Summer is Here ... Farmers are Happier

As I have been living in Minnesota for more than 15 years, I feel at home and I do not really mind the season changes or hash cold winter with bundle of snow. But if there is the question of which season is my favorite, then it is summer in Minnesota. Beautiful flowers blooming, warm sunshine and Birds singing playfully.

Another beauty of Summer is Farmers Market. Yes! of course most of the fresh vegetables that we long for whole winter are available, to our excitement. We always feel excited about the fresh summer vegetables available at every farmers market.
At the market, Cauliflowers are fresh and taste is totally different from the local grocery store. They are flavorful and sweet. It is also tradition for me to make cauliflower preserve as we grew up eating it.

In Burma when winter come, in the month of November and December, winter vegetables are available and fresh too. In those days, my mom made the vegetable preserve known as pickled cauliflower. It is resembles indian style pickled dish and we love this type of food as the seasonal favorite. Lucky me, because this summer, my in laws are here and my mom in law is happily help me prepared that pickle. She made it better than me. To honor to both Mothers I would like to share the recipe for this summer.

Cauliflower Preserve ( Vegetable Pickle)

Ingredients

1lb.     Cauliflower  ( Cut into small pieces)
1/2 lb. Carrot  ( Cut match sticks)
1/2 lb. Daikon ( Cut match stick)
1 cup   Vinegar
3 tbsp  Salt
1 cup   Sugar
1 cup   Gram masala
1 tsp    Mustard seeds
1 tsp    Red Chili powder
3 cups  Canola oil
1 tsp    Turmeric powder
1/2 cup Garlic

Instructions

1. Cut the vegetables as mentioned above. Let  them dry in the sun for 2 days to dehydrate  the vegetable. then store the big salad bowl overnight.

2. Add vinegar, sugar and salt to season the vegetable for 24 Hour to make all the flavor soak in.

3.Cut the peeled garlic into half and let it sit in 1/3 cup of vinegar for 6 hour.

4. In the cooking pan. Heat up the oil with Medium high then add the mustard and cumin together with turmeric powder.

5. Add the Gram masala and chili powder and turn down the heat to lower setting not to burn the chili and masala.

6. When the chili and masala are blended with oil add the garlic, vinegar into the pan. Then stir constantly.

7. Finally, add the vinegar soaked vegetable into the pan and stir to make sure the vegetables and seasoned oil are mixed.

8. Turn off the heat and let it cool .

9. When it is cooled down we can store the pickled vegetables in a clean and dry glass jar for a few month in the fridge.

10. We could serve directly just after it cooked. But I would recommend it after ( 5- 7 days) to make sure the flavor soaked into the vegetable.

( Note. It is also a great tasty complementary vegetarian side dish for either butter rice or biryani rice.)