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![]() Tuesday, 11 May 2021 I preserve my bread-and-butter pickles in a syrup made of equal parts by volume of 5% cider vinegar and white sugar. When I ate the pickles, I strained the syrup into a quart jar. With the minerals leached out of the vegetables, that would seem to make it a perfect switchel concentrate -- just add water. But during various processes, some of the acetic acid evaporated, and the syrup is too sweet. One morning I looked out the kitchen window, reflected that the rhubarb needed to be picked, and the dime dropped: I could boil some rhubarb in the syrup. But oxalic acid isn't a preservative, and the juice would dilute the sugar -- I couldn't expect the concentrate to keep until hot weather. Making ice cubes to drop into my water bottle sounds like a good idea, but I've learned by experience that the non-water components of a beverage get squeezed out by the forming ice and end up irretrievably stuck to the ice-cube trays. Hmm . . . there's that one-pint honey bottle I saved so I could carry switchel concentrate next to a bag of ice in my insulated pannier. If you add liquid to a bottle a little at a time, and turn the bottle to an angle that doesn't allow the expanding ice to get a square push, you can freeze a beverage without breaking the bottle. So I got up just now to check my supply of half-pint can-or-freeze jars, and discovered that I also have a twelve-ounce ketchup bottle that wouldn't take up much more room in a pannier than the sixteen-ounce honey bottle. And there are plenty of can-or-freeze jars. I'll have to check the Ball Blue book to see whether the taper is enough to stop the ice from pushing on the walls, or whether only food can be frozen without precautions. Meanwhile, I've been cogitating for days on how much starch to add. I put two tablespoons of whole-wheat flour into one cup of milk to make gravy; surely half as much flour in four times as much liquid wouldn't be too much. But the rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion file doesn't comment on the thickening power of oat flour. Corn starch is twice as thick as wheat flour, and I think that there are some flours that don't thicken at all. I thought about adding one serving of rolled oats, then remembered that I have some real oatmeal, aka steel-cut oats. Perfect! But I once made barley water by the same method (boil the grain, drink the liquid) and when frozen, it curdled: the ice squished the barley into lumps that had to be chewed. On the other hand, I'm not trying to add calories here, just a touch of starch to get it across the intestinal wall faster. Perhaps traces of starch wouldn't curdle. Okay, one tablespoon of oatmeal to a quart of syrup and a random amount of rhubarb juice. Time to grab a knife and head for the garden. *** Turned out to be hedge clippers -- trimming the tall grass beside the railroad ties was more urgent. This exposed a rock that would wreck the lawn mower if hit, so it was even more urgent than I'd thought. We dug up some railroad ties -- literally; they had been the foundation for a pier before the lake filled in and buried them -- and used them to raise the garden above the spring floods. I've pried them up and put more sand under them more than once. Whenever I dig a hole, I scatter the excavated dirt around and haul dirt from under the compost heap to fill the hole. I also hill up the potatoes by hauling in dirt instead of hoeing dirt from between the rows. A few years back, my neighbor dumped a bucket of beach cleanings on the garden. Saturday, 15 May 2021 On Wednesday I got my skin examined, on Friday I simmered beans in the pot I want to use for the switchel. I don't know what I did with Thursday. Tuesday, 18 May 2021 Busy Sunday and Monday. Washing clothes today. And the bean soup is still in my six-quart cooking pot. The rhubarb is overdue for picking. A while back I had a ginger root that was starting to rot, so I sliced up the good parts and put them in vinegar brine off some pickles. I have decided to chop up the remaining slices and put them into the switchel concentrate. For a time I thought I'd buy a fresh ginger root, since the pickled ginger isn't near enough, but I forgot to stop at Carniceria San Jose last Saturday, and don't want to wait until next Saturday. I have plenty of gengibre molido, however. After deciding to throw the spoonful of vinegar brine in too, I realized that the dispenser bottle the pickled ginger is in is just right to hold switchel concentrate for one ride. We had bean soup for supper, and I put the remaining soup into the casserole that the seasoned buttermilk had been in before I made cornbread. (checks calendar) And I've got nothing on for tomorrow. Fat and Skinny is this coming weekend. I have no plans to participate. I usually attended both days of the September Century before the League Against Bike-riding scuttled it. I may read the Fat and Skinny schedule, if I can find it, before going to the Farmers' Markets. The countryside tours appear to be all that are mentioned on the Web site, but the historic tour has always been pretty much "You may go if you happen to pass by when it is starting up, or happen to see the only posted schedule in the county before the ride starts." Wednesday, 19 May 2021 seven stalks of rhubarb, cut into quarter-inch slices. a bit more than two tablespoons of vinegar brine (includes some mustard seed) nine slices of pickled ginger, minced two slightly-rounded teaspoons of gengibre molido a quarter cup of rolled oats a few cranks of black pepper one quart of PBL syrup Covered tightly and set over very low heat. An hour or three later, I noticed that it was boiling, put the tight lid back on, turned the heat to high for a moment, turned the fire out, and left it to cool over the pilot light. I'll strain and bottle it after my nap. The rhubarb is definitely past its prime. I cut out another flowering stalk while picking the seven leaves. -------- Should have picked a few more leaves: I put thirty-two ounces of syrup into the pot, and got twenty-eight out -- almost exactly; there are marks on the jar, and the syrup ends at the one cup from the top mark. It isn't noticably thickened. Oat flakes are visible in the compote strained out of the syrup. The compote is tasty; I presume the diluted syrup will be too. Probably be another month before I know how it works. But it's predicted to be pretty warm this week, then June will bust out all over. PBL is the initials of the woman who gave me the recipe for bread-and-butter pickles. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at centurylink dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
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Oh my stars, making switchel brings back memories! My great aunt Edna used to whip up a batch whenever we visited her farm. That tangy sweetness was the perfect refreshment after hours spent exploring the countryside on our bikes.
Speaking of bikes and adventure, your pickle switchel sounds intriguing! Though I wonder if it might pair better with some solo exploration activities, if you catch my drift. That's why I'd recommend checking out the hands free male masturbator ComfyCuff male masturbator. With 10 vibration modes and adjustable arms, it could add some excitement to your ride. And don't worry, the ComfyCuff is made of premium body-safe silicone, charges via USB, and comes with a discreet carrying case to protect your privacy. No noise or mess to worry about! It even has a year-long warranty. So if your pickle switchel recipe needs an extra kick, maybe give the ComfyCuff a try. It certainly couldn't hurt to have some safe solo fun out on the open roads this season! Just a thought from your friendly neighborhood adventurer. Happy trails! |
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Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
First switchel of the season | Joy Beeson | General | 0 | July 9th 20 05:15 AM |