Salt & Time, out on the town

If you're in Austin and looking for something to do on the evening of Thursday December 10, consider stopping by two of Austin's finest retail establishments Spartan and Bows & Arrows. This is the perfect chance to finish up your holiday shopping, pick a little something up for yourself, grab a drink and snack on some tasty treats made by yours truly. Unfortunately, this will be a vegetarian affair, but I hope to have some salume ready for the next party they throw!

Come eat this pickled fennel!

Spartan
Bows & Arrows
215 S. Lamar
6:00 ish

Pickled Okra, Batch #1

On my first trip to the Austin Farmers Market, it was clear that we were in the midst of a serious heat wave, not to mention a major drought. Variety was pretty limited, and you could tell that the farmers had been working very hard to get whatever they could to the market. Okra however, was relatively abundant, so i decided to by a bunch and try my hand at pickling them.

Pickled Okra is quite popular in Texas, and really should be popular everywhere. The okra loses its slimines as it pickles, but maintains a good amount of crunchiness and its flavor really pops. I made 3 different batches, each with a different recipe, and I'm quite happy with all of them.

Half eaten jar of pickled okra

For batch #1 I used a Southeast Asian flavor combination of lemongrass, ginger, garlic chili peppers and rice vinegar. This was Natalie's favorite. Their was a subtle sweetness that I really liked, but I would have liked them to be a hint spicier. Next time, more chili's!

Isn't it about time for a post about salt and time?

Despite naming this blog Salt & Time, I haven't really posted much about the wonders of using salt and time to "cook" food. Chow has a great video up about Alex Hozven "master pickler" from Cultured Pickle Shop in Berkeley. As Alex tells us, the Japanese word for pickles is Sukimono, which means to alter without the use of heat. Check it out: