Happy Monday!
Sorry I've been gone. Guess nothing too exciting has been happening...at least nothing I took pictures of.
Yesterday I was craving chocolate. Well, at least baking something chocolate. And so I set out to make pickles....oh, and chocolate cake balls.
Remember all that fresh dill I bought at the farmers market? It was time to put it to use! Pickles!!
Zucchini Pickles
2 pounds small zucchini (preferably about 4 or 8 inches long), trimmed
4 tablespoons coarse sea salt, divided
12 fresh dill sprigs
2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves, halved
2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Preparation
Take zucchini, halve crosswise, then quarter lengthwise. Place in a large bowl. Add 2 Tbsp. salt and 4 cups ice. Add cold water to cover. Top with a plate to keep submerged. Let sit for 2 hours. Drain; rinse.
Divide dill sprigs and next 6 ingredients between 2 clean, hot 1-quart jars; set aside.
Bring vinegar, sugar, remaining 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan. Working in batches, add zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until khaki in color and slightly pliable, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer zucchini to jars.
Divide hot syrup between jars to cover zucchini, leaving 1/2 inch space on top. Wipe rims, seal, and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Allow at least a week to pickle before eating.
 |
| I cannot WAIT to try these babies |
But I know you aren't reading this for my pickles...you want to hear about the balls. cake balls that is.
Honestly, they were not as complicated as the pickles, and a lot more"semi" homemade.
First, I baked a vanilla cake. You can make your own cake, or simply use a cake mix I'm going to be honest, I used a box for this.
Then take the cake and crumble it to pieces. Let it cool. When it is cool, add a jar of chocolate frosting and mix well. Get dirty.
Once I did all the mixing, I popped the mixture back in the fridge for another 30 minutes (really, while I was canning the pickles) Then I rolled them into balls and dipped them in the chocolate bark I had. You know, the candy coating type. Before the chocolate hardened, I rolled them in crushed chips a'hoy cookies.
I don't normally mind not eating the things that I bake but these little babies were calling out to me all day. They were only too easy to make. I can't wait to try a new variation
