Pickles are Spooky

Halloween window at the pickle store.

Jack-o-lanterns are notoriously fearful of spiders.  The other pumpkins and pickles have no sympathy for the little fella though.  So rude.

Putting the "Grill" in Grillo's

Well, the end of August is here and Sam the Pickle Man knows what that means...it's time to grill!!

Labor Day is the second most popular BBQ day in the United States coming in only slightly after the 4th of July in popularity.  (I made all that up.)  And it's right around the corner!

It's time for one last hurrah with your friends before the days get shorter and the nights turn chilly.  

Head over to Grillo's Pickles in Inman Square in Somerville to get some pickles for your Labor Day BBQ and make sure to tell them Mandee sent you!

(Not because you'll get a discount but because I want them to think I'm sooooooo cool.)

Happy Grilling!!

July is National Pickle Month!

Good Morning and happy first day of National Pickle Month!  To kick off this month-long pickle party I went over to Grillo's Pickles, my local pickle store, painted their window, ate way too many pickles and talked about world pickle domination.

Travis Grillo, Chief Pickle Officer, started making and selling pickles in 2008 using his family's 100 year old recipe.  He was slingin' them out of a pickle cart at the Park Street T stop 2 for $1 and now has made his way into Whole Foods all over New England, Fenway Park and at his very own pickle store.

The store is located in Inman Square, Somerville (on the Cambridge/Somerville line which I hear is referred to as "Camberville" but I'm not buying it) at 1075 Cambridge Street and they are definitely worth a trip.

Go over, check out the window, have some pickles (try the hot ones they're AMAZING!) and tell them Mandee sent you!  Happy Pickle Month!!

Shape Up With Pickles WEEK!!!

Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick!  It's 'Shape Up With Pickles Week!'  An entire week devoted to pickles!!!...aaaaaaand shaping up with them, whatever that means.

Here're some pickley treasures from the Etsy-Dot-Com Super Store:

And a print of Miss Pickles by this dude JimBob.....awwwww, hewwo Miss Pickles.
 
I'll be back when I have something relevant and pickle related to talk about.  Please do the same.

Fluffernutter, party of two.

If you've never had a fluffernutter than this window painting might make no sense to you but I'll take my chances because here in New England the very mention of Fluff -made right here in Everett, MA- sparks childhood memories that people can't help but share...whether you like it or not. 

Being from the West Coast I had never heard of a Fluff, let alone a Fluffernutter, until I moved to Boston about 10 years ago.  You'd have thought I'd told people I had never heard of shoes the way they would look at me when I didn't know what a "fluffernutter" was.  They were outraged at my Fluff-less childhood.

And now I know why!  Fluff and peanut butter were made to be together.  They're the yin and yang of sandwich components.  And so versatile!  You can have a Fluffernutter for lunch, eat one as a snack or even have one for dessert.  Can balogna and cheese do that?
 

If you've never had a Fluffernutter go make one right now.  They're delicious.  And if you can't buy Fluff (not Kraft Marshmallow Cream, mind you, there's a difference) in your 'hood then use this handy Fluff-Finder feature to hunt down the closest seller.  And if that doesn't work, you can get a case delivered right to your door.  May your children never have to go Fluffernutter-less.

For more Fluff related goodness, go to the Union Square Main Street website and check out pictures from their annual 'What the Fluff?" festival.

Photo credit Jabulani Barber

Make Me: Teeny Tiny Blueberry Cobbler Jars

This weekend I went to my very first potluck wedding.  The idea was to have each guest bring a dish- either appetizer, entree, main dish or dessert- to feed 6-8 people.  A risky move and I'm happy to report that it was wildly successful!

My own contribution was a recipe I had found on NotMartha.org a while back and couldn't wait to make-  Mini blueberry cobblers in mason jars.  Adorable!  Megan from NotMartha has a wonderful tutorial on this project with great pictures, easy to follow directions and some very helpful tips.

Megan's recipe calls for 8oz. half pint jars.  I decided to use even smaller 4oz. mason jars for my own-


Teeny Tiny 
Blueberry Cobblers 
in Jars

_______________________________________

 

The first thing you should always do when cooking with/in mason jars is to thoroughly wash and sanitize the jars with hot hot water and put them out to dry.  I used chopsticks under one side to make sure they dried completely.  I used 36, 4oz. jars vs. 24, 8oz. jars in the original recipe. 

 Next, gather ingredients, rinse blueberries and preheat oven to 375 degrees.










Ingredients for Blueberry Filling (I made 2 batches to fill all 36 jars)

• 1/3 cup (3.5 ounces) sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pink salt
• 6 cups (30 ounces) fresh blueberries, or 36 ounces frozen blueberries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ingredients for Cobbler Topping (I made 3 batches, as suggested by Megan)

• 1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
• 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (for sprinkling)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (for sprinkling)

**FOLLOW MIXING INGREDIENTS ON NOTMARTHA.ORG**
Changes and tips for changing recipe from 8oz. jars to 4 oz. jars below-

 

I filled my itty bitty jars to the bottom line on the jar with the blueberry filling.  

About to here:

I cooked by tiny jars for the same amount of time suggested by the recipe, 25-30 minutes for the blueberries and 15-20 minutes for the topping.  The smaller jar didn't appear to effect the cook time much at all. 

For the topping, I chose to crumble my topping to give it a little more texture.  

These were a HUGE hit at the wedding and I swelled with pride every time I overheard someone say, "oh my god, look how cute, tiny little cobblers!"  

A++, thanks for the idea Megan!!