I have a hankering to pickle things (OK no idea where that word came from). I am almost certain that I will begin tomorrow. I know the weird weather and more likely the fact that we bought some small canning jars for another project spurred it on in my mind. It also could be that I did strip my dwarf lemon trees of every fruit they had and preserved those in their juices and salt, lots and lots of salt. Either way I want to make assorted pickles, some types that I know I already love and a few things I am not sure if I will even like.

To go with some idea of what you may or will see posted here I will jot down a few of what I do plan for now. Let me know if you have any other suggestions please.

• Pickled onions. I know they are great on beans (see my non recipe), I recently had a hamburger and was thinking this would just rock even more with some pickled onions on it.
• Pickled carrots. I have always loved these. My Nana used to put up pickles, jalapenos (grandfather was a fiend), and a few other things. Anyways she would make the occasional jar of pickled carrots and would stick a few carrot sticks in the jars of jalapenos too. I found a food crush I can not let go of.
• Pickled radishes. This would be a new one. Just want to try it after seeing some radishes at the store. Plus they can be planted soon anyways – yippee for fast growing vegetables.
• Pickled cabbage (kimchi). Only have barely tried the stuff in a jar that stores carry. That was also about 25 years ago as my dad had a thing for it. Back then he liked things I did not such as blue cheese and well kimchi. Times have changed and I am now interested in giving it another shot.
• Gardenia pickle. I am very tempted to toss a few veggies together to make a gardenia style pickle. Seriously have you seen the prices on this stuff? I know I can get some cauliflower, carrots, celery, boiling onions (hm pickled boiling onions), bell peppers, and peppers. Yeah it can be changed up but I think you get my drift. Perhaps this one though is for actual canning and not just a jar in the chill chest.

I am not that big of a fan of sweet or bread and butter pickles though. I like them sour. I will take the occasional sweet pickle but yeah – just not high on my list.

Off topic, I will get you all some more recipes here again soon along with pictures. I just have been really, really bad about remembering to use the camera. Plus I seriously hate my little point and shoot camera, especially since I have a wonderful Nikon just sitting in my closet with a collection of lenses. I should make the switch and then perhaps I will then remember to take more pictures and better ones at that.

I honor all things sandwich, I find them the near perfect food. They are portable, tasty, often contain everything your body needs, are equally good hot or cold, and of course there are infinite varieties. The idea of a sandwich sounds easy, yet it is also one of the easiest things to mess up as construction as just to much to do with how great a sandwich can be as what is in it.

We can have fights about every aspect of what makes the perfect sandwich, going literally layer by layer. Breads alone can stir deep debate without even tossing in the possibility of if a flour tortilla wrap or a pita pocket still counts as a sandwich. Arguments over condiments, vegetables, meat types, non meat fillings, seasonings, sauces, and as you can see – name it and there is some debate. Let us not even start about hot or cold, and if you should dress a sandwich in the morning that is to be eaten latter that afternoon.

Of course to many though the art of the sandwich has almost become a lost art. Not so long ago the at home cook was able to whip up a whole slew worth of tasty sandwiches that were not only good, they were respectable. Today it seems if you do not end up going to some deli, or odd smelling chain sandwich shop (you do smell it right?), your chances at even a mediocre sandwich are often dashed. I may be being very critical of such shops, and I will still give props to the few mom and pop deli’s that do it right but I must say those 3 or so chain sandwich places are doing to sandwiches what burger chains did to burgers – and that is not right.

Ending my rant now and I will leave you with the top 10 sandwiches:

• Roast Beef, on sliced sourdough: Mustard, horseradish mayo, pepper jack cheese, pepperoncini, red onion, light amount of arugula.
• Dry salami, on sourdough roll: Mustard, easy on mayo, cheddar cheese, pepperoncini, red onion, dill pickle slices.
• Thick bacon, bibb lettuce, and tomato (garden picked only): White bread toasted on one side of bread only, mayo on soft side of bread, salt and pepper the tomato.
• Pulled pork, on kaiser roll: gently sauced with a spicy KC style BBQ sauce, with mayo based coleslaw added onto of the pork.
• French dip: Beef slowly braised in rich beef and onion stock – then fork shredded. Dutch crunch roll, slathered with mayo on each side, few grinds of black pepper, several slices of avocado, and sweet white onion. Served with the cooking broth.
• Tuna fish on homemade wheat bread: Light on the mayo, plenty of pepper, finely diced red onion, and either capers or dill relish.
• The very humble egg salad sandwich: White bread, not much mayo, touch of grain mustard, salt and pepper, capers, celery seed, and finally diced sweet onion.
• The Rubin: More fond of it on sliced sourdough but will take it on rye. Corned beef (can not be dry), drained sauerkraut, and Russian dressing. Lightly toasted.
• The Cuban (sorry if I do not know correct name): Cuban bread, mojo marinated slow roasted pork, glazed ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles, and yellow mustard. Then pressed and toasted.
• The muffuletta: Muffuletta loaf, homemade olive spread that must have cauliflower, celery, and carrots in it, capicola, salami, mortadella, Swiss cheese, and provolone cheese. – This sandwich must rest for awhile before it is allowed in my top 10.

Feel free to agree with me, pull out your voodoo kit and punish me, or try and change my mind. Yes I am aware I left off many peoples favorites. I listed no hamburgers, primarily because I do not classify them as sandwiches. I did snub the cheese steak as well as the meat ball. I also admit that I was mighty torn leaving off one of the all time great legendary status sandwiches of all times, even in my realm – the leftovers Thanksgiving dinner sandwich. After heavy heart I left it off for the only reason being that it is a sandwich that only can really take place after a Thanksgiving dinner, and if you are like me the real reason for having one.

Fairly sure we are heading into a 3rd year of a drought. Not really much I can do about it. The weather has been super warm to say the least. I am honestly thinking about uncovering my BBQ and starting to grill and slow cook some stuff outside. I really can not take the cold, my body rejects it but it just has been that warm. Also should be on the look out for a rotisserie for my BBQ, I do not have one and I really think I should get one despite that I do a whole lot of indirect cooking. Now I must see if I can find one for my model of BBQ.

I also assure you I will have some more recipes up and posted soon. I did start a big batch of dough and let it sit around and rise on our counter for about 18 hours or so. It now sits covered in the fridge awaiting to be turned into some bread. Speaking of which we do have a lovely flour mill in town that grinds all of their assorted flours. I am going to visit them this week (on a bread kick), I will be sure to snap some photos for all of you.

I noticed I have just been typing stuff straight out of my head on this blog and really not editing it at all. I vow to change that very soon, perhaps as early as the 1st. I also will do a better job at taking photos and running them through photo shop. You can say that I have been a bit lazy with the whole thing and that really is not my style. I apologize for that. Warning you may still see a few bad pictures here and there over the next few updates as I have already shot a bunch of standby material and I just can not redo them.

I also plan on giving this blog a bit of a touch up. I knew from the get go that it was very generic. I figured I would eventually get to making it a bit more pretty and reflective of myself. Speaking of this blog a few people I have spoke to have asked me about it and why I would even bother. It is not like it will make me any money, nor provide me with some ego boost. I do not do this for the comments, though they would be nice. I am primarily doing this mostly because I do like to share and I want an easy place for my wife, my friends, or even myself to quickly find some of my recipes.

I have been thinking a lot lately which almost always can be a bad thing, it often lands me in trouble or making a mess. I have been reading tons of blogs, one at a time almost. Thankfully I am a quick reader, and I love the comments that people leave. I will find a blog and then read the whole entire thing over the course of a day or two, three to four if I am lucky and stumble on a large older blog I had not read yet. Anyways back to my thinking. I have noticed a whole lot of so called “foodies” and as of today I really do not think I am one anymore.

Allow me to explain. I love food, I am very particular about many of my ingredients.  I will often spend a little bit or a bit more to buy the better item, yet it better really be better and not just a better or more fashionable name. Designer foods really piss me off, nothing I hate more with food that something that is only popular because some other popular people claimed it was. I have just about every spice known to man. I have a wide assortment of vinegars and oils. I grind many of my own spices, I grow herbs. Heck I have different types of salts which to many non food people would make zero sense. Friends and family know I am sort of the go to person when it comes to making something or other, I can always be relied upon to bring a great dish to whatever I am invited to – people enjoy coming to my dinners for the food. In almost every sense of the word people would think I am a foodie.

Much to my surprise, I do not seem to fit in as much though. I must be lacking some special gene or something. I do not have an issue if someone wants to pour ketchup on their steak before even trying it. Macaroni and cheese out of a box will do in a pinch. The ideas that everything must be organic and people can always taste the difference seems plain odd to me. I guess it boils down to that as long as somebody enjoys it and that is how they like it, why should I bitch or care otherwise?

The more I read the more it seems that many have placed foodie and elitist snob in the same group. People seem to scoff at many items as if they are below people. Even worse is the whole assumption that everything must spoil near instantly and one would have an insane death wish if they dared to even think about leaving something out for an hour or whatever – the type of people who would of starved to death less than a century ago it seems.

I really should not even be going on about all of this as I may end up offending even more people. Just one of those things that really gets under my nerves. Almost as bad as those who give a recipe a negative review – after they have changed just about everything in it.

Figured I would begin to share my “planned” menu plans on my blog. May as well allow them to leave my way to fussy self made calendar done up in Excel. I will admit though that before I started to plan out my little Excel menu this year, the wife and I had way to many conversations and semi arguments about what is for dinner – typically like an hour before we should be eating. This also wrecked havoc on trying to do our shopping since we really never knew what we wanted. I mean of course we could and will adjust assorted vegetables and such to the seasons – the base dishes really could still be laid out (of course with some wiggle room if something special or on sale popped up).

So far my menu only includes dinner items. I am taking it slow and easing into the whole thing. Plus I often just eat leftovers or a sandwich for lunch anyways and honestly my idea of breakfast is usually a cup of tea and maybe a piece of toast (yeah I need to work on that).

One last little note. This article may change a bit as things get updated or switched around (that’s life). I will also try to link any given dishes that I managed to photograph and write out the recipe to share here. That way they are easier to find.

February Menu Plan:

1. Thai style chicken skewer, peanut sauce, cucumber salad, and rice.
2. Roast beef, mixed vegetables, and twice baked potatoes.
3. Roast beef sandwiches served open face with gravy, and a salad.
4. Spinach salad, lamb meatballs, saffron couscous, and almond cookies ~ adapted from Sunset magazine.
5. Old fashioned homemade hamburgers.
6. White fish, steamed vegetables, and a baked potato.
7. Some sort of soy based slow cooked chicken thighs, rice, and carrot salad.
8. Chicken parmesan, vegetables, and garlic bread.
9. Porcupine meatballs, mashed potatoes, and salad.
10. Beef stroganoff my way over rice, and salad.
11. Gumbo, rice, and cornbread.
12. Shepherds pie ~ with a note to fry extra ground beef for taco’s.
13. Sweet and sour chicken over rice.
14. Valentines day dinner ~ more than likely will mail order lobster or crayfish.
15. Soft taco’s, re fried beans, fresh salsa and guacamole.
16. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
17. Baked spiral ham, glazed carrots, and roasted potatoes.
18. Ham and cheese omelets and a salad.
19. Steak, potato skins, and brussel sprouts.
20. Homemade macaroni and cheese, along with some ham. Will be bulk making the mac and cheese for extra freezer sides.
21. Soup and bread – not sure of what type, figure it will use ham bone.
22. Loaded burritos, fresh salsa, guacamole, beans, and rice.
23. Corned beef, cabbage, boiled vegetables.
24. Leftover corned beef and cabbage dinner.
25. Leftover stuffed peppers from the freezer when I made them in bulk, plus salad.
26. Homemade pizza.
27. Beef stew.
28. Leftover beef stew.

Well there you have it for now. We also will be trying to toss in a few desserts as well as some baked goods scattered throughout the month.