Tangy Goat Cheese Dressing, Are You An Apocaloptimist? Great Off-Grid Video, Fast No-Heat Fridge Pickles

Tangy Goat Cheese Dressing-
I'm a big fan of buttermilk and I'm always on the lookout for salad dressing recipes. I've never found a really great "ranch" dressing blend, but I did find this. It has goat cheese and buttermilk, what a combo!!! I saw this on PBS Ediblefeast show, but can't find it online. I took some rough notes when I saw it channel surfing, and modified it slightly. It comes out really THICK! This made 1 QT. exactly. and here it is-

10 oz. goat cheese (1 Costco log)
2 cups buttermilk (I used low fat)
2 TBS fresh Tarragon, minced
1 TBS dried tarragon
2 cloves minced fresh garlic (I used 1 TSP. garlic powder)
2 TBL. olive oil
3 TBL. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
You could also add other fresh herbs, basil would be nice!

Put goat cheese in medium sized mixing bowl. Chop tarragon and mix with oil, in a small bowl. Crush it into the oil. Mix vinegar with oil, and dried tarragon, and add to the cheese. I used a large spoon to break up the big chunks. Add the buttermilk and use a whisk to slowly mix the dressing. I went up and down with the whisk to break up the cheese more, then just whisked it until it was smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit in the fridge a bit before serving. It's very tangy and smooth, nice on a chilled salad!

Are You An Apocaloptimist -
Someone who knows it's all going to sh**, but still thinks it will turn out OK. Example below:

"It" most commonly refers to the environment, or humanity, but could be other things as well.

Guy 1: "The environment is being degraded at an unparalleled rate, we're literally destroying ourselves... but, it'll probably turn out OK. If we fail, the planet will likely heal itself in our absence."

Guy 2: "Man, he's such an apocaloptimist."  From Urbandictionary.com

 Great Off Grid Video-

This guy has incorporated so many brilliant ideas! Like turning a new freezer into a fridge, awesome!!!

Fast No-Heat Fridge Pickles-

I've recently moved away a bit from just canning pickles, to fermenting. Still waiting on those. I do like making fridge pickles, except for the heating of the brine. Why heat up the kitchen? Last night I stumbled on to some really fresh, big pickling cukes, so I bought some. I found this recipe Quick Refrigerator Pickles and decided to try it. I did use classic pickling spice instead of just 2 spices. I also added 1 tsp. of black tea leaves for crunch, 1 bay leaf, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. It was SO much FASTER! I had 4 QTs. done in 15 minutes and the kitchen is cool! I'll let you know how the flavor is in a week :)  If I can wait that long!!! They smell divine.  I'll be trying this recipe next Refrigerator Pickled Cauliflower, Carrots, You-Name-It, photo below. I love other pickled veggies, especially carrot and cauliflower...