Zesty Beans

A customer came to the farm today and bought a number of jars of the regular pickled beans, and the zesty pickled beans. While chatting with him, he mentioned that he loved them, and that his family couldn't get enough of them. It made me realize that I haven't actually tried the beans before, let alone the zesty variety. So I gave them a try. Why I thought that trying something spicy was a good idea again, I still don't know.

I tried the baby beets before, and while they are delicious, it was a challenge to get just one out of the bottle. These beans are in clear vinegar, so it was no problem seeing them, and with nice smooth tips, they were even easier to grab a piece of than the asparagus was.

Confession time - I was never a fan of green beans before. When my parents cooked them they were always mushy and kind of flavourless and so I just assumed that all beans were mushy by nature. So I was surprised when there was a nice good crunch to my bite. And talk about flavour! How could they be flavourless when they're ZESTY?

I'm smacking myself for thinking that the added jalapeno pepper wouldn't make them spicy. I made that mistake already! I also wished it wasn’t right before lunch; I would like to be able to eat my sandwich without my tongue burning! Well these were definitely spicy. Thankfully it wasn't quiet as spicy as the HOT carrots. These were definitely Zesty rather than incredibly HOT and I'm thankful for that. I've starting to regain feeling in my tongue, so maybe lunch won't be so bad.

Despite the level of hot-ness, they were really good. I couldn't stop myself from taking another bite. As I took my second bite, I realized that there are some things that are always the same in Sunshine Farms pickled products. They taste really crisp and fresh, and there's a good crunch in every bite. And I can always enjoy the flavour of the original vegetable, even when my tongue's burning!

After I finished a few of the beans, I forced myself to close the jar. I don't want to snack on it without realizing, like I did the asparagus. I was worried that I would never regain feeling in my mouth!! ( OK may be not that much, but they are still pretty Zesty)

Josh was telling me the other day that his son (who isn't even two yet!) loves the zesty asparagus. Well if the zesty asparagus is as hot as the zesty beans, then I say - Good Luck to you ! Mind you, I think the crazy love of spicy-ness runs in the family...

So do you like the hotness of the Zesty or the HOT vegetables better? Have you tried the pickled beans? Did you and your family love them as much as our customer who came in today?
~Summer Pickle Blogger

Canada Day Weekend

This weekend was Canada day. And what a lovely weekend it was! Here in Chatham-Kent we had sunny blue skies (with a side of sunburn) for the entire 3 days. I think it's a record!

Canada Day (Friday) was fun. My parents were at a friend's party and my brother spent the day playing golf (cliché, I know). So my sister revelled in having the house to herself as I went to my boyfriend's house for his family barbeque. After supper we left for a bit, and took my sister to the Canada D'eh celebrations downtown in the park. Then we all (my siblings, and his family) went to watch the fireworks.

Saturday was kind of a lazy day. My friend and her son came over for dinner and a swim while her husband was at work. She's been my friend so long they she no longer counts as a guest, she's just “un-official” family. She is about 8 months pregnant at this point and craving chocolate and pickles. Unfortunately, she wants them both at the same time. Chocolate is amazing, pickles are good, but pickles soaked in chocolate pudding just doesn't work for me. Well, as soon as she walked into my house she announced that she wanted pickles and went to find some. We had about half of a jar of Sunshine Farms Dill Pickles left in the fridge, I don't know how they lasted, I think they were hidden in the back. Thankfully, we had no chocolate pudding. But she gobbled down the pickles like there was no tomorrow and said that she finally satisfied her craving. I suppose that there are worse cravings to have, I just hope that when I get around to having kids in a few years that my cravings are as healthy as hers She’s always said that we have the best food, but apparently Sunshine Farms pickles take the cake (metaphorically) for the best food in the fridge. She loved the “yummy pickle-ey taste” and the “crunchiness in every munch!” Spoken like a woman with a toddler! (I'm having a pickle tasting party this coming weekend, so you'll get more details on the pickles then)

Sunday, everyone was home. We had over some friends of the family for, you guessed it, dinner and a swim. Ah, the benefits of having a pool! They are friends of my parents, so they are “official” guests and get the “Royal Treatment”. The house was scoured from top to bottom, the pool was cleaned, and hamburgers were just not going to make the cut at this barbeque. Chicken and beef shish kabobs was the main course, along with salad, garlic bread, and macaroni salad. To make it a bit more interesting, we added some of the Sunshine Farms Pickled Asparagus (cut into small pieces) to the salad, and it was delicious! It added a nice texture and a funky flavour that everyone loved. Despite the fact that the asparagus was pickled, it tasted just as fresh as the tomatoes we had picked that morning. It even tasted good when soaked in strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing! I wish I had thought of putting pickled asparagus in salad sooner.

Well, food like that takes time to prepare, so the swim came first while my dad was burning... umm cooking, on the barbeque. Which meant that yours truly had to prepare everything that wasn't being burnt, or “cooked”. And guests getting the royal treatment must have hors d'œuvres to munch on while supervising the kid’s swim.

Well, I’m not exactly the best cook, but even I can’t mess up a salad. So the hors d'œuvres had to be equally simple but still tasty. So we (aka, everyone but me) had “fancy” crackers with hummus, but that’s a little plain. So we added some of the Sunshine Farms Jalapeno Jelly. The jelly has a really strong flavour, with an equally strong spicy level. Thankfully the hummus balanced out the spiciness while still leaving the unique flavour. Well, saying that hummus and jalapeno jelly was a hit is as obvious as saying that the two teenage boys ate most of well, everything.

So did you have any weird pregnancy cravings involving pickles like my friend? Did Sunshine Farms Dill Pickles satisfy you just as much? Was your long weekend as fun packed as mine? What do you serve your “Royal Treatment” guests? Have you ever tried the jalapeno jelly? What did you think of it?

~Summer Pickle Blogger

P.S. I'm sorry to say that the jalapeno jelly isn't available in stores. So if you want to try some, you have to come out to visit me at the farm to get it! You can find our address on our website at http://www.picklesplease.ca/drupal/Contact

Tasting Asparagus and Growing Peppers

Today I attempted the pickled asparagus. Considering that it is the most popular product here at Sunshine Farms, I figured it was about time. I was recommended to the Zesty Asparagus, Josh said it had a kick but that it wasn't too spicy. I do believe that Josh (the oldest son) and I have different opinions on spicy, as is proved below.

Since the asparagus season just finished up, so they've been planting the next few runs of vegetables. One of the main fall crops is peppers, which need to be planted now. They use peppers in a lot of their products. You can get solely pickled jalapeno peppers (I'm not looking forward to trying those!) but the main use for peppers is as an extra ingredient in the other products Zesty varieties. So they need to grow an extra large amount!

When they were done planting, they still had a couple of dozen extra pepper plants. So they asked me if I wanted to take any of them grow at home. Now, I didn't know what the plants were- they have been planting a variety of things,and they are small, green, and leafy at first.

I asked Josh what the plants were. He said that they were kind of spicy but not too hot unlike some other varieties of peppers. Well, that was a fairly vague answer and didn't really tell me what I wanted to know. I now know that they are some sort of pepper, but I have never really heard of an un-spicy pepper. So, slightly more wary, I asked him again what they were.

He admitted they were jalapeno peppers, but like all other jalapeno peppers, they weren't that hot- in fact he enjoys adding a few to his burgers. So for all you adventurous people, there's a new idea for you! But as we previously went over, I am not a spicy fan. So the fact that they were JUST jalapeno peppers was not appealing to me, and the plants went to someone else.

So back to the original point of the story: attempting the non-zesty pickled asparagus. It was really good! As I bit into it, there was a nice satisfying crunch, then the taste exploded in my mouth. It was slightly salty, (as are all pickled products because of the salt and vinegar used in the pickling process) but not overwhelmingly so; I could definitely still taste asparagus. I was expecting it to be rather mushy considering it's been sitting in vinegar for over 6 weeks so I was pleasantly satisfied with the nice crunch. It still tasted fresh and crisp- a real treat. I was only going to try a few stalks but as I started typing, the asparagus kept disappearing. The jar is now half empty, and being hidden so I can save a bit of room for my lunch!

Have you tried our pickled asparagus? Did you find it as I good as I did? Did your asparagus also “mysteriously disappear?”

~Summer Pickle Blogger

Regular vs. HOT Carrots

I realized that there's something important about me that you should know: I'm not a spicy person. Mild Chicken wings used to set my mouth on fire (the only reason that this is no longer true is that I don't eat them anymore. I'm a honey garlic chicken wing girl.) So the moral of the story is that I get along with spicy foods about as well as baking soda gets along with vinegar: it explodes.

But then my problem is that it’s difficult to find things with a good flavour. Most foods, especially vegetables, are either boiled and bland or grilled and spicy. So I’m looking for a perfect combination of the two. Carrots have always been my favourite snacking veggie, and if you ask my parents then they'll pull out their favourite stories with me involving diapers and carrots. While they are still yummy, I have gotten kind of bored snacking on the same food for over a decade. And there started my search for the perfect snacking vegetable.

For some reason, I thought that the HOT Pickled Carrots might be just what I’m looking for. There’s only one small piece of pepper in with all of those carrots, so this seemed to be a reasonable assumption, wouldn’t you think?

Well, I thought wrong. I took a bite of one of these hot carrots, and as I start chewing, I'm thinking that it's not so bad. There's a bit of a zing, but it still has the taste and texture of a normal carrot. I'm not a fan of mushy cooked carrots, so the crunchy texture was just perfect. But then one second passes, and another, and I realize that I'm losing feeling in my tongue! I thought it was a carrot, but it tasted like I was taking a bite straight out of a pepper! I took me three glasses of water and a banana to be able to taste again. But I still can't taste normally. And let me tell you, cupcakes do not go well with a spicy after taste!

Then I brought the hot carrots to a friend to see what he thought. And he loved them! Said that the spiciness was exactly what he loved, but could never find. Of course I think he's a bit crazy, but by the time I got back from getting a drink, the entire jar was empty. So the HOT carrots gets three thumbs up from him (he “borrowed” one of my hands) and a burnt tongue from me.

Well, I did enjoy the taste of the carrots before the pepper kicked in, so I figured I'd give the regular variety (without the jalapenos!) a try. And lo and behold, I found exactly what I was looking for. A nice crunch when I bit into it, soft to chew, and it tasted like a delicious carrot with a dash of extra flavour that made it better than the regular variety, and I could still feel my tongue after (which is an extra bonus). Ladies and Gentleman, I found my new favourite snack food! I give it four thumbs up!

Have you tried the pickled carrots? Who do you agree with? Am I right in saying that the most delicious one is the regular variety, or is my friend right in saying that the HOT carrots are the best? What do you think?

~Summer Pickle Blogger

Introducing Me

Hello everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself; I am the summer intern here at Sunshine Farms. It's my job to renovate our website to make sure that it gets across the feeling and impressions that we want. Because we're all about delicious pickles (and other pickled vegetables!), all natural organic products, and family to enjoy them with, we want our website to show that. So if you have any ideas, if there's anything you'd like to see on our website, or you just want to share your opinion on any of it, feel free to let me know! You can always leave a comment on the website, comment here on the blog, or send an email to info@picklesplease.ca. For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, the website is www.picklesplease.ca.

I'm also in charge of updating all of the social networking sites while I'm here. When you're checking out this blog, or our facebook or twitter, I'm the one you'll be hearing from. This frees up all our farmers so they can farm, and lets the picklers concentrate on pickling, while still making sure you stay up to date. So again, if there's anything you'd like to see, give me a shout!

Being here at sunshine farms has really opened up my eye to the pickled world. I had heard of dill pickles, and Sweet baby pickles, but Bread and Butter Pickles, Pickles Asparagus, Pickled Beets, Pickles carrots! I had no idea that any of them even existed, let alone that there was a “Zesty” version! So while I'm here, I'll be leading you through all of the different products as I give them a try, and as I feed my favourites (or just the extra spicy ones!) to my friends and family.

~ Summer Pickle Blogger

New Recipe to Try

Fabulous Fried Pickled Beans!



Batter:
1/2 cup flour*
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/4 cup beer*
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 tbsp cayenne pepper*
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp paprika**
1 tbsp black pepper

Dip pickled beans in batter and fry in oil until the pickle slices float to the top.

Holiday Contest!

Hey all you pickles lovers! Holiday contest for everyone: Post your favorite recipe (using a pickled something) and the winner will be the proud owner of a holiday gift basket!