In a Pickle? Relish your Dinner!

We've all been there.  The end of dinner and we're stuck with the last half cup of vegetables...served, but uneaten. Most can just be bagged up and put into the freezer "soup store."  After all there's hardly a meat or vegetable soup that wouldn't benefit from some extra corn, green beans, peas or even asparagus.  Some would go nicely in a pureed cream soup--again, asparagus and peas, but also spinach, kale, or brussels sprouts.

But then there are beets!

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we love beets. We frequently buy a dozen or more, trim off the tops and put them in a foil-lined large baking pan. Add about 1/2 cup of water and seal the foil around them.  Depending on the size, an hour or two in a 350 oven and the skins come right off the fully-flavored red or golden globes.

Leftover beets present their own delicious opportunities!

One of our favorites is the Quick No-Salt Pickle.  We've done this pickling technique for years in the summer Mixed Canned Vegetable Salad--you know the one--a can each of corn, peas, French-cut green beans, kidney beans, and any other kind of bean you like. Drain and rinse and then pour over the boiling hot liquid made from equal parts sugar and white vinegar! Let stand until cool. Refrigerate overnight if you want to make ahead. Keeps for a week. Yum!

So the technique is the same

Picked Leftover Vegetable Relish

For each cup of leftover cooked vegetables such as:
Beets
Carrots
Peas
Green Beans
Asparagus
Corn
Brussels Sprouts
maybe even Turnips and Parsnips

1/3 cup white vinegar, you could use cider if you prefer
1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried seasonings such as: cumin, dill seed, dill weed, mustard seed, celery seed
More of fresh seasonings such as dill weed

Rinse the cooked vegetable to remove any butter or other sauce you may have put on them when you served them for dinner. Cut them into uniform small size, if necessary. Put the vegetables into a heat-proof bowl and add seasonings if you wish.  Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small pot and gradually bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Pour this pickle over the vegetables and stir from time to time as they cool.  Store in the refrigerator for three or four days.

So tasty, no one would even think they were leftovers!

Thanksgiving Relish

I've been reflecting over more than forty years of cooking Thanksgiving turkeys and even further back when I helped my Mother. My brother was both fascinated and shuddering as she drew the innards from the turkey back in the days before even "minimally processed" birds arrive with the useful parts wrapped and tucked neatly back.

Some holidays are more memorable than others. Dinners delayed until the weekend when blizzards closed the highway. The "fresh" turkey I shopped for at three grocery stores, freezing in the garage where I'd put it for safe-keeping. The year our addition contractor knocked out 20 feet of the back wall of the house, totally gutting the kitchen, two days before Thanksgiving and then disappeared until the Monday after. You would be amazed what you can do with a hot plate and a smoker in a mild Alabama autumn.

Through all the adventures some culinary and holiday truths emerge.

It's hard to totally mess up a turkey -- gravy can always come to the rescue.

If you blend flour with cold water or broth and use that to thicken gravy, you won't have lumps.

Youngsters can always help "make Thanksgiving" by coloring paper napkin rings, writing place cards, spreading cream cheese in celery sticks, setting the table, or helping arrange the buffet line.

An abundance of fresh vegetables, simply prepared, make a more refreshing meal and more room for leftovers.

Precious little is better than a turkey sandwich with potluck relishes pulled from the fridge after the pots are washed, the plates are put in the dishwasher or back in the cupboard, Turkey carcass soup is simmering, and your team has won the big game.

And, above all, what we have most to be thankful for is around our tables, even if we are in different time zones.

Blessings of the season to all.

This quickly and easily made cucumber and onion relish is the perfect accompaniment. It keeps for days in the refrigerator - perfect to go on top of a sandwich made from the turkey leftovers.

Quick Cucumber Pickle

(serves 7 to 8)

1 large cucumber (or use 2 cucumbers and leave out onions)

2 medium onions

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Select a cucumber that has not been coated with wax and scrub it well. Slice cucumber and onion as thinly as possible and put into a heatproof bowl. Combine the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar as you bring it to a boil over medium heat. Pour the boiling mixture over the cucumber and onions. Add salt if desired. Let stand until room temperature, stirring from time to time. Cover and put in refrigerator. Keeps for several days.