In a pickle

I’ve been pushing a large brown bag of gorgeous, tri-color green beans from Echo Valley farm around my little 3/4 size fridge since last week’s farmer’s market. Feeding them to the munchkin is an exercise in self-defeat. We’ve come a LONG way in the last year or so, even discovering that thinly sliced zuchini grilled over the fire is a special favorite. But no amount of dessert bribery can induce her to eat green beans yet. So what to do? As usual, it’s way too much food for me to eat, I know I can’t sell “leftover” green beans in my house any better than the original round. This morning I hit on the perfect idea-pickle them! I’m a total nut for all things pickled, fermented, and otherwise crazily biologically experimented with. And pickles, best of all, can be stored in narrow, upright jars in the back of my Teeny Tiny Fridge for long periods of time. Or at least a month, anyway. If I had the energy to properly can them, WAY longer in the pantry. If you have a pantry, which I hear some people do.
So anyway, if you feel yourself called to pickle, pick up a copy of Karen Solomon’s “jam it, pickle it, cure it”. A lot of genius ideas for biological kitchen experiments of your own. She’s local, based in San Francisco, and came down to Pescadero to do a workshop a year or so ago. She is hilarious, and we all had a fantastic time tasting super spicy pickles and homemade miso.
I used her recipe for pickled green beans, and tried to stuff the jars so the different colors of beans would alternate. Why? Because they’re pretty. And I love to open my Teeny Tiny Fridge and see jars and jars of pretty things to eat!