In a Pickle

I spent my whole day yesterday pickling vegetables. With the intermittent order of oysters to shuck or charcuterie to build, the majority of my time was spent with about 14 heads of cauliflower, a bucket of carrots, a knife and a peeler. A seemingly redundant and snore worthy job, left me instead aweing over God’s creation. I began peeling and slicing a Ton of carrots. Once I had my huge Bae Marie of carrots full, I looked down, and looked back up and my eyes blurred with that sensation you get after looking directly at the sun. It seems impossible that a vegetable, a thing that spent so much time under the ground in the dirt, could produce such an alarmingly bright color. Next I moved onto cauliflower…Now, if you haven’t ever cut into a head of purple cauliflower, I beg you to go out get one and get chopping. Each time I cut up a piece I was left in wonder locking at the beautiful purple and white of he stalk, the bright green leaves that faded to a purple tip and the wonderful soft flowers, all of which completely beautiful and completely edible. On occasion I had to turn around and again remark on how incredible these things were, which I am sure got old after a while, yes I understand it is only cauliflower but STILL.  The second half of the cauliflower I pickled is called cheddar cauliflower, having nothing to do with the cheese, but rather the bright orange color it produces. WOW. I saw a bunch of green cauliflower in the walk-in that I will probably be asked to pickle soon and I am all too excited and already in awe of its equally bright beauty.

If you have a lot of vegetables sitting around that you want to save or are afraid that you may not use I urge you to pickle them! It is an incredibly simple and economical way to preserve those veggies. Get ready for this recipe…..1:1:1 parts water to vinegar to sugar. Bring to a boil, pour over sliced veg, cool at room temperature and then pop in the fridge. Toss them in a salad, snack on them, throw them in a sandwich….you get the idea. J Now go get yourself in a pickle.

Ok so I quickly snapped this picture in the grocery store the other day and does not nearly do the beauty of it justice but I never got a chance to take a picture at work 😦

A Morning in the Garden

Ah. After an exhausting week at work there is nothing like getting outside and getting your hands dirty. It seems as though there is nothing more therapeutic than the smell of fresh soil, some dirt under your fingernails, and the hope a tiny seedling or baby tomato plant brings as you plant it in the ground and prepare it for a bright future.

So here is the low down:

Tomatoes, potatoes, onions, green beans, squash, lettuce, basil, cilantro, chives, oregano, and corn are all getting ready to make their debut in our little humble garden. Jyay can’t wait!