Saturday, August 11, 2007

Pickles and Pickled Okra

Our bumper crop of cucumbers continues. The okra has also become very productive, possibly due to the extreme heat. Okra is from West Africa. It's also a member of the hibiscus family, which accounts for its stunning tropical flowers (see photo at left).

We decided to try to pickle some of the vegetables. We bought some quart-size mason jars and I looked up a simple recipe involving vinegar, water, garlic, hot peppers, and dill seed. Surrounded by the strong aroma of vinegar, we sealed up a jar of small cucumbers and a jar of okra. In six weeks, we'll know how it went.

In the meantime, the garlic in the pickling jars has started to turn blue. At first, I was somewhat alarmed. Luckily, a quick search showed that this is nothing to worry about.

Fingers crossed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You are so freaking industrious, growing herbs and thorns and trying weird eggs. If you still feel rather rootless, you can always give Ohio a try and come live with us. We have a big back yard, freshly turned and fertilized thanks to the Blanchard River.