Pickled Carrots To Die For!

Pickled Carrots.  Here are the basic ingredients and method for preparing. You can adjust this receipe  to make your own different pickles.

Soaking- Slice carrots, onions, sliced fresh ginger and soak them in salted ice water for one hour. This draws liquid out of the cell structure temporarily, like squeezing a sponge. Not sure what the ice does but that was what we were taught. We use 1 cup kosher salt to 2 gallons ice water. you can reduce the amounts for your specific recipe.

Brine- For this recipe we use equal parts cider vinegar and white cane sugar. The flavorings consist of bay leaf, whole clove, yellow curry powder, fresh habanero chile and a whole clove. This is warmed over the stove till sugar  dissolves.

After the vegetables have soaked for an hour, they should be carefully drained and lightly patted dry. Any left over ice cubes should be removed. Water just dilutes the brine and makes them not as tasty.

Pour warm brine over vegetables and pack in jars or what ever you use for storing the carrots. They should last for quite a time in the fridge.

Experiment with different vegetables, different spices, sugars. You will get the idea from the method. Thinly sliced zucchini pickles are nice. This recipe was learned  at the Zuni Cafe, in San Fransisco.  Come in an visit us at Joe Caribe Bistro and Café in Auburn. Click HERE to see more dishes.

Caribbean Recipes: What is Pork Mojo?

Mojo sauce is a spicy and citrusy condiment and marinade popular in the Caribbean cuisine, especially in Cuba. It is most frequently used to make mojo potatoes, but meat dishes marinated in mojo sauce are more common in the United States.

Mojo pork is the most-popular meat dish featuring mojo sauce in Cuba, where a whole pig is often marinated in the sauce and roasted outdoors. Luckily, the recipe works just as well when scaled down to make a 3-to-5 lb. mojo pork roast in the oven.

The marinade is simply olive oil, garlic, oregano, cumin, and citrus, yet it's far more than the sum of its parts. This stuff tastes good enough to build an entire cuisine on and can be used in everything from tacos to ribs.