Pickle Week

Hooray! It's Pickle Week here at Picklesandcake.com!

New creations on deck include some yummy Thai-style pickled cabbage, old-fashioned fermented barrel cukes, grilled artichoke hearts packed in fresh herb oil and even some homemade ketchup. I hope to create some new pickles every day this week.

We jump-started our celebration of all things pickle this past Saturday with a trip to the Winter Park Farmer's Market to pick up some fresh herbs and small pickling cucumbers.

Just past the produce we found a new stand filled with the best pickled goodies ever - what a find! The timing was perfect.

Our new friend Wendy gave us samples of several pickles and chutneys. They were all soooo delicious. We went home with her horseradish pickles, a pickled corn relish, mango apple chutney and peach chutney. Stop by her stand at the Winter Park Farmer's Market or visit her online at www.sunchowdersemporia.com. Thanks for the inspiration, Wendy!

Back at home, we dug into the horseradish pickles and ate the whole jar! The girls loved the clever packaging and kept putting the paper top on their heads like a hat.

We are making the barrel cukes today when Lillie gets home from school. Let the adventure begin!

Giant Globe Artichokes from California

Check out these big guys! We picked up a few for dinner tonight from the little Whole Foods in Winter Park. Good thing the girls were there to help me carry them. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Goat Cheese Stuffed Olives

We love cheese-stuffed olives! This is quick, easy and worth the effort. The creamy tang of goat cheese goes perfectly with the piquant brine of the olive.

To make your own, use the handle end of a sugar spoon to pull out all of the pimento. Dry the olive and then roll the goat cheese or gorgonzola with your thumb and forefinger into a small tube and insert it into the hole. Pop the cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes if the texture is too soft. Smooth off the top surface and wipe any cheese on the olive with a damp paper towel. I make a dozen at a time and keep them in the fridge for snacking...or martinis! Ok, mostly martinis. :)

Fishing for our Supper

The girls went fishing for the first time and had a blast. It was a perfect day on Marco Island.

We were hoping to catch some snapper or grouper but they only hooked some smaller catfish so we threw them back and had mac and cheese instead. Sadie was a natural and caught the first fish of the day.

This is Lillie's first fish swinging a little too close for comfort.

I think they are ready for their own rods so we can go again and take down some eaters!

Spring 2010 Veggie Garden

Our spring garden got a late start this year but we put so much TLC into planting the seeds, I'm sure we will be fine. First, we charted out where all the seeds should go in our square foot garden. 3 feet by twelve feet equals 36 squares of veggie goodness.

After clearing out the weeds and adding some fresh soil, we were ready to plant. Here is Lillie and Sadie studying our master plan.

Lillie helped punch in some holes. Here she is planting some golden beet seeds.

Sadie carefully dropped the Purple Haze carrot seeds into each hole.

The sun is setting over the marsh and we are worn out. We planted some funky romanesco cauliflower, purple haze carrots, atomic red carrots, watermelon radishes, German beer radishes, beefsteak tomatoes, baby bok choy, golden beets, shallots, ginger, mesclun greens, leeks, cornichon cucumbers, lemongrass, watermelon, zucchini, peppercorn and sugar snap peas plus some assorted herbs. The next few months should be filled with some gardening fun and hopefully some amazing fresh veggies. To be continued...

April Fools!

The big April Fools joke on the girls this year was me eating a cat terd from the litter box. You should have seen their faces! A Tootsie Roll was carefully warmed up in the microwave and rolled into a cat terd. Fresh litter and a little strategically placed Saran Wrap on the bottom. Yum!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Lillie and Sadie don their St. Patty's Day beer goggles and get ready for some corned beef and cabbage!

Spaghetti Fiend

Went to Giordano's and Lillie bypassed their famous deep dish pizza for her favorite meal ever: Spaghetti with Bolognaise Sauce. She takes this dish seriously!



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Lucy the cat watches the action from her bowl

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French Fry

Lillie's Grandmom hooked her up with this cute chef outfit. Here she is whipping up some red bliss oven fries...


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Lillie Loves Mushrooms!

My kids are adventurous eaters but they still have their aversions. My proudest moment so far was when Lillie exclaimed, "I love mushrooms!"

Disney's Smoked Turkey Legs

Did you know that Disney sells 1.5 million turkey legs each year?! These 1.5 pound appendages weigh in at over 1000 calories and a days worth of fat content. Lillie has been begging to try one for a while now and today was her day.

I asked them for their best barbarian face and they did not disappoint. Look at those greasy fingers!

It was actually pretty tasty. We had a great day at Hollywood Studios and Lillie even agreed to go on Tower of Terror! Unfortunately, Sadie was a quarter inch too short...maybe next time Sadie!

BLAT: Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

The BLT. God's gift to sandwiches. Throw some avocado in there and go straight to heaven.

This sandwich has been a family favorite for a while now. The key is a crusty roll, crispy thick-cut bacon and fresh veggies.

The first step is to cook the bacon. I use Obi-John Cannoli's approach and bake my bacon in the oven. It cooks evenly, there's more of it and the cleanup is a piece of cake.

Drain bacon and pat dry with paper towels.

mmmm.....bacon!

Cut yourself some generous slices of beefsteak tomato and ripe avocado. Separate out the romaine lettuce leaves. Warm up the rolls in the oven for a few minutes.

Layer on a good mayo, romaine, tomato and celery salt on one side. The other sides gets mayo, bacon, avocado and cracked pepper.

Fold, slice and serve!

Butternut Squash Soup

Keri hooked me up with an immersion blender for my birthday and the first task was to whip up some butternut squash soup.

I picked the best ideas from a few cookbooks and it came out great - nice and light with some fresh herbs, lemon juice, and a little sour cream instead of heavy cream. The immersion blender whipped it up and made it velvety-smooth. I forgot how great that kitchen tool is! What else can I make with this thing?!

Sadie and I put a note in Lillie's lunchbox...

Herbed Roasted Turkey

Lillie is a turkey leg fiend!

I made an herb paste and bravely rubbed it under the skin of the turkey. It came out so flavorful and moist.

Waffle House

My first visit to a Waffle House was with Todd, Brian and Ryan after the Mofro/Galactic concert. Todd won the Customer of the Month award.

Brewing Champagne Vinegar

Happy New Year! I've wanted to make my own vinegar for some time now and the stars finally aligned. Take a recently uncorked bottle of Champagne. Lord knows we all have one of those sitting around this time of year!

Pour into a sterile container with water and the magic ingredient - a mother of vinegar.

The mother will slowly turns the alcohol into acetic acid and should produce a vinegar that is crisper and fresher tasting than a filtered, store-bought variety.

Cover with a cheese cloth and let it sit in a quiet, warm place for 2-4 months. Presto, fresh vinegar!

More to come...

Gingerbread Party

Lillie's Kindergarten class had a Gingerbread party this week filled with tons of candy, a good game of pin the nose on the gingerbread man and a gingerbread house-building contest. Sadie got to play along. Her house is in the forefront and Lillie's is in the back. They built them over recycled milk cartons. Too cute.


Bellies full of candy. Time for a rest before the sugar buzz kicks in!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Lettercakes

Buttermilk pancakes are the top requested breakfast in our house. These half-whole grain beauties are light and fluffy and the girls can't wait to eat their initials. Its the little things...Usually, I make a big batch and freeze the leftovers in ziptop bags for a fast and easy weekday morning meal. No buttermilk? Never fear! Give your pancakes some zip by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or even cider vinegar) to 2 cups of milk in order to bring up the acidity.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Lettercakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 egg white
Cooking spray
Maple syrup
Butter?

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, honey, oil, egg, and egg white. Add to flour mixture and loosely combine until moist with some lumps. An over-mixed smooth batter will make dense, hard pancakes. Keep them light and fluffy by not over-stirring.


Heat a nonstick griddle or skillet coated lightly with cooking spray over medium heat. Quickly ladle in about 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle in the shape of a letter. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.


Serve with syrup and maybe even some butter. Take the picture quick before the crew revolts!

Lillie McShakes a Lot

Lillie won some silly glasses from the Treasure Box and wore them all afternoon. I kept telling her to put down the McDonald's milkshake so I could take a picture but she refused. I'm glad she did. I love this picture. Reminds me a the old school McDonald's characters like Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar...


Whoa! Look at this guy! Lillie looks like the long lost daughter of Captain Crook! Nice Frisbee.