YOUR COOKING IF YOU DON’T USE A RECIPE! Oh Man!  She gave me a list of common ingredients she uses but it can change depending of what she has on hand. I made this chili Saturday night during the frenzy. It doesn’t taste like Mom’s chili but it’s close enough. Next time I go home I will have to stalk Mom in the kitchen and watch her make it while taking serious notes.

Mom’s Chili

1 Onion-chopped

2 lbs. Ground Beef

Big Can of Red Enchilada Sauce (28 oz.)

Can of Refried Beans

Chopped Green Chilies

½ Beer

Chili Seasoning Packet or a mixture of Chili Powder, Cumin, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder

Sauté onion and ground beef over medium heat. You can drain the fat off or use Mom’s preferred method: Crank up the heat for a few minutes until the fat evaporates. Add the rest of the ingredients till the desired consistency is met, let simmer to let flavors meld.

In the future I would maybe add some kidney beans, try ground turkey or add some pickled jalapeno slices.

Anyone who knows me can attest for my love of beer. Sometimes I love it too much, it makes me ill and I declare I will never drink another drop of it again. But like a lovesick fool I crawl back to it every time. Just love it! I like to get creative and make cocktails with beer as my main ingredient. I went through a phase of concocting “beer-garitas” Delightful.  I have just made my newest favorite. Watch out Budweiser. When I lived in Winooski light years ago, I would frequent McKee’s Bar and Grill. It was full of local Winooski town folk and was within walking distance of my apartment. No need for a DD, although I did need a designated walker on occasion. Thank Goodness for Katrina.  On one of these eventful night Katrina and I popped down to this local watering hole on a week night for some drinks and ended up in a battle with a drunk guy over what qualifications must be met in order to call yourself  “A Real Vermonter”. Katrina totally got sucked into this conversation, defending her right to call herself a True Vermonter. While she engaged in banter I enjoyed the drink special of the night, it was a new drink from Budweiser called the CHELATA. It was a mixture of Bud Light and Clammato. Many people ask me “ What is Clammato?” Good question, it is a wonderful mixture of tomato juice and clam juice. I have many fond memories of drinking ice-cold Clammato at Grandmama and Pop Pop’s house, it seemed to be a staple in their fridge, it’s the only place I ever drank it. MMMMMmmmm.  These bad boys were only $2.00 for a tall boy. What a deal! People around me at the bar started looking at me, these were a great ice breaker. Too bad there weren’t any good-looking guys hanging out at this bar, actually there were never any cute guys at this place.  I always hoped and was constantly disappointed. Maybe if I drank a few more of these Cheladas my point of view would change.  This evening occurred over 5 years ago and surprisingly Budweiser still makes this beer cocktail but let me tell you it’s hard to find. When I do find it I take full advantage of scooping them up. Imagine my delight when I discovered the Food Lion in Carrboro, NC stocked this delicious drink in it’s cold case!!! Another perk to living in NC, you can buy beer and wine in the grocery store. Oh Yeah!  I was letting the creative juices flow on Saturday night after a marathon of cooking a decided to reward myself with a cocktail. Imagine my surprise when I made my own version of a Chelada. Score!

Ashley’s Homemade Chelada

Makes 1 cocktail

½ bottle of Billy’s Chili Beer or any light beer you like

½ c. Trader Joes Bloody Mary Mix with Clam Juice

Lime and Salt

Rim a glass with lime juice and salt. Squeeze remaining lime juice into glass. Fill with Beer and Bloody Mary mix. Drink and enjoy.

I know I’ve temporarily abandoned this blog but I have been unusually busy. Seems strange for someone unemployed, let me tell you the story of my life. I have put out what feels like a million applications and now I am thankfully getting some first round interviews. Unfortunately they have been spaced out. I usually get a couple of calls in the beginning of the week for interviews.  So I have been logging quite a few miles on the Zoom Zoom between North Carolina and Philly. I have driven down to Heather and Anthony’s once a week for the past 3 weeks. Hoping one of these hospitals offers me a job soon; I'm tired of driving.

Luckily babysitting jobs have been picking up (Yay! Gas $$$$) I will be starting some early evening babysitting for a new family. This Mom has a 2-year-old daughter and just birthed a 4-week-old baby boy via C-Section. At this point she can’t lift anything heavier than the baby. This is tough since she was picking up her 2 year old up until she was in labor. To help this stay at home Mom, she has the assistance of her sister who helps out everyday from 9:00am- 5:00 ish. She also has a Doula who helps at night with the baby from 9:00pm- 6:00am. She is currently looks for some much needed help from 5:00pm-9:00pm to assist with getting dinner ready for her daughter, bathing her and putting her to bed. Oh I forgot to mention she lives in a beautiful penthouse apartment in center city and her daughter uses old Louis Vuitton purses as part of her dress-up bin. Can you believe it?!? Just Wild. I am desperate for mullah and this woman is really nice but HOLY MOLY. My Mom was able to take care of all 4 of us girls without hiring help EVER.  Center City Mom’s: It is possible to care for your children without the assistance of Nannys/Doulas/Babysitters. In VT I would never encounter people like this. So bizarre.

On top of interviewing I have started a new job of “Non-Medical Companion Care”. Basically I get paid to hang out with Senior Citizens and people who are ill and bed bound in their homes. I am currently attempting my first overnight shift of 9pm-9am. I hope I can stay awake. To prepare for this evening of fun I stayed up last night until 6:30 am. To keep myself busy I decided to do some cooking for the week. From 10 pm-5: 30am I was a cooking fiend. I was able to make

-Tomato Soup

-Chili

-Egg Cups

-Giardiniera

-Cauliflower Salad

-Pickled Spicy Cauliflower

- Ketchup

-Bake a loaf of bread

-Wash & Fold 2 loads of laundry

- Watch 3 episodes of Golden Girls

Needless to say I was busy. I will be posting about all of these goodies during the week. Spreading out all the delicious excitement instead of writing a mammoth post.