“Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It’s my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian ‘Quote Cup’ passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, along with an update and photos of what has been going on in our lives. I love trying new recipes…and love getting recipes you would like to share!
These last few weeks have been crazy busy with performances for our viola-playing granddaughter… pit orchestra (on stage) for Spongebob Musical and concert orchestra at Roseville high school… then Fall Festival at Orchestra Hall with the impressive GTCYS (Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies). She loves playing her viola!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
I am always on the lookout for different dishes and when I saw an article for an unexpected Thanksgiving dish that disappears in minutes I had to check it out. What piqued my interest…. “When we list out the dishes everyone is preparing for Thanksgiving lunch, there’s one that doesn’t even have to be listed: Granny Bray’s pickles. She’s been gone 40 years now, but we still eat her pickles at every Thanksgiving. And every Christmas, every birthday, and every Easter.” More about it…
The taste isn’t what you would expect from looking at them so they weren’t a big hit at first, but the longer they sat the more I found myself wanting more… and I don’t usually like sweet pickles. What I love about this recipe is there is no cooking involved… just slicing already pickled dill pickles and adding sugar and garlic. “They are tart but not sour, sweet but not sickly. They have tang with a little garlic bite and just enough sweetness to keep them from being tart.”
GRANNY BRAY’S PICKLES
- 1 quart jar of whole dill pickles (not kosher)
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 bulb garlic
Empty juice from jar of pickles and set aside.
Cut the pickles into 1/4-inch slices and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup sugar. Let sit in the bowl, covered with a towel, until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 hour. Add the other cup of sugar, stir and cover with the towel for another hour, until the sugar is dissolved.
Empty the contents of the bowl back into the pickle jar along with 3-5 crushed garlic cloves and the reserved juice. Put the lid on the jar, let sit in the refrigerator for a day for more and serve.
