Seaweed Gomasio

Adapted from MountainRose Blog

A sesame seed seasoning blend from Japan, this makes a great addition to rice, salads, sandwiches, wraps, pizza, popcorn, soup, and veggies!

Ingredients

1 cup sesame seeds, raw
1/2 cup dulse/nori/kombu seaweed flakes
1 Tbsp sea salt

Directions

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat, tossing or stirring constantly to keep the bottoms from burning.

Once the oil starts to release from the seeds and they start turning golden, remove from the heat. Pour the seeds into a bowl to cool for about 8 to 10 minutes.

If you are unable to find seaweed flakes, just toss some sheets of nori (or other seaweed) into a grinder until about the same size or a bit larger than the sesame seeds.

Once cool, mix the seaweed flakes and sea salt into you sesame seeds.

Pour into a shaker and enjoy!

Optional:

You can also experiment with adding variations! Try using hemp, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, or milk thistle seeds. Or try including garlic granules, peppercorns, oregano, basil, orange zest, or chili flakes for different flavours.

Pickles! Simple Dill Recipe

I absolutely love pickles, especially cucumber pickles, and my husband loves to experiment with different flavours. I thought, since anyone growing Zukes or Cukes would be drowning in them right now, I would share a traditional dill and garlic recipe. So, no need to foist the extras on the neighbours! (Unless you want to, of course)

Ingredients
Anything you want to pickle!
- Cucumbers
- Broccoli stems
- Asparagus
- Carrots
- ect...

4 cucumbers ( 3 - 4 inches)

4 cloves garlic
1 cup Fresh Dill, chopped
1 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Whole peppercorns
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Water
1 tbsp Sea Salt
Optional:
1 Lime (juiced)

Any glass container with a lid that seals, regular glass tupperware works great!

 
Directions

Pour water into a large bowl, about 2 cups, then mix in and dissolve the salt. Once salt is completely dissolved add the apple cider vinegar. Then, add all of your other herbs and spices. Let this mixture sit while you prep your cucumbers.

(I've added lime juice as optional, since the hint of citrus is really nice to add to pickles during the summer and the price just dropped back to something reasonable this week.)

Give them a quick wash to remove any excess dirt residue, then cut them into quarters. If you prefer whole cucumber pickles, then be aware that they will take a bit longer to "cure" before being ready to munch on.

Bathe your cucumbers in the pickling liquid for about two hours (three hours for whole cucumbers). If they start floating, just set an upside down pot lid on top to submerge them.

Afterwards, separate the cucumbers into your glass containers, then pour the pickling mixture into each container to fill it. Seal it up and refrigerate.

The usual wait time is about 2 days for really lightly flavoured pickles and 1 week for a good strong flavour. They keep for about 1 month.

Enjoy!