Less Stuff, Less Housework

Housework. It seems that no one actually likes it. However, since it is as unavoidable as a nasty Trump tweet, something must be done to make it manageable.

While it is possible to enjoy cleaning house, how many people would rather do housework than other possibly more enjoyable activities? 

I have tried saying to myself, "I get to clean today" instead of "I have to clean today" to make it feel more like a choice, but I would still rather be in the woods, or be playing guitar and singing with Linda.

Having said that, I do believe I have found the secret to housework. 
    

Have less stuff.



That is my personal solution to the challenges of home maintenance. The way I see it, less stuff means less work overall. Life is more than buying and cleaning and storing and upgrading an endless number of things. 

Less stuff maintenance means more time to spend on more enjoyable things. For me that is just about anything. 

Less stuff, less housework, more life.

Making Refrigerator Pickles

Easy to make, and very tasty.

On my last grocery shopping trip I got 15 medium sized cucumbers for 1/2 price. They were in excellent condition, so we decided to try making cucumber pickles for the first time. Now I wonder why we waited so long.

If I had known how easy refrigerator pickles were to make, I never would have bought pickles at the store. Now that I know, I may never buy them again.

I don't like that I haven't been able to buy Canadian pickles for years now. In the grocery store, my choices are pickles from the USA, or India, and I don't particularly like either of those options. Now I can add a new choice - pickles from my very own kitchen.

The thing I love about home cooking is how you can make everything to suit your particular tastes. Mass produced foods are often bland so as to appeal to as wide a consumer base as possible. 

But what if you like BOLD food? What if you like a BOLD, spicy, hot pickle? Make it yourself. 

What I discovered about pickling is that it is an extremely adaptable process. We made refrigerator pickles (good in the fridge for several weeks), but if we grew cukes, and had lots of them, we could also can them using our hot water bath canner, then keep them in our pantry for months. 

We decided not to can this time because we only made two jars, and judging by the way they turned out, they won't last long.

In pickling, the vinegar, sugar and salt do the preserving, and the spices add to the flavour. Spicing is variable and depends on your taste. There is a huge variety of spices that can be used in an infinite number of combinations, only limited by your creativity and your spice collection.

We used mustard seed, black peppercorns, dill, turmeric, crushed red peppers, and whole garlic cloves. We made the pickles in jars one day, and tried them the next. It was hard to believe how easy they were to make, how quickly they set up, and how tasty they were only 24 hours later.

There are many good refrigerator pickle recipes on the net. All you have to do is find one that suits your tastes, or take a standard recipe, like this one, and modify it according to what you have in your pantry.

Why buy bland pickles shipped from the other side of the planet? Our food should be as fresh and tasty as possible. The best way to get that is to buy the ingredients from area farmers, and cook them up in your own kitchen.

Save money, eat better. 


Do you have a favourite pickling recipe?