[Note: I actually did this almost three weeks ago, I've just been lazy with getting the pictures off my camera and onto the internet.]
So while I haven't been doing a good job of documenting the progress of my garden, I did think to grab my camera about halfway through the pickling process the other day. After picking a
ridiculous amount of banana peppers in the yard, something had to be done, so I took over the kitchen for a day and created this assembly line:
When I first started, I had no idea that the pickling process would be so long and involved. It took me the better part of the entire day to process the peppers--from picking them in the garden in the morning to finally cramming them into the gigantic Mason jar in the late afternoon.
The whole thing left me feeling very domestic. In an 1895 kinda way.
The beginning of the line: the bucket that was full to overflowing when I began and the small jar where I saved the seeds. I figured that if I had to get them out of the peppers, I may as well save them and see if they could be planted next spring. Only time will tell.
Cutting board and bowl for sliced peppers! By the time I was done, the board was practically soaked full of banana pepper juice and the whole kitchen smelled rather strongly. Also, my hands. (In this picture you can also see the first of the eggplants in the background!)
The compost bucket for the unpickleable portions of the peppers. Also, the empty jar waiting to be filled.
The finished product! I packed the peppers into the jar with a vinegar and sugar mixture and sealed it up! They were supposed to be ready after two weeks (which passed this past Monday), but I haven't had occasion to eat any yet. I'll let y'all know how they are!
I'll also have to do another post on the scholarship issues (which were finally resolved . . . the day before yesterday) and yet another (or more) to cover the recent King family vacation to California and Arizona.
Oh, I'm so behind!
Both leading ladies did an excellent job--especially Streep, whose impersonation was dead-on--but I have to admit I was a little disturbed by the extent of Julie's obsession with Julia. Ever so slightly creepy . . . though not weird enough to ruin the movie.
