Pickled

No, not me, you sillies. I shan't be pickling myself for several more months, as that would also have the unfortunate effect of pickling the burgeoning Life Within. I gather my doctor would not approve.

But in the meantime, I've been making up for it by pickling everything else I can manage. This seems to be the Summer of the Pickle. Now, I love pickles (and yes, I always have--first person to make a pregnant woman/pickle joke gets a virtual pickle up the nose), but have never felt particularly inspired to do much more than make some refrigerator dills with the few cucumbers we have. Then, this year we had a lot of beets. Beets can be pickled and canned. Pickle number one.

Then we had a rather ridiculous quantity of cucumbers this year. After making my beloved refrigerator pickles, and seeing very little dent in the frightening bins of cucumbers, I started brining the cucumbers and canning the resulting pickles. I think they will probably be less crisp and fresh-tasting than the refrigerator ones, but still good. I have seven quarts so far. Pickle number two.

Next, I applied my mania to cabbage. I made sauerkraut. Except I don't think sauerkraut technically counts as a pickle, because there is no vinegar in it. I KNOW. I would totally have bet money that vinegar is used to make sauerkraut. I would have lost that money, because sauerkraut is nothing more than salted cabbage. The cabbage releases enough water to create its own brining liquid. It ferments, and smells pickled, but I don't know if sauerkraut is really considered a pickle. But since I'm counting my pickles here, and it would be lame to only have two, I'm counting it. Therefore, pickle number three.

Pickle number four will be pickled jalapenos. Once I get out there and actually pick the jalapenos. And possibly replenish my stock of vinegar, which has been going alarmingly fast this summer.

I think that's more than enough about pickles, don't you? Right. Goodbye.