Half Sour Pickles

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            FOOD FUNNY
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Here's a good one from our friend Rosemary Zwick in Cape Town, South
Africa:

A man walks into a Chinese restaurant but is told by the maitre d'
that there will be at least a twenty minute wait. "Would you like to
wait in the bar?" he asks.

The man goes into the bar and the bartender says, "What'll it be?"

The man replies, "Give me a Stoli with a twist."

The bartender pauses for a few seconds, then smiles and says, "Once
upon time there were FOUR little pigs..."

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            TODAY'S RECIPE
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I have been kind of stressed out lately with all the email problems
and everything, so what did I do to reward myself after a weekend of
work? I went to a kosher-style deli in my neighborhood and had a hot
pastrami sandwich on rye with a couple of half sour pickles, and I
feel much better now, thank you very much. As I sat munching on my
sandwich and sipping my chocolate egg cream, I perused the menu and
came up with this week's selection of "Deli Delights":

Monday's Starter
Half Sour Pickles

Tuesday's Soup or Salad
Krupnik (Mushroom and Barley Soup)

Wednesday's Side Dish
Kasha Varnishkes

Thursday's Entree
Prune Tzimmes

Friday's Dessert
Halvah

I love these pickles even more than classic kosher dills. They're
about halfway to being regular pickles because they retain much of the
color, flavor, and texture of fresh cucumbers, and no deli meal is
complete without a half sour or two.

Half Sour Pickles

24-36 small cucumbers, scrubbed
6 Tbs (90 ml) kosher salt
3 bay (laurel) leaves, crumbled
6 cloves garlic
6 whole black peppercorns
2 Tbs (30 ml) dried dill
1 Tbs (15 ml) dill seed
10 cups (2.5 L) boiling water

Place the cucumbers in a large bowl or crock. Add the salt, bay
leaves, garlic, peppercorns, dill, and dill seed. Pour the boiling
water over the cucumbers. Remove any scum as it appears. Put a plate
on top of the cucumbers and weigh it down with a brick or other heavy
object. (This is to keep the cucumbers submerged in the brine.) Cover
with a cloth and store in a dark place for up to a week in warm
weather, or for up to 10 days in cool weather. They will be "half
sours" in 3 to 4 days and will continue to cure and become dill
pickles after about 5 days. Makes about 4 quarts (4 L).
Received on Mon Oct 4 14:38:14 2004