Reap the rewards of your home-grown produce throughout the year, but how?



MILWAUKEE -- Summer is coming to a close -- but you don't have to say goodbye to your garden-fresh veggies. Chef Miles Borghgraef joins Real Milwaukee to help us enjoy the home-grown goodness all year.

Fermented Dill Pickles


    First dissolve the sea salt in 32oz of fresh water.  Make sure the salt it completely dissolved.

    Next, wash the cucumbers very well under cold water being careful no to bruise them.  Once thoroughly clean soak in ice water for about 2 hours.  In a large earthenware crock or glass jar place the garlic, onion, grape, cherry or oak leaves, black pepper, mustard and dill seeds and the jalapeño if you're using it.  Then place the whole cucumbers on top.  Pour over the salt water and then cover with a plate or any other type of weight insuring that all the cucumbers are completely submerged.  Leave out at room temperature in a dark area and wait!

    Typically, size dependent, fermenting dill pickles takes anywhere from 7-10 days.  After day 5 begin to taste the pickles every day. A few days into the fermentation the liquid will be very active; it's fun to watch the seeds swirl about!  At this point, how sour, or how mild is completely up to you.  The longer they ferment the more sour your pickles will be, but typically a little over a week will do the trick.  After they've reached the proper 'pickle', cover and refrigerate for an additional 5-7 days to let the flavors meld.  Now enjoy!

    Hot Sauce!

    And yet another fermentation!

    This recipe works well with any type of hot peppers. Jalapeños, habaneros, seranos, or other hot pepper you can get your hands on.


      Similarly to the cucumbers, wash the seeded and stemmed peppers very well being careful not to bruise them.  Soak them in ice water for two hours.  While the peppers are soaking, dissolve the sea salt into 4cups of water.  In a large crock or glass jar place the crushed garlic and mustard seed and then whole peppers.  Pour over the salt water and cover.  If you have an airlock, us it!  let the mixture sit at room temperature for anywhere from 10-14 days.  Again, after the first couple days the liquid becomes very active and almost 'dances' in the container. Begin to taste after the first week.  You'll have delicious pickled whole peppers.  Once the desired pickle flavor is achieved, add the orange zest and puree very smooth.  Pass through a fine mesh sieve after blending.  Let sit for an additional week covered in the refrigerator and then enjoy!  It'll make enough delicious hot sauce to hold you over until next year!

      Quick Pickled Rainbow Chard Stems

      This Recipe is more of a guideline.  It's for any type of 'quick pickle'.  And for this example we're using our chard stems.  What we need to remember is 3-2-1.  And it's as easy as that.


        All measured by volume.  In a sauce pot add the 3 ingredients; the vinegar, the water, and the sugar.  Add the salt and then add any other flavors you might want at this point.  Good examples would be mustard seed, garlic, dill, coriander, juniper, chili flake, sliced onion....The list goes on.  But most importantly add the seasonings or flavors that you like.  Bring all ingredients to a simmer and then remove from the heat.  Let cool to the temperature of bath water.  This is your quick pickle brine.  Use this warm liquid to pour over anything you'd like to pickle.  Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours after you submerged the chard stems(in this instance) and then transfer to the refrigerator.  Once completely cooled you may cover.  These pickles will last almost indefinitely in the refrigerator.  More importantly the the actual pickle chard stem recipes is the 3-2-1 pickling method.  This ratio works for almost anything coming out of your garden that you'd like to pickle.  And unlike the fermented pickles in the other recipes this recipe takes no more then just a few hours.  3-2-1