Saturday, September 12, 2009

911 Dills

Sometimes, when someone is having a heart attack,
it's dismissed as heartburn. And then again,
the opposite can be true. Now, I don't know
how often it has happened that the meds used
to prevent myocardial infarction
actually contribute to the symptoms
of heartburn, which are mistaken
to actually be a heart attack....is your head spinning
a little bit there in this weird circle?
Dizzy? Is your kitchen prepped for pickles?
Nitro, anyone?

So. In the midst of pickling, R. and I
were surrounded by a bevy of EMT's
and flashing red lights and a drive over the bridge
in Friday rush-hour traffic to revisit the ER.
Nine-eleven. Eerie as hell.
And yes, all is well.

When we got back to the house last night,
I decided to go ahead with the pickling
in spite of the late hour. Can you say crazy?
Crazy crazy crazy. (Go ahead, say it!)
Craziness compounded by the fact that my stovetop
is on the fritz and can only be controlled
by switching the breaker on/off.
And won't heat properly....

Hours, hours later, my dozen pint jars
of dill pickles sat cooling on the counter,
belying the drama which just hours before
swirled about them like jalapeno spiced vinegar.
Ho hum.

(Ho-humble pickles which must simmer
silently in their acids for two months
before we consume their flesh.)

And so, without further ado,
I present to you my 911 Dills:

These look not unlike the photos I took this summer
of Irish tidepool flora & fauna:

13 comments:

  1. My dad once started a kelp pickle business on his sailboat. It was not successful!

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  2. Robin: Kelp:pickles:sailboat=oxymoron.
    (The world is lucky that I'm not a mathematician/logician. But I think you get my drift.)

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  3. Oy. You have had enough drama for one year. I'm glad this was a false alarm.

    As for the pickles, I used to make them, but I have become horribly lazy. I might, just maybe, make some pickled beets this year, because the ones I make are much better than the ones I can buy at the supermarket. Time will tell.

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  4. p.s. I forgot to mention - do you grow grapes, by any chance? I found out a few years ago that if you put a grape leaf in the jar with your pickles, they will be nice and crisp.

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  5. Crazy!! Not that you continued picklin', I suppose, but poor R!! Enough!

    Very pretty photo of those jars all lined up. A portrait of triumph.

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  6. Me again. There's an award waiting for you over at The Turtle. (and I promise not to comment again tonight).

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  7. Did you actually use jalapeno infused vinegar? That would be crazy. But awesome.

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  8. Sandra -- yes, I've heard about the grape leaf thing. Had a friend who did it.

    Tara -- thanks for stopping by!
    Agreed: enough.

    K. -- well....yeah. Actually, I put some fresh sliced jalapeno in some of the jars. You have a crazy wife. (But you already know that.)(I hope.)

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  9. taht's a lot to go through for a pickle, i think.

    you'll have memory-triggers every time you eat one.

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  10. An uncanny similarity, down to the little wilted sprig of dill on top. Glad it was a false alarm. and glad people still make pickles, in spite of all the reasons not to.

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  11. Mairi -- I'll let the "uncanny" word play slip right by....ha!

    But I do love: "glad people still make pickles, in spite of all the reasons not to."

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Whew!

    So glad about the false alarm.

    As for the rest--when I'm not in a pickle, I'm with Sandra in the horrible lazy department.

    Again, whew!

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  13. Ewww... the tidepool even has a fetid scent..

    Your pickles are heroic.

    And so are you.

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