Poor people, named Jennifer, make creative Christmas gifts.
Ceramic bowls. check.
Paintings of family pets. check.
Metal pans/mixers/silverware turned wind chime. check.
Flower pots decoupaged with seeds and seed packets. check.
Homemade PICKLES. check. check. and check.
I've been saying that I was going to pickle for some time, seeing as I am obsessed with the thangs and can't get enough of them. And after finding pickle ornaments, I knew that I had give my family an ornament along with a jar of pickles.
This also gave me an excuse to explore Ace Mart for the first time, and buy a big ole metal pot- so now I can make stews til' I turn blue! Yar!
Apparently I wasn't supposed to use metal, as it can react with the vinegar and turn it cloudy... But my green things didn't have a problem with it.
Whole Foods: No pickling cucumbers.."they are out of season" says the produce man.. Fiesta and HEB: hell yeah! Take that!
After reading some basic pickling guidelines online, it turned out to be pretty simple. All jars were (hopefully) sterile and sealed successfully. However, I wasn't sure how they would taste and I didn't get to try any before giving them away.
So basically I told everyone who received a lil' jar-o-love, "I am not responsible if you get sick. I do not know how they will taste. This is the first time I've done this......Enjoy!!"
I finally got to try a pickle of mine (I gave one jar to Emmanuel) after returning to Austin and I must say.... not too shabby. A bit on the cinnamony, clovey side. A bit of a bite to them (I added extra pepper flakes to the pot of love. But they were definitely crunchy, the way I like pickles.
I'm certain I will try this again.
But when I don't have time, I will head on over to Starlite, the restaurant serving my favorite (also homemade) pickles in town.
