7-day Sweet Pickle Chips

 From Mother Earth News Oct/Nov 2020 - a Mennonite recipe - yield 12 pints

• 10 pounds cucumbers
• ¼ c kosher or pickling salt
• 3 T alum or 5 T loose black tea from 8 tea bags
• 4 qt. Apple cider vinegar
• 10 c sugar, divided, plus 1 c if needed
• ¼ c pickling spice

Day 1: In large bowl or clean cooler, soak cubes in ice water 30 min. Drain. Trim off ends, slice into ¾ inch chunks. Pack into a 5 gallon or larger jar with lid. Cover with boiling water. Cool, cover, and let sit overnight.

Day 2: There may be some fluffy white foam on top, it’s lactobacillus and it’s healthy. Drain, rinse, the jar and put cukes back in - don’t rinse the cukes. In a 5-qt non-reactive pot, bring salt and 4 qt water to boil. Pour brine over cukes. Cool, cover, and let sit overnight.

Day 3: Drain the cukes, don’t rinse them, but do rinse the jar, and pack cukes back into the jar. In pot, bring alum or tea bags and 4 qt water to boil. Pour boiling water over cukes, discard any excess. Cool, cover, let sit overnight.

Day 4: Drain the cukes and rinse the jar. In pot, bring apple cider vinegar and 5 cups sugar to boil, stir to dissolve sugar. Put Pickling spice into a cheesecloth bundle or a tea ball and add to jar to cukes. Pour vinegar mix over the cukes. Cool. cover and let sit for THREE days.

Day 7: Drain pickles, reserving 2 cups of syrup. Dispose of the pickling spices. Put pickles into a giant bowl and scatter 4 c sugar over them. Stir well and let sit for about an hour. Pack pickles tightly into warm jars. The sugar will have drawn liquid out of the pickles. Pour syrup over the pickles, dividing evenly. Heat one cup of reserved spiced vinegar and remaining cup of sugar in a non-reactive saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Fill the jars, leaving ½ inch headspace. If the jars require additional liquid, remove the air bubbles and repack the jar. If they’re well-packed and still short of liquid, make another batch of syrup by boiling the remaining cup of reserved vinegar with another cup of sugar. Remove air bubbles with a chopstick. Place lids and rings on and tighten. Process in boiling water bath 5 min. 

Let pickles cure for a week or so, turning the jars over for the first few days to disperse and dissolve any sugar on the bottoms of the jars. Chill well before enjoying. The pickles are shelf-stable for 1 year.

Black refried beans

 from True Comfort by Cavallari

1 can black beans rinsed and drained (15 oz)

1 tsp chili powder

salt

Blend with 2 T water.

Cashew Onion Dip

Cover 10 oz raw unsalted cashews in boiling water. Let stand 15 min.
Saute in 3 T oil over medium low, 1 c thinly sliced shallots, 3 closes garlic sliced, 1 tsp fine sea salt. 
Cook covered 12 min until tender, stirring occasionally. 
Uncover, increase heat to high and cook and stir 3 min until golden brown.
Drain cashews, transfer to food processor. 
Add 1/2 c water, 1/4 c apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp smoked paprika. Process 5 min until smooth. 
Fold in half shallots mixture. 
Top with raining to serve.

Fake Crabmeat Dip

Try this with the Vegan Parm from How Not to Die Cookbook
Nutty Parm, p. 4
1/2 c almonds
1/2 c Brazil nuts
1/2 c nutritional yeast
2 tsp savory spice blend
blend til fine.

Savory Spice blend
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T onion powder
1 T parsley
1 T Basil
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp celery seeds

Taco Fiesta Potato Crisps

Adapted from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.

For Potato Crisps:
2 russet potatoes, unpeeled, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 T oil
seat salt and black pepper

For Walnut Taco Meat: mini-processor, chop:
1 c walnuts (toasted if preferred)
1 T oil
1.5 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

For Cashew Sour Cream:
saok 1 c raw cashews with water to cover 8 hrs or overnight. Drain and rinse.
Blend with 1/2 to 1 c water, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 tsp+ salt to taste until smooth.

Oven 425 - Line baking sheet. Put potato slices in a single layer and dizzle with the oil. Rub them in oil to disperse. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 30-35 min, flipping once halfway. Cook 5 minutes.

Top each potato with 1 tsp cashew sour cream, followed by 1 tsp of taco meat, salsa, and green onions. Serve warm.

Vegan Nacho Dip

Adapted from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.
Make the cheese sauce:
Put 1 c raw cashews in a medium bowl and add water to cover. Soak at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
Oven 400 degrees. Lightly grease 2 qt cast iron pan or casserole
Cook 1 c chopped carrots and drain.
Blend:
Cashews
Carrots
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T lemon juice
1 large garlic clove
1.25 tsp fine grain sea salt
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
2/3 c water

Make the Dip:
Stir in 1 c chunky marinara sauce, 1 c finely chopped onion, 2 to 3 handfuls of baby spinach, roughly chopped into cheese sauce. Spoon this into the prepared dish and smooth out. Sprinkle top with crushed corn chips
Bake 25 to 30 min uncovered, watch carefully so corn chips do not burn.