Pickled Jalapeños -- Peppers with a Message

Two things alerted me that Meghan was going to be the newest member of the Dougherty clan fourteen years ago -- 1) I got weepy while listening to Lullaby, a song by Trout Fishing in America, driving back to Bayfield from the beach in Cornucopia and 2) I was craving pickled jalapeños.

The summer of 2002, I was living on the boat with the kids when the weepy/pickled jalapeños calling card came and rather than take the pregnancy test in Bayfield without Ted, I decided to head back to St Paul. On our way home, I met Liz, my sister, at Grandma's Sports Garden in Duluth for lunch and my suspicions about the fifth Dougherty child were confirmed -- all I could think about was a plate of nachos with a pile of pickled jalapeños on top.

This jalapeño craving wasn't a new thing for me -- I always had a hankering for spicy food when I was pregnant. I couldn't get enough jalapeño poppers when I was pregnant with Jack and in fact, it was a jalapeño popper lunch at Pasqual's in Uptown that jump-started my labor with him. I guess pregnancy messages come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and flavors......and pickled jalapeños are still a staple in our kitchen, even if our baby days are over! 

Pickled Jalapeños

2 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons kosher salt
4 pounds jalapeños, sliced and seeded (keep the seeds if you like it spicy)
1/2 cup cilantro, rough chopped
1/4 cup peppercorns
7 garlic cloves
A couple of sprigs of oregano
Handful of lime slices

Preparation
Heat a large stockpot or canner with water and bring to a boil. 

Heat the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. While the water/vinegar mixture is heating up, divide the sliced jalapeños, cilantro, peppercorns, garlic, oregano, and limes among 6 or 7 half-pint sterilized canning jars. Pour the water/vinegar mixture into each canning jar, leave about a 1/2-inch headspace at the top, place the lids on, and screw on the rings until just finger-tight.

Carefully transfer the jars to the stockpot/canner. When all the jars are in the canner, there should be at least 1 inch water covering them; if you need more, add water from the kettle until the jars are sufficiently covered. Bring the water to a full rolling boil, and process for 5 minutes. Using canning tongs, gently remove the jars from the stockpot/canner and transfer them to a kitchen towel or cooling rack, keeping them vertical. Leave to cool, undisturbed, for at least 12 hours. Store in a cool/dark place for up to one year. 

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Treats for the Pups

When Henry, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure I did the only thing I knew how to do -- I started cooking. In retrospect, it was the medicine that helped him live an additional two years, but I like to believe that these pumpkin biscuits helped a little as well. They have become a staple in our house and while I'm sure the boys don't mind when the treat jar is full of store-bought treats, I swear they prefer my pumpkin biscuits! Though it's tough to tell because they are world-champion gobblers of anything food-related. 

These treats are loaded with anti-inflammatory spices (turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon) and chia seeds, a good source of protein and antioxidants. The dogs know when I'm making them (must be the very distinctive smell, just ask Ted.....he's not a fan) and they position themselves between the center island and the oven so they can keep an eye on the mixing, rolling, and cutting......three self-appointed canine kitchen inspectors. 

Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

4 cups whole wheat flour
3 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can of pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) 
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, flax seeds, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and salt in a bowl. Add water as needed to make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough out to about a 1/2 inch thickness and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until hard.

Launching & Selling Books

Well, it's official -- I wrote a cookbook and we had a launch party to celebrate. I remember when I signed the contract with the Wisconsin Historical Society Press in 2014, the release date seemed a lifetime away but it turns out, 2017 was just the right amount of time I needed to write the book and then plan the party. 

In true Mary Dougherty fashion, my initial plans for the launch were ambitious and border-line extravagant -- a whole hog on a spit with all sorts of sauces and sides. But somewhere along the way, my plans started to come into line with what I could reasonably pull off -- and 100-plus pounds of pork over an open flame wasn't in the cards. What was in the cards was George on stage, two beef briskets smoked by an actual Texan named Angela, a pile of cheddar chipotle grits, a bunch of tequila, and a theater and house full of some of my favorite people. It all went off without a hitch except for George. George went rogue and as Jack said, it was a code red kind of situation.  

I had a plan -- I would read the cookbook from stage with a handsome and sedate George lying at my feet. However, George had other plans and completely lost his yellow Lab/food-addled mind. He wanted to eat the food I made for the party and in true Lab fashion, he single-mindedly pursued that goal. By the time we took the stage, he was wound up and refused to be calm, cool, and collected. So we took his leash off, gave him free range of the theater, and proceeded as if it's entirely normal to have a free range Lab at a book launch party. And truthfully, it was perfectly normal -- he is a Dougherty dog after all.

It was a truly lovely event -- I was humbled and so touched by everyone who came to help launch Life in a Northern Town into the world. While my name is on the cover, the book actually has multiple co-authors and many of them were in the crowd that afternoon. The Bayfield area community welcomed us all those years ago and shared their experiences, their stories, and their homes with us. The Bayfield we know and love is a direct result of the generosity of the people who call our northern town on Lake Superior home. 

The night ended with a couple of briskets smoked to perfection, a pile of white buns, pots of Texas baked beans and chipotle grits, and enough tequila to get everything moving in the right direction. And it was perfect -- our kitchen was full of everything I truly love -- good food, good booze and the best people. 

Do you want a signed and/or personalized copy of Life in a Northern Town? They are available on my website here and I'd be happy to sign one and drop it in the mail for you! 

ps -- Wil Dougherty, long-time photo safari companion and talented photographer, took all these photos! 

Michigan Island Lighthouse

Lighthouses and islands, two defining features of the Bayfield region, and one of the many things we love about living on Lake Superior. When we first started visiting the Apostle Islands nearly 20 years ago, we made sure to stop by and tour all the lighthouses and for many years, we've visited at least one or two a year. This year, we spent a weekend camping in the Islands and on our way home, we stopped by the Michigan Island light. 

Michigan Island has two lighthouses and given my serious distaste for heights, I stuck to the older, shorter lighthouse while the kids went way, way up into the 118-foot still-operational tower. 

A few years ago, we did a short video for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism highlighting the Apostle Islands. We shot our segment from Raspberry Island and I remember telling the kids that they had to be on their best behavior...which they translated into playing a Dougherty version of contact frisbee (which you can see on the video). Three years later, it's so fun to watch it -- the kids have grown up so much (and my hair is significantly more grey)! 

The gardens have been restored and were in full bloom when we visited. 

I don't know how many steps there are to the top of lighthouse but it gave me vertigo to look up -- I can't believe the kids climbed them without a second thought. 

Going down is always easier but when you're a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with very short legs like Gus, any staircase requires careful consideration. We made our way down the stairs, onto the dock, into the boat, and back to Bayfield....where summer was coming to a close,  the kids were leaving for UW-Madison, and our fall schedule was just getting into full swing. There are all sorts of things to look forward to in the coming months but there's something so sweet about our few days in the Islands -- can't wait until next year!