Juddmansee.com

What’s with starting a pickle post with chocolate chip cookies? Just keeping you on your toes as we review a chronological account of the eating highlights from this weekend. It turns out that chocolate chip cookies are a great start to a weekend. Brian made perfect cookies as a treat on Friday night. It was really nice to come home to a sweet smelling kitchen and tasty treats.

Saturday held even more cooking adventures. First, gazpacho. There are two schools of gazpacho thought – the chunky approach and the smooth pureed approach. Brian tried a hybrid, putting the tomatoes, garlic and olive oil in the blender to provide a smooth base, then adding the diced cucumbers, peppers, celery and onions to the soup. I really liked it, but am anxious to taste it again tomorrow as leftovers once the flavors have had a chance to blend. I think it might be even better.

Second on the docket for Saturday: pickles. When we visited the Gladdings in Fort Wayne, we saw their large jars of sun pickles basking on a plank in the back yard. Since Dad had some tasty gherkin-sized cukes from his garden, and I have a jar of pickling spice, I wanted to give it a try. After reviewing various recipes on the internet and asking Mrs. Gladding for her recipe (via my Mom), we decided that we needed jars with lids, vinegar, spices, cucumbers and a couple sunny days. After procuring the lids for the jars, our ingredients were in place, and Saturday afternoon we concocted our pickle experiment.

Then Dan Dunn drove up for a bike ride. We had fun exploring Georgetown, Groveland and Byfield. I did very well clipping in and out, so next time I’ll tackle drafting (and hard braking) if the guys are patient enough. Afterward we sat in the back yard enjoying the breeze, the gazpacho and some grilled chicken breasts that had been marinating. Using jalapeños in the marinade worked very well – good flavor and permeating hotness. (The guys also ate corn on the cob – I passed reluctantly. It’s so sad to be from a corn state and not be able to digest corn.) We also tried some healthy snacks – veggie chips and hummus and grapes.

We indulged in Agave on Sunday because we ran 7+ miles in the heat of the day and were really craving some tasty salty Mexican food. Yum.

Leap ahead to Monday – the pickles have had Saturday afternoon, Sunday all day and Monday all day to brew in the sun. We decided to give them a try. They are tasty! I think they’ll be even better refrigerated. Evidently you can’t go wrong with the basic approach. We’re tempted to start pickling more than just cucumbers … I mean, what CAN’T you pickle?