It is finally starting to cool down, at night at least. I have artfully stacked a couple of festive pumpkins on the front steps, hoping that they do not rot before Halloween. I have replanted the window boxes with chrysanthemums and some decorative kale. I doubt if Martha is going to come inspect our neighborhood, but I will be ready for her just in case. We are ready to greet fall, whenever it finally shows up.
We had a good summer, even it it refuses to depart entirely, and I can look back on it fondly. I have readjusted my thinking, and am getting used to being back in the kitchen after a lovely hiatus of a summertime of backyard-grilled veggies and meats. One way to revisit the golden haze of summer is by pickling vegetables.
I like the immediacy of quick pickling, which reveals my dependence on shopping at the grocery store instead of relying on the CSA or the seasonal foods at the farmers’ market. Forgive me my fondness for cucumber pickles. Load me up with some thin-skinned Kirby pickles. Yumsters!
My mother favored a small butcher shop just around the corner from our house. It was the kind of place that stocked bread and Saltines and penny candy as well as the hanging slabs of meat kept cold in an old-fashioned wooden cooler at the back of the store. While we waited for our pound of cubed steak and a pound of sliced American cheese, we were sometimes allowed the great treat of selecting a pickle out of the large barrel located near the front door. They were huge, manatee-sized pickles, which we ate sitting on the step of the shop, with juice running down our arms and onto the sidewalk. In retrospect I wonder how my mother decided they would be a treat for us, because she didn’t like pickles. Every year she would put out a tiny WASPy bowl of sweet gherkins for a relish dish at Thanksgiving, but I never saw her eat any.
I enjoy a cool cucumber salad, with slices of sweet Vidalia onion, and a scattering of Maldon salt is the perfect summer meal. Quick pickles are almost as good as a summer salad, or sitting on Benny’s Butcher Shop front step, chowing down on a big, honking pickle, watching the neighborhood parade by.
We all have such busy lives that few of us can spend a day learning how to ferment pickle the slow, traditional way. I am always afraid of ptomaine poisoning or exploding jars. Quick pickles can give us a little sunshine on the dinner table when fall’s cooler temperatures and darker nights make us long for summer’s warm sunshine.
Cheater’s Pickles – From the New York Times
2 English cucumbers
2 tablespoons sugar
Handful of ice cubes
¼ cup rice vinegar, Champagne vinegar, apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
Several pinches of flaky salt, such as Maldon
Several grinds of black pepper, optional
2 tablespoons snipped fresh dill, mint or chives, or a mixture, optional
½ Vidalia onion, sliced into thin half-moons, optional
1.Cut off the ends of the cucumbers and use the tines of a fork to draw long stripes down their lengths. Slice the cucumbers like bread-and-butter pickles, about 1/8-inch thick, and pile them into a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle the sugar over the cucumbers and stir in well. Scatter the ice cubes over the slices and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Chill in the freezer for 1/2 hour.
2.Drain the cucumbers in a colander and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Put the cucumbers back in the bowl, sprinkle the vinegar over them evenly, and stir well. Add the salt and pepper, if using, and stir well to combine. Toss in the herbs and the onions, if using. Refrigerate until ready to serve. They will still be good the next day, though not quite as crisp.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017680-cheaters-pickles
Vivian Howard knows busy. Here is her recipe for quick pickles from PBS’s A Chef’s Life:
https://www.pbs.org/food/recipes/quick-pickled-cucumbers-onions/
https://www.lecreuset.com/vivianhoward
Of course, our friends at Food52 have the answer for quick pickles, too: https://food52.com/recipes/18162-spicy-dill-quick-pickles
And here is a super quick recipe from Alice Waters for a medley of cucumbers, radishes and watermelon meant to be consumed immediately. Hurry up! Get going!
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/salt-sugar-pickles-363479
“The perfect weather of Indian Summer lengthened and lingered, warm sunny days were followed by brisk nights with Halloween a presentiment in the air.”
― Wallace Stegner
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.