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When I was a kid, the word pickle was either associated with a stork or the
old men who hung out at the clubhouse bar long after the golf match was
over.
But now pickling has an entirely different meaning. It means preserving -
and it can be applied to all kinds of food. As a cook and food manager, I'm
constantly looking at ways to preserve food. It all boils down to dollars
and sense. In my last letter, I went over the necessity of cleaning out your
cabinets and cooking all the canned food, dry goods and frozen food in your
kitchen. Again, using the food you've paid your hard-earned dollars for. And
- here's the trick - enjoying it!
Now I'd like to ask: how often you go to the market with good intentions and
buy heaps of fresh produce only to have it rot in your fridge? I'd be a liar
if I said that I haven't done it myself. It feels so good to buy veggies and
think about how you are going to change your diet once and for all, only to
quickly succumb to that deep fried pork and avocado burrito. Well, that's my
story. Anyone else?
So here we are in the middle of February, and after our trip to the market
we bring home produce like beets, carrots, onions and cauliflower. Even
though they last quite a long time, Mother Nature giveth and will also
eventually taketh away.
So this month I though it would be fun to pickle some cauliflower. Next
month I'll give you a recipe to use it in. I'm thinking maybe a nice pickled
vegetable salsa to go with a seared piece of fish or full flavored meat like
lamb. We'll see what mood I'm in when the time comes.
To get started, you'll need some simple, cheap supplies: mason jars (they
can be purchased at Smart and Final and other stores), white vinegar,
pickling or kosher salt and some peppercorns. You can experiment with all
kinds of tricks, but for this first time we'll keep it nice and basic.
And don't think that I've been pickling veggies with my grandmother since I
was a kid. Far from it. This happens to be something I've wanted to try for
some time. Usually at my house the veggies go into the soup pot, but I was
ready for a new approach.
Pickling is not only a good way to preserve produce, but the result tastes
darn good, too. All year round there are vegetables to pickle. In the summer
you can go wild with squash, green tomatoes and corn. And later in the year
asparagus, beets and carrots work well too! The best part about it is that
when friends come over for that nice dry martini or bloody mary, you can
pull out your bounty and add some to the drink or just enjoy as an
accompaniment.
OK, that's all for now. See you next month.
Aloha!
Chef Stephen
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