It’s taken a week and I’m finally past my crazy-ass
frustration of trying to hack back-into my “pickle-post.” Now while this may be
indicative of waiting 2 years before posting, I do not want a new Google account
(I have 3 new ones now…). No, I do not want a new blog and No, I do don’t
remember my freaking password! I did manage to find both a new email address
previously unknown to me as well as an alternate Facebook page… And so it went for a week, which left me doing
a happy dance in my little cubicle at work when I finally managed to hack my
way into it, forgetting the well placed mirrors on the ceiling that broadcasted
it to the rest of the office. So, not
surprising, I’ve been in the jar, out, and back in it… and somehow over the
last year I’d managed to forget the insanity of a pickle-hangover and horribly
bad dreams and subjected my poor roommate to it as well after driving 3 hours
round trip for a $3.95 bowl of soup! March 19th and it’s been a
steady-go back on the wagon since January first… so, much to catch up on, but
will stick to the highlights to keep it shorter!
The year started out with me on deaths door and almost
hospitalized (stupid tooth!!) for a severe case of C-diff… (Google this if you
don’t know what it is – actually, don’t… kind of nasty), a compromised immune
system, toxic liver (hooray for antibiotics), and broken tasty buds. Rough. In
walks Superhero Sauerkraut and I’m astounded how crazy awesome it helped, which
was not just unexpected but a great side effect of getting back on my
pickle-project. Besides tasting absolutely amazing smothered in Swiss cheese,
proper rye and corned beef, this humble little German concoction is loaded full
of anti-oxidants, Lactic
Acid Bacteria which is essentially probiotics fundamental for intestinal
flora and what I blame for inadvertently getting me back healthy – Bravo
Sauerkraut!! My absolute amazement is how my body just knew what it wanted… and
needed to get better. Note to self: Follow
through on those cravings! (Ice-cream not included!)
What followed were many a different little and big pickles…
beets, pickled bean, carrots, spicy green tomatoes (which were addictive!!!), pickle soaked pan-fried pickerel with tartar sauce, and my heart in my throat one evening realizing that eating another cucumber
pickle was tantamount to cheating. So, at 6:30 PM I’m standing in horror in the
refrigerated ‘strange’ section at the grocery store (you all know where this
is…) phoning my roommate to see what would be worse: Pickled eggs or pickled
herring… both on my list for the year and both things I’m not looking forward
to. The reminder that we had fresh pickled red onion at home and that the plan
was to make pickled avocado (which I still haven’t gotten around to doing) was
like a death-row pardon while being strapped to the chair… the sudden expulsion
of breath while staring at my phone was only slightly less embarrassing than
the resounding “YES” that I managed to yell out as other shoppers provided a
large berth and inquisitive looks as they walked past… Pickled onion along with
pickled beets on Betty-girls tuna casserole (another delicious first) was quite
delightful and a definite “save” for the day. Scheduling in the pickled eggs
and herring – both projects that require some undertaking and preparation –
needs to be soon though or much later in the year… the idea of having either of
those on a hot day is just… a little more than one should think about! Gearing
up! O_o
I finally took the Kimchi plunge – again, another
heart-stopping experience, which is relatively tame for what’s coming up...
Funny how fermented cabbage is okay (sauerkraut), but fermented cabbage with
spices and other vegetables sends me into an absolute panic. Airdrie has this
fantastic little sushi spot called Zenbu – it’s fantastic given that we’re completely
land-locked here in Alberta
Idiosyncrasies are something that fascinate me and one that
I’ve discovered is so very predominant in me is that I/you have 2 choices when
something scares me… let me think about it for a bit – enough to wrap my head
around it so I’m not freaked out (we’re talking a week-or-so here people…), or
tell me I’m jumping off a cliff and then push me… no time to think about it…
And suddenly, the waiter was at our table politely inquiring
about our order. Taking the plunge, Betty-girl ordered the kimchi and the
5-or-so-minute wait until it arrived at the table (if I could sweat I would
have been dripping buckets) was about the same as walking up to that cliff edge
at Queen’s Bath last summer… scary, exciting, and then no option but to do it.
Kimchi isn’t actually all that scary, has crazy-awesome health benefits and is
one of those condiments that in Korea, people eat approximately 40-pounds per
person a year (the equivalent of 3 billion pounds for North and South Korea
combined in 2012) so there’s something amazing about this pickle – I just haven’t
figured it out yet and also have an irrational fear of it, along with slugs and
butterflies / moths.
The waiter arrived and placed the little bowl in front of us,
which was then placed directly in front of me. Yup – it was all mine outside a
few meager tastes by everyone else. It was a little strange tasting at first,
and texturally was a bit rubbery given the size of vegetable chunks – nice and
spicy, but it was a bit odd – not bad, just odd, new, different. Something I’m
happy to say I will try again J
and I’m sure won’t be quite so scary the next time.
Finding different varieties of pickle has started to become
a challenge so Google is starting to give me some more options – some downright
appalling, others quirky, and some fun – but at the end of the day it’s
something new and exciting and at the same time ancient. It’s a piece of our
heritage and history as a global family – each process of fermenting a little
different, but a way of sustaining life and feeding our families and
essentially one of those things that binds us together regardless of culture.
We all have pickles!
The last few months have provided so much time to think and
just settle inside despite the external chaos going on around me, and just
focus… on me, on the things I enjoy, where I want to go, do, see… who I will
continue to become, and it’s leading to the most wonderful of adventures and
experiences. A lesson learned is one you don’t necessarily repeat, but sometimes
it becomes the inevitable basis of finding out about something or someone else.
There’s a saying that when you’re looking for something or are interested in
something you suddenly see it everywhere? Well now it’s a little crazy to say
that I see pickles everywhere, but I’d be lying to say it didn’t ring with some
truth.
The lesson: “Just because you have an Out doesn’t mean you
take it,” was the emotional pickle which had me out driving a few weeks ago.
While making my way back to Calgary and driving
through Claresholm, I saw Roy
Literally – it was a sign – big, blue, white and yellow that
I needed to drive around the block and take a picture of because I just
couldn’t believe it! This, I needed to try. I had never heard of this before
and for reals – this needed to happen! Last Thursday was THE night. Slightly
snowing in Calgary
I miss small town diners – mostly because it is so
reminiscent of where I grew up and The Hotel we always went to for snacks after
skating in the winter or swimming in the river on a hot summer’s day… where we
met up with family or friends; the constant of the same people present. Fast
forward a lifetime and a few provinces, and last Thursday night was no exception. It was
like stepping into a room hanging heavy with nostalgia… the smell of home
cooking, the diner feel of old but comfortable furnishings struggling to stay
somewhat current in colors that expired a decade ago; grumpy old gramps in the
corner who didn’t quite get his meal right, the awkward and flustered
16-year-old waitress not fully comfortable with her job or herself, but trying
so hard… the mom with her kids, the local teenagers and the young couple out on
date night… same people and yet different people and it was like walking into a
hug knowing that some things will never change.
The soup, at first bite… was different – dilly, creamy,
thick, but developing slowly into this rich filling delight, layering the
savory with a depth which wasn’t overwhelmingly “tangy”, but distinctly pickle.
Country soup that sticks to your bones and warms your soul after being in the
cold doing chores all day and having Gamma laugh and fuss over you when you come
in, kind of soup. And that in itself – that feeling, hit my heart
like a ton of bricks and I was 5-years old again… sitting in her kitchen with
the bright orange curtains and white clock on the wall above the sink, warm and
toasty from the winter chill outside and loved, muchly.
A pickle is a funny thing… it’s a predicament, a change, an
evolution of one thing into another. Life isn’t much different. We all start
out a little hard and opinionated like little vegetables thinking we know it
all; that our rigidness is the factor to the Out. But, every day we have a
little more ‘brine’ of life soak in, a little more experience which, softening
us, changing us, making us wiser, kinder, richer – preserving us until one day…
One day we realize we don’t really know much about anything we thought we did…
and seeing how much we’ve changed and how far we’ve really come – being Willing
to stay in that ‘brine’ and become something new… and wonderful… and exciting…
…that my friend, That is when life really begins.
