i wish i could take credit for all of the chopping that took place in our house last weekend, but alas, i cannot. jeremy put in almost all of the work required to turn 22 pounds of organic summer squash into bread & butter pickles.we got the squash from the food preservationist csa put together by happy girl kitchen. they work with local farms to provide bulk organic produce directly to the food preservationist at lower costs. had i bought this squash at the market today, it would have cost me $66.00. we paid $35.
still, making these pickles was much more costly than i figured it would be. 12 cups of organic sugar. 16 cups of organic apple cider vinegar. organic (and conventional) spices. it all added up to be a somewhat costly endeavor, especially if you count the cost of jars and lids. only jeremy can tell you if he had a good time making the pickles. i kind of think not. it's a lot more labor intensive than stirring a pot of jam.
we eat a lot of bread and butter pickles around here. our favorite brand is locally handcrafted and costs $8 per jar. more often than not, we get the $3-4/jar brand from trader joes or whole foods. these particular pickles are destined to be given away as favors at hudson's first hoedown. it's true--he's a day away from turning one. yee-haw!
2 comments:
My gawd that's a lot of chopping. I find that while making things in bulk may be more efficient, it certainly is not as much fun.
Remember those wedding favor reversible beach bags? 25 done with a request for 10 more. Sigh. Not as much fun in bulk, I'm telling you. I did find a fast and cute solution for the obnoxious straps... braiding long strips that were leftover from trimming.
wow! would love to see photos--i'm trying to knock out a few (10?) by thursday for a craft show...
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