Nothing like a book project to focus one’s attention.  The Encyclopedia of Country Living (or ECL) Guide to Preserving and Canning is proceeding at due pace.  Chapters on Freezing, Canning, Drying and Live Storage have been fleshed out and I’ve got the blackberry jelly, raspberry jam, peach jam, cherry vinegar and quick pickles to prove it!

It is with no small amount of concern that my household anticipates salting and cured meats but I’m having a ball.  I’ve always had a streak of Little house in the Big Woods in me…that chapter where they make maple taffy on freshly fallen snow…?  Trust me, it doesn’t work with Aunt Jemima and city slush, I tried in the fourth grade!  But the romance, the independent spirit and the stubborn streak of frontier self reliance is so attractive to me.  (When I presented my package of freshly procurred LARD this afternoon my husband anticipated the day when I would don a buckskin and wield a knife in my teeth…but he’s just being dramatic!)

Last week we celebrated birthdays with a household of family and a pile of pulled pork!  Seemed like the perfect opportunity to practice my quick pickles.  Pork, pickles, slaw…what’s not to love?!?  It’s quite a responsibility to test, taste and sample one’s way through an entire battery of preserving skills, but you do what is called of you (YUM!)  I’ve always loved pickles and the intrigue of “quick” fits my impatient nature (as well as my minimal storage space).  Here are my results:

Provisions were gathered:  organic carrots, radishes, sliced fennel, green (& purple) snap beans from the garden, shallots, sweet and hot peppers and cherry tomatoes - a colorful and nutritous blend! 

Everything was duly sliced (the radishes and shallots got a quick blanch i.e., dip, in boiling water followed by an icewater bath to chill)

A pungent and flavorful broth was made by combining 6 cups white wine vinegar, 1 1/4 c. sugar, 2 tablespoons kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns, bringing the whole mixture to a boil over medium heat in a non-reactive saucepan.

Clean jars were filled thusly:

1) Carrots, peppers (hot & sweet), and a fresh bay leaf

2) Radishes, shallots and fresh thyme

3) Beans, fennel and fresh chervil (Note to self…purple beans fade to an unsightly almost, but-not-quite green when doused with hot liquid)

in the way of full disclosure I must add that I also tried cherry tomatoes and thyme - but don’t go there.  Too mushy.  I’ll just take one for the team here, trust me. 

Once packed with beautiful veggies, the jars were then topped off with the hot, flavored vinegar solution, capped and left to cool.  They spent most of a day in the refrigerator and then debuted in their colorful goodness the following evening to fabulous aclaim.  They were crunchy, spicy, and leant a real zest to the richness of the pulled pork sandwiches.

Nearly a week later I’m still pulling out a few morsels to liven my lunch!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Books to write, recipes, vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.