It all started with my Mom’s 1/2 gal of dill pickles 40ish years ago....I was always facinated with the glass jar itself, the settling of spices in the bottom and the beauty of how the small cucumbers were so artful and lovingly arranged. Our Mother could cook like an angel inspired by Julia and the Time/Life series to guide her. Everyday of the week she watched and read and plotted and planned for the weekend.
She cooked all day Sunday starting in the early, early morning with a quick digrestion to make us a healthy Breakfast and than she was back creating and smiling again. Oh, how the house smelled! Would it be Spanish Tapas or Greek Island food? I smelled garlic, lots of garlic, what country will we visit this Sunday.
You could hear the kitchen activity was slowing down and she was now spending more time in the dining room chosing a crisply pressed tablecloth, rattling around in the silverware box, and than finally lighting candles as we waited with groaling stomachs...but my Mother could NOT make pickles! And she tried time after time, she even had a bevy of gray haired ladies come to show her, but still they were not good.
My Sister took a private reading class every week when she was very young and once in a while I would get to tag along. Her Teacher had a closet FULL of cases of bread and butter pickles, 3 times my height, All pickles and they were heavenly! He would always ask if we wanted to split a jar, was he kidding? We would have begged....We would sit on the outside stairs of his haunted Victorian and count the pickles “one for you one for me" till the jar was gone and hoped our Mother would be late so her feelings wouldn’t be hurt.
Our Mother “just gave up” pickle making long ago but I still have one 1/2 gallon jar saved from her dumping all the rest down the garbage disposal and it is just beautiful, it doesn’t matter how they taste, they are just beautiful!
The irony is I make my living making pickles, relishes and preserves, I know she knows and is smiling...
(They don't have a web-site but you can order and Brenda and Tanya will ship you their pickles and relishes and anything else you might want.) -ae
The Green Spot
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