So, Saturday afternoon I was feeling kinda pookie (in other words, run down) and took a nap. Woke up, started to get ready to fix dinner and...
You ever get a CRAVING for something? Well, still feeling kinda pookie, I opened the refrigerator to get stuff to make chicken and potatoes and my eyes fell on the jar of 'Talk O' Texas Pickled Okra (Mild)' and, boy, I started salivating and shaking like, well, a dog wanting a treat.
Ever have pickled okra? Stuff is good. So I ate the 5 remaining okra and... Man, that pickling vinegar sure smelled good. So I chugged about 2 cups of pickle juice. Ahhh. Perfection. Eyes popped open, shakes stopped, stomach calmed down totally, sinuses cleared and, WOW, I really felt better and awake and alive.
Cravings... They exist for a reason. Your mind and body are telling you that something is missing. So, those cravings for chocolate are not just because good chocolate is good tasting, but full of good stuff that helps stabilize moods and so forth and blah blah blah...
Pickle juice, that's what I wanted to really write about. Say what? Beans has totally lost his mind, right? Nope. Back in the day, when I was fighting, pickles and olives were always a good snack, full of electrolytes and stuff the body needs when melting while wearing armor and fighting in the hot summer Florida sun. But pickle juice? Well, pickle juice is wet, cool if kept out of the sun, full of electrolytes also and a lot less sugar than Gatorade. Roman soldiers, gladiators and workers drank vinegar and water. Add a little salt (from pickling) and, et voila, pickle juice.
I tend to eat a lot of pickles during the summer, and occasionally during the winter. So there's always some pickle juice in the refrigerator. Great for days when no other liquids seem to quench your thirst. My favorite is, besides the Talk O' Texas mild Pickled Okra, are Publix (grocery chain in the Southeast USA) dills. Just the right touch of garlic and dill and vinegar and salt. Mmmmmm. Getting thirsty now just thinking about it.
Mmmmm, pickled Okra... Mmmmmm.....
Publix dills.... Publix, where shopping is a pleasure
(seriously, it's the only food store short of Trader Joe's where the place is clean and the staff is nice.)
(seriously, it's the only food store short of Trader Joe's where the place is clean and the staff is nice.)
Seriously. Next time you're sweating to death working outside, chug some pickle juice. If you're a novitiate, mix it with a little water first. A cup, 2 cups worth is perfect. Back in Lawnmowing days I'd drink about 4 cups total over 2-3 hours of yardwork.
Other than that, got nothing. Have a great Sunday, enjoy the 6 to 12" of snow over the northern midwest, gotta love that global warming... juvat will hopefully be here on Monday, heck, he better be.
Feeling a little weak? Eat a pickle. Don't throw that pickle juice away, save it for a shaky day!
I've always hated the smell and taste of vinegar.
ReplyDeleteSo it's doubly odd when once in a very long while I will have a bit of pickle.
For me, drinking pickle juice is way out there on the event horizon.
I did a stint as a civilian steam boiler repairman after leaving active duty, and one of the regular calls was a pickle (pickling?) plant in New Jersey.
Spending time in the plant when they were processing certainly cleared out my sinuses, as well as near blinding me, and giving my work uniforms a certain, odeur de cornichon. (credit to Google Translate)
I hadn't remembered the pickle factory in a very long time.
Good post and thank you.
Glad to bring back ancient memories, I think.
DeleteMrs. Andrew can't stand the smell of vinegar, to the point that some ketchups or mustards are too strong. But she likes Heinz original dills. Weird.
Me? I have willingly drunk rice vinegar because it tastes good to me.
But, then again, I don't do alcoholic beverages, so maybe it's my body's way of getting something that is normally found in alcohol.
Never been a fan of hairy vegetables, but do love some pickles. Pickled jalapenos are my go to garnish for hot dogs, hamburgers, tuna salad, sausage wrap..... Never tried pickle juice straight though. Might have to give that a shot.
ReplyDeleteRe: Monday....I've got the jet, Beans. Haven't got a clue what I'm going to write about, but I've got the jet.
Mrs. Andrew, before the brain bleed, could eat a jar of jalapeno slices and not shed a tear eating or... later. After the BB, she can't stand being in a room with them. (The Mexican restaurant we used to frequent called her the Jalapeno Lady and would bring a big bowl of the evil things to the table when they would come for the drink order.
DeleteAs to pickle juice, well, next time you're in the shop and sweating yourself to death, try it. Might help.
And... a Draft post with just "Draft" hanging in pending since the 24th or so? I hope you'll have something ready... Jet is yours, Sir. Just don't break it!
I was going to post something, just to fill the void, when you had your issue with your machine. I created the draft and started thinking about what to write, then came back to the blog and saw your "uh...Hello?" post. Didn't remember I had that draft created until just now. Sorry, I will ritually disembowel myself an my earliest opportunity.
DeleteNah, just some ritual flogging is required...
DeleteClose to finishing up a jar of kosher dills, will keep the juice around this time and try it. About 70 miles south of me winter gave the finger to folks there yesterday but it was only a light fall and well.... with the ground being warm...... better them than me though..... Onions and potatoes are ready to plant...... :)
ReplyDeleteSome kosher dills are heavily garlic-y, as in Vampire-killing levels. It's an acquired taste.
DeleteAs to winter, well, this isn't the first year winter keeps coming. It's done it before, almost like it has nothing to do with us but more to do with the sun and cycles and stuff. I'm just glad I don't have to drive in that stuff. Bad enough having to occasionally get trapped on the road in a squall or heavy storm.
Onions and potatoes... Hmmm.. home fried potatoes with onions and heavy on the side of bacon... mmmmmm...
About a year ago I started wanting dill pickles now & then... I've been buying a couple jars of the spears every month since then. Odd.
ReplyDeleteYour body is telling you it's missing something. Pickles are great sources of electrolytes and some vitamins. And most pickles are tastier than vitamin pills or Gatorade.
DeleteI believe in the theory that, when not hungry and in a food store and something on the shelf starts glowing like the Grail in a dark cave, well, buy it because your brain and the rest of your body is trying to tell you it needs something.
Plus, pickles will be great in the troubled times ahead. Something to have with all the burgers during the upcoming firestorms known as Election 2020!
I like fried okra and pickled okra. BOILDED is something else again. I've heard you have to eat it sitting down to have any chance of it staying in your system for longer than a minute.
ReplyDeleteWhen I played summer baseball, we'd get a free drink at the concession stand. It was a suicide with half pickle juice for me. No one else ever did that. My kids and I always drink the juice. And a pickle juice snow cone is really refreshing on a 100+ day on the high plains....
Good memories Beans! Thanks!
I had my fill of boiled okra eating gumbo growing up. My dad, being Cajun, cooked it frequently. Just the thought of gumbo now makes my stomach roil and my throat shut. Bleh. Don't know why.
DeleteFried okra? Oh, heck yeah!
Now, pickle juice snow cone. Hmmmm. That actually sounds good on a hot day.
Glad I could bring back good memories. You're welcome!
They'ya seems to be a bunch o' yankees ah reading these here'ya posts of y'alls. "Talk O Texas" okra has been a staple of ours for years now (in California, as well). Love 'em - hot especially, but mild in a pinch. Okra is good no matter where you find it. They love it in the Middle East as well, albeit prepared differently. I tried to grow some back in Apple Valley (read George AFB), but it was too hot and they came out like plastic models of okra. Pan fried coated in cornmeal is hard to beat too. We, however, are Claussen pickle people.
ReplyDeleteI have eaten pickled okra before, but about 2 years ago, wandering the aisles of Wallyworld, and my body said "MUST HAVE, MUST HAVE NOW!!!!" Bought a jar, finished it on the way home, is now a staple in my pantry.
DeleteClaussen is good, much better than Mt. Olive. But pretty much any pickle is good when sweating to death while fighting in armor, especially if pickle and pickle juice is cool (really cold pj does interesting things to the throat as the body rejects the temperature shock...)(Or, as the lovely Mrs. Andrew calls it, ABC food (already been chewed.)) :)
Sliced into rings, battered with a cornmeal batter, and deep fried crispy. Yum...
Pickle juice = poor man's Gatorade?
ReplyDeleteIt's actually better for you than Gatorade. You don't get the sugar high and then sugar drop-off. Gatorade is okay in a pinch, but Gatorade and Pickle Juice is weird but good.
DeleteStrange cravings occur when you're sweating so bad that salt crystals form in your drops.
Back in the day when hay was mowed with a scythe and Codfish were caught using tub trawls from dories field hands and fishermen in New England drank a beverage called "Switchel" which was vinegar, water, and either maple syrup or molasses, with some ginger. The ginger being a sedative for the stomach.
ReplyDeleteNow...I DO like vinegar. One of my favorite side dishes is 3 bean salad with an abundance of fresh garlic and vinegar. Served Ice Cold, of course.
DeleteI love 3 bean salad. That and good malt vinegar on fish and chips. Two dishes I have to eat far away from Mrs. Andrew due to her aversion to vinegar.
DeleteBack when we had a Captain D's, I'd periodically go there to have some fish with my malt vinegar. But those days are over, as there is no Captain D's or Long John Silvers in Gainesville, Fl. Sigh.
Now that you mentioned 3BS, hmmm, gonna have to see if Publix has some for sale Monday when I go shopping.
Secanjeban is also a vinegar, water and honey drink. Kinda tasty when it's hot outside, kinda barfy when it's cold outside.
When I was a teen ager and worked on a neighbor's farm during haying season, his wife made a drink of apple cider vinegar, honey and fresh cold well water. She would make a gallon at a time, we would tuck it in the shade and when we got done loading a wagon with 80# bales, we would slug some down. It was the BEST stuff. Would cut the thirst like no body's business!! She found the recipe in a book called The Vermont Country Doctor, if I recall correctly. The author was a huge fan of all things apple cider vinegar. Good memories, Beans.
ReplyDeleteNever been a fan of okra...it was always slimy...what am I doing wrong?
The drink you are describing is an old Turkish drink, and probably an old European one, too. Enough vinegar to make the water safe, honey to make it taste good. It's not bad, the vinegar cuts the crud out of one's throat and the honey covers the raw spots. Not my favorite, but not bad. Try it with a sweet rice vinegar for an extra smooth experience.
DeleteAs to okra, it is slimy when boiled. Frying is the way to go. Cut it into rounds, batter it with your preferred breading mix, and fry to crispy satisfaction. You can do pickle chips this way, too!
I used to down a shot or so of cider vinegar every morning; I'd heard that it helped keep the skeeters off you. Never noticed an appreciable difference, but it did eliminate the need for coffee in the morning!
ReplyDeleteBeans, this was elegantly--or at least nicely--put:
"...shaking like, well, a dog wanting a treat."
My late Daddy would have said shaking like a dog...umm...'defecating' would be a good alternative term...peach pits.
--Tennessee Budd
Pickles and Beans. Two favorites.
ReplyDeleteHad beans on tacos on Saturday. Yes, that story will be told. (No pickles though, just a of of tacos and cerveza.
¡Buenos tiempos!
You are so relaxed from vacationing that you forgot another ")" at the end of the second paragraph. Slacker!
DeleteMrs. Andrew likes sweet pickles with her pinto beans. Me? I like big chunks of ham with my pinto beans.
Glad you are still communicative, you big slacker you.
I don't recall where the revelation occurred, but some years ago I was turned onto sweet pickles as a side to eggs. It sounds odd, but I find the combination delicious (actually, after some experimentation, I prefer bread & butter pickles). A slice or three of tomato is de rigueur with eggs, of course, preferably homemade & homegrown (the pickles & the tomato, respevtively).
DeleteBreathes there a man with soul so dead--or so little room on his deck or porch for a couple of pots--that he can't grow his own tomatoes? The very thought boggles the mind. As that great philosopher Guy Clark once said, "Ain't but two things that money can't buy, & that's True Love and homegrown tomatoes".
I like pintos with salsa & relish on the side: if you've never heard of Chow Chow, DDG it & get yourself some. Your taste buds will thank you. That s#!t goes with damned near everything.
--Tennessee Budd
I've recently grown to love those crisp dills. Putting the long slices on a sandwich increases its tastiness 10 fold. I'll skip the juice though. It's probably some miracle cure for cancer or something though, but nobody knows except you!
ReplyDelete