Baba's Cookbook

A family cookbook, written down as she tells it.

Contents

Recipe One

Kosher Pickles

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“These were my mother’s delicious kosher pickles.”Baba

What You Need

  • 9 cups water
  • 5 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 3 to 5 tablespoons vinegar
  • Cucumbers, a three litre basket really full to the top
  • Dill, several stems, heads and all
  • Garlic, about 6 to 9 big cloves total, spread across the layers

Baba’s Note

“Sometimes if I want them fermenting faster, I will spear them with a knife through the middle. If not, I just cut off the bottoms.”

How To Make Them

  1. Boil the water with the 5 tablespoons of kosher salt, then cool the water down.
  2. Add 3 to 5 tablespoons of vinegar to the cooled water.
  3. Cut the bottoms off the cucumbers.
  4. In the bottom of a gallon jar, pack some dill with about two big cloves of garlic.
  5. Put the cucumbers in, in a row, in a layer.
  6. Another layer of dill on top of that, in the middle, “because I use the gallon jar”, and another two to three cloves of garlic.
  7. Top it with another stem of dill, and sometimes another couple of cloves of garlic.
  8. Pour the cool water over the cucumbers.
  9. Do not cover it with the lid. Put the lid on loosely, so there is a little gap where the gas can escape.
  10. Leave it on the counter for two to three days.
  11. After about three days, cover it properly with the lid and put the jar in the fridge.

Recipe Two  ·  From Andrea Buckett

Sticky Citrus-Chili Chicken Thighs

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“I liked it. We’ll see how Eric likes it.”Baba
Sticky Citrus-Chili Chicken Thighs

What You Need

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 6 bone-in skin on chicken thighs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 2 tablespoons liquid honey
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons butter

How To Make Them

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Place an oven proof skillet (cast iron) over medium heat and add the canola oil.
  3. Season the chicken thighs all over with the salt and pepper.
  4. Add the chicken, skin side down to the hot pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.
  5. Mix together the orange juice, lime juice, chili flakes, honey and ginger.
  6. Flip the chicken and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the orange juice mixture over the chicken and transfer to the oven. Cook for 25 minutes, uncovered until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the oven and place the chicken thighs on a serving tray.
  7. Whisk the butter into the pan sauce until smooth and glossy.
  8. Serve the chicken over rice and spoon over the sauce.

Still To Come

These are the ones she has named. They fill in as she tells them.