angietillman

We all get stressed from time to time – we worry, feel sad, anxious… which leads to a section in our brain in the temporal lobe getting all out of whack. This section is the amygdala. This tricky part of our brain can act up and cause us to feel like there’s an emergency where there really isn’t an emergency. We sometimes tense up, cry, feel hopeless and fear the worst. When I get these overwhelming feelings physically and emotionally… I head outside.

Just like my morning devotions help renew my mind… grounding or earthing helps re-focus my feelings …get me out of my head so much and takes my focus off thoughts of stress and feelings of anxiety. God gave us our senses. And using them is a good way to re-focus and ground.

I like to look around and SEE pretty things and then FEEL things…the grass under my feet, my hair falling against my shoulders, a leaf, the bark of a tree, a pepper plant….

I try paying attention to the sounds… I can HEAR the church bells ringing from the church through the woods, birds singing, the wind through the pine trees, the creek water washing over rocks….. and then there’s the sense of SMELL. I love the natural scents of the outdoors – even the scent of dirt!

And…often I carry a teacup with me – a pretty vessel for tea, water, juice…. and of course my favorite… wine – ‘cause TASTE is one of my favorite senses!

And always…. don’t forget to BREATHE!

Thanks for stopping by to read my thoughts. I am grateful for so many of you! ~Angie

I can be reached by email at : PhickleChickle@Gmail.Com

It’s SPRING here at The Cattle Gap and that means my perennials are breaking through the dirt and blooming!  I seriously can’t plant enough chive seeds! I love chives in recipes….but also think they’re oh so pretty in flower gardens and their blooms are gorgeous in cut flower arrangements.  But today…. I’m gonna PICKLE them to use in recipes!

This is one of my perennial beds….bursting with Sweet Williams, Echinacea, English Daisies, Hydrangeas and….  CHIVES! Preserving these pretty blossoms in pickle brine helps me feel better about picking them from the garden… they’re gonna be beautiful in Ball jars!

I can’t wait to use these pickled blossoms in pasta, atop deviled eggs and in potato salad!

I made a brine with 1 quart of champagne vinegar, 2 cups of water, zest of 1 lemon, 1/3 cup sea salt….  Bring to a boil and pour over chive blossoms in sterilized glass jars. YUM!

I hope you are able to get outside and soak up a little spring time during this quarantine time.  And if you’ve ever pickled chive blossoms…. I’d love to know how you use them in recipes!

Stay safe, well and God Bless Ya!

~Angie

You either love them or hate them – and I happen to LOVE boquerones! What are they? They are simply fresh anchovies, preserved in a marinade of vinegar and olive oil.  These aren’t the canned, salty version used in caesar dressing or in anchovy paste – these are a DELICACY! There are a few different ways I like to enjoy them.  One way is by topping them with diced pickled carrots and shaved sweet onion.  But today – it’s with pink grapefruit, pickled jalapeños pepper and olive oil!

Simply peel the grapefruit and remove the segments.  Place the grapefruit segments and anchovies on a platter alternating between the two. Garnish with pickled jalapeños , a sprinkling of black pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Grab a fork and dig in! I serve this as an appetizer but honestly, could have it all to myself for a complete meal. I picked up these boquerones from Half Shepherd Market here in Athens.  I love this neighborhood grocery and cheese shop in Normaltown on Prince Avenue.  They serve up great sandwiches, soups, coffee, tea and hot foods to take home too.  AND – they use my peach pepper jelly in one of their sandwiches! And….they sell my pickles and pepper jelly by the jar. So – wink wink! Y’all should head over there this weekend and check ’em out! And if they happen to have their deviled ham in the deli case – Grab a tub of it! It’s one of my favorite road trip snacks.

Happy Snacking!

~Angie

 

I’ve gone a bit quacky over duck lately! My husband and son are both duck hunters so our freezer fills up with the delicacy every winter.  I’m enjoying thawing out the breasts – love them ’cause they’re fatty and their fat makes delicious sauces and it’s THE BEST fat to fry potatoes in! This recipe is a healthy, light, low carb & gluten free dish that is great as a salad or for those not watching their carbs – served over jasmine rice.  Start by marinating two duck breasts in a bowl with 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, 2 TBSP Kikkoman Gluten Free Soy Sauce.  

Next, make a slaw-like salad! Shred a cup of red or purple cabbage and one medium carrot using a box grater.  Add 1 cup of sliced pickled carrots, 1 persian cucumber-sliced into 1/4 inch sticks and 2 scallions trimmed and halved lengthwise, and cut into 2-inch pieces.  Add all veggies into a mixing bowl and toss with a mixture of:  4 TBSP Hoisin Sauce, 1 TBSP sesame oil, 5 tsp White Wine Vinegar & 1 tsp Honey.  Season with sea salt and black pepper and toss to coat all veggies.

Cook the duck!

Ugh! I forgot to take a photo of the cooking-of-the-duck.  But….here goes:

Remove the duck breasts from the marinade and pat the breasts dry with paper towels.  Try to be sure to wipe off any big pieces of garlic as the garlic can burn during the cooking process.  Place the duck skin side down in a medium, nonstick pan on medium heat.  Cook for 15-20 minutes and pour off fat as it renders – cooking the duck until the skin is crisp.  After 15-20 minutes and skin is crisp, flip the duck and cook to your desired doneness.  Pour in the reserved marinade and bring to a boil.  After about 1 minute, the marinade should have bubbled and thickened.  Turn the duck in the glaze to coat on all sides and then transfer the cooked duck to a cutting board to rest.  Save that rendered duck fat in a glass jar in the fridge to use for future recipes! Don’t waste it! It’s GOLD!

Let the duck rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice and serve over the crunchy salad!

If you decide to make this dish, give me a call and I’ll be right over – one of my favorites!

Happy cooking, y’all!

~Angie

I love a dish I can make ahead and package for road trips and this is one of  ’em!  This beef and slaw-like salad is tasty served hot or cold – making it a perfect make-ahead recipe.

Let’s Gather Our Ingredients:

1 pound THINLY SLICED LEAN BEEF

2 cloves GARLIC

1 cup CHOPPED PHICKLES STIX

1 cup CHOPPED FRESH CARROT

1 ENGLISH CUCUMBER or 2 PERSIAN CUCUMBERS

1 LIME

1 stalk LEMONGRASS

1/2 tsp (or more to taste) CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES

1 Tbsp LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

2 Tbsps SOY SAUCE

2 Tbsp PHICKLES MOPPIN’ SAUCE

1 Tbsp WORCHESTERSHIRE SAUCE

1 Tbsp OLIVE OIL

Salt & Black Pepper

The outer layers of the lemongrass are tough and fibrous so you’ll need to peel the fibrous layers away and cut off the ends.  We want to use the white core of the lemongrass.  Finely chop the core of the lemongrass and set aside.

Zest the lime and put it and half it’s juice in a bowl with all the soy sauce, Moppin’ Sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

 

Heat a Tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan to medium high heat and add the thinly sliced lean beef.  Cook for 2-3 minutes leaving the beef alone – NO STIRRING! Next, add the chopped lemongrass, garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook for 1-2 more minutes, while stirring.  Transfer the cooked beef to the bowl of marinade and stir to coat all the meat.

Set the beef and marinade aside to cool.

Peel the raw carrot and grate or chop into small bite-sized sticks.  Chop a cup of the pickled carrots.

Slice the cucumber(s) into small bite-sized half circles.  In a bowl, whisk the sugar and juice of the remaining half of the lime.  Add the raw carrots, the pickled carrots, the cucumber and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix to coat the veggies with the marinade and let sit for at least 5 minutes.  Once all ingredients are cooled, add the veggie mixture to the beef mixture and toss.

This dish can be served over ramen noodles or rice, but I prefer it alone or with some chopped, raw cabbage mixed in like the following photo for less carbs and no gluten.  I like to portion it into individual lidded containers in my fridge for a quick and easy healthy meal on the go!

Happy, Healthy & PHUN Eating, Y’all!

~Angie

The tomatoes are going wild in our little backyard garden – especially the cherry tomatoes!  The ones that we don’t pickle before they ripen get gobbled up by the deer, birds and ME!  I eat them like candy – and especially love them dropped into salads.  For this salad recipe …I halved a handful of ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced a shallot as thinly as I could and tossed them both into a bowl with about 4 cups of baby arugula greens. Next, I mixed up a dressing using my Phickles Moppin’ Sauce! It’s so easy! Here’s the recipe for it:

Honey BBQ Vinaigrette

1 cup Olive Oil

1/3 cup Moppin’ Sauce

2 teaspoons Honey

That’s it!  Just whisk the 3 ingredients together.  There will be some of the dressing leftover – so just store it in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

Next, I covered a baking pan with aluminum foil and placed two filets of salmon on the foil skin side down and brushed each with a teaspoon of Phickles Shindig Sauce. Then I coated the filets with a crust mixture of Rice Krispies (y’all know…the snap, crackle and pop cereal,) Grated Parmesan Cheese and Olive Oil.  To make the crust mixture, mix 1/4 cup Rice Krispies, 2 ounces grated parmesan and 1 tbsp olive oil.  You can use Panko Breadcrumbs instead of the Rice Krispies cereal – but using the cereal keeps this recipe gluten free!

Roast the salmon in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes and enjoy this easy dinner for two!

Happy playing in the kitchen, y’all!

~Angie

I had never worked with tomatillos before so this was really fun for me ….but of course, the whole time – I kept thinking Pico de Gallo made with my Phickles Wedgies would be AHHHHmazing! Next time I’ll give that idea a try!I removed the husks from three tomatillos, gave them a good scrub, cored them and finely chopped them.  Then I chopped a hand full of cilantro and a jalapeño and minced a clove of garlic and added all the diced veggies and herbs to a bowl.

Next, I sprinkled 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar into the bowl, then tossed with two teaspoons of Chickle Sauce.  Pickle brine would work here just as well!  I added 2 tablespoons of canola oil and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.It’s so fun coming up with ways to perk up meals with my pepper vinegar! I served this Pico De Gallo over crispy broiled chicken thighs and roasted zucchini & red onion.

To cook the chicken and roasted veggies, First I seasoned 4 skin on, bone in chicken thighs with taco seasoning.  I broiled them for 15 minutes on the middle rack of my oven.  After 15 minutes, I added sliced zucchini and sliced red onion to the pan – arranging the veggies in a single layer around the chicken thighs.  I drizzled a little oil over the veggies (you could just toss them with oil in a bowl before adding them to the pan.) Then I broiled the veggies with the chicken thighs for another 15 minutes. I love cooking chicken like this – it comes out crispy and tricks my tongue into thinking I’m devouring FRIED CHICKEN!

 

I plated the chicken, zucchini and red onions – topped the whole thing with a heaping of the Pico De Gallo and some crumbled queso blanco …and a few cilantro leaves.  Y’all gotta try this recipe – so easy and delicious and really PHUN to make!and if y’all do try it – let me know what y’all think of it!

~Angie