It's a Long Way to Piccalilli: Day Two

[purejuice]

Rinsing and draining the raw ground piccalilli veg


Sugar and spice for the piccalilli


Sterilizing the jars


Drained veg mixed with spice and sugar


Boiling piccalilli creating a vacuum seal in the sterilized jars


Day one of the piccalilli project.

I've always been intrigued and pleased by the process of turning of a pile of gorgeous vegetables into something to eat.





I like knife work. I like putting things by. I like piccalilli, which makes baked beans something to live for toward the end of the winter. I think of it as Yankee salsa, salsa being one of the other things that makes beans something to live for. My favorite salsa is plain (!) fresh vine ripened tomatoes, sweet onion, cilantro, and just before serving, a squeeze of orange juice. Austere. Divine.

Update: Totally not austere (see aforementioned spices and sugar) and totally divine is the first two inches of the first jar broached. I had it with ricotta-stuffed hearts of celery, lots of cracked pepper, and the Grigson walnut bread for lunch. Yummo.