Gurken

Cucumbers taste like summer to me. I think when I was little I didn't like these pickled cucumbers my mother would always make for 'midsommers' along with the Swedish Meatballs. It's hard to remember exactly though because I love them so much now it seems weird to imagine ever not liking them. Now whenever English (hot house or seedless) cucumbers go on sale I always buy a few and use one of them to make this recipe. It's definitely one of my comfort foods.

Pickled Cucumbers

(this is the recipe the way my mother gave it to me, I'm not sure why it only uses half the cucumber, I always just double it and put the whole thing in)

1/2 cup water

4 Tablespoons Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8-1/4 teaspoon pepper

fresh chopped parsley (I just used dried parsley flakes this time)

1/2 cucumber, very thinly sliced (I use the cheese slicer)

Mix together first ingredients then add cucumbers. Cover and let sit at least over night.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Right after Eleanor was born my sweet neighbor brought us dinner, it was this recipe. She had no idea it was one of my favorites when I was little. I even requested it for a birthday dinner once. Tastes just like mom's.

(For some reason no store around here carries pineapple tidbits -shocking I know! So I have to stock up whenever I go to Utah.)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

1 Tablespoon oil

1 chicken breast cut in small pieces

1 onion, large diced

1 green bell pepper, large diced

4 carrots, sliced

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained (juice reserved for sauce)

Sauce

Pineapple juice plus enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups liquid (usually about 1/2 cup water)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used half brown sugar, half agave)

2 Tablespoons corn starch

Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken and fry until mostly cooked. Wisk together all sauce ingredients. Add sauce and veggies to chicken and cook covered until veggies are tender (I never set a timer, I just poke the carrots). Serve over rice.

Oops

I noticed there were was only half an onion in the fridge today so when I went shopping I picked up a bag of onions. While putting away the groceries at home I decided to put the onions in the cupboard instead of the fridge because there wasn't much. When I opened the cupboard I found a bag of onions already sitting there. I guess I had the same idea the last time I went shopping. :P

So, tonight I made my mom's "Poor Man's Soup." a.k.a. Onion Potato Soup a.k.a. Potato Soup (for my sister growing up- she didn't like onions so we would tell her it was just potatoes). We ate this a lot when I was little and often we would have Swedish Pancakes afterwards. Mmmm Both are definitely on my list of comfort foods.

1 1/2 Tbsp butter

3 onions, cut in half and sliced

5 potatoes, peeled, cut in half and sliced

4 cups water

chicken bullion to equal water (or use broth)

parsley (dried, or fresh finely chopped)

salt

pepper

Melt butter in pot and add onions. Cook until soft. Add potatoes, water and bullion. Bring to a boil and then lower temperature and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.