Monday, September 27, 2010 at 8:35PM 
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As pickling cucumber season draws to a close, I find myself feeling a little panicky - in a good way -- if there is such a thing.
I'm tired, and I'd rather be done for the day, but in January (or June) I'll be really glad I made a couple dozen extra jars of Blue Ribbon Dill Pickles!
Sunday, September 26, 2010 at 8:22AM
Updated on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 1:58PM by
Brook Hurst Stephens
I am so happy to be able to be back on my website, posting on my blog. I have had quite a week. Well, quite a month. But mostly, I have been side-tracked with stuff like moving and a garage sale. Craigslist ads and Goodwill donations.
As far as I'm concerned, it's never a good time to move, but right smack dab in the middle of my favorite time to do some canning? No thanks!
My car, loaded up with some of the things we'll need for our Preserving Party.
Monday, September 20, 2010 at 12:57PM The real title for this post should be:
"Good things come to those who wait!"
Yes, these DO taste as good as they look. Maybe better!
I started talking about fermenting cucumbers and making NYC-style Sour Dill Pickles in my last blog post, but you know what? These pickles deserve their very own article, not just being the caboose of my last post.
I am going to keep this as simple as possible, so here are the 5 basic steps:
Monday, September 13, 2010 at 12:01PM
Updated on Friday, September 17, 2010 at 8:42AM by
Brook Hurst Stephens
More like 4 types of pickles completed in 3 days, and 3 more types of pickles in various stages of brining, pickling or curing as I type this.
I bought ~ 100 pounds (of assorted sizes) of fresh-picked pickling cucumbers on Friday, and the first thing I did when I got them home was put them in big tubs of fresh cold water. Letting them sit overnight in water makes it easier to scrub the little bits of dust and dirt from their nubby skins the next morning and enhances their crispiness later.
Pickling cukes soaking in a tub of clean cold water overnight.
Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 12:03PM Wednesday was a very sad day. A dear friend of ours passed away unexpectedly. I have spent the last few days doing the one sure thing that always makes me feel better when I am blue. Cooking.
60th Birthday, Basil, Hummingbird, Mason Lake, Nectar, Nectarine, Nectarine~Basil Jam, Purple, Ruby, Sunset, Terry Olson, UW Huskies Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 11:11AM 
I think Mission figs are so beautiful. Their skin is as soft as velvet, and they are such a pretty color too. But did you know that fig trees have no blossoms on their branches?
The blossom is inside of the fruit!
A zillion tiny flowers produce the crunchy little seeds that give figs their very own unique texture.
Balsamic vinegar, Fig tree, Goat cheese, Mission Figs, figs Friday, August 27, 2010 at 10:51AM
Updated on Sunday, July 12, 2015 at 8:48AM by
Brook Hurst Stephens
Four Pounds of "Candy Stripe" Pluots, in the sink:
Apricot, Candy Stripe, Dapple Dandy, Dinosaur Egg, Flavor Grenade, Flavor Heart, Flavorglo, Hand Grenade, Last Chance, Plum, Pluot, Pluots Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 6:12PM ....so that means two things:
1.) It means -- I'm a Virgo -- so I like things neat & tidy. Maybe that's why I enjoy making Dilly Green Beans so much. Fitting all those precisely-cut green beans into the pint-size jar "just so" is just so much fun.
Birthday, Brine, Dill Seed, Dill Weed, Dilly Beans, Garlic, Green Beans, Kim Chee, Kim Chi, KimChi Bistro, Virgo, fermented Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 12:28PM
Updated on Sunday, August 22, 2010 at 4:02PM by
Brook Hurst Stephens
Updated on Monday, August 23, 2010 at 6:05PM by
Brook Hurst Stephens
Yesterday I picked all of the Italian Prune~Plums off our sturdy old tree. They weren't really ripe, but I couldn't wait any longer. The squirrels have been binging on them, and if I didn't pick them last night, there wouldn't be any left for one of my favorite things, Plum~Vanilla Preserves.
Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 8:59PM
I'm the cranky one on the left. I'm thinking "I can't believe it's RAINING in Wenatchee!" Luckily, I cheered up as soon as I got inside.
Normally I'm knee-deep in fruit about now, but I took a little break last weekend to go to my Eastmont High School Class of 1980 Reunion, in Eastern Washington. It was so much fun seeing everyone, and thanks to Facebook, I was able to study up on most of my classmates before I got there. It helped immensely when I had to match a name to a face.
