I have a thing for pickles. I have told the story many times that my first word was actually “Gurke!” which is the German work for pickle. And I will eat them by the jar. OK, hopefully not by the jar because that is a little too much vinegar even for my iron stomach. So, I decided to make my own this year. I do this every few years, but when I saw the baby cornichons (these are literally just an inch or two in size), I just had to make them. They are a little salty (next time add a little more sugar to the brine), but otherwise, these are pretty fantastic. They should stay good in the fridge for a while, but I’ll likely eat them all by next week!
veggies
This is dinner: an “Italian BLT with added Mozzarella”. It’s a labor of love thing …. I baked the Sourdough Basil Pesto Focaccia, after making the pesto. I grew the basil to make the pesto. I also grew the tomatoes and the lettuce in the BLT. I didn’t make the mozzarella and I didn’t cure the prosciutto, but nevertheless, 2/3 of the ingredients were grown or made by me so that’s worth the labor. And it was a delicious sandwich.
I made another focaccia. It seems that whenever I don’t know what the make when I need to feed Alice in Wonderdoughland, I fall back to a focaccia. They are easy, forgiving and delicious. This is going to serve as my lunch for the nxt few days, but would also make a great side to a soup, a charcuterie platter, with a nice salad and a glass of wine. The Gorgonzola got all melty and is tart compared to the rest of the bread. Another winner to add to the rotation.
Originally, I was going to call this “Sprinkles and Twist” Focaccia, as I had found some mini mini cherry tomatoes that are marketed as “Sprinkles” and when I had decorated the top of the focaccia with them, it was sort of a twisty pattern. Once baked, however, the “twist” part wasn’t as evident, so I am just going with Sprinkles Tomato + Garlic Focaccia. Lots of garlic, lots of both sun dried and cherry tomatoes. Basil from the garden. Perfect snack and accompaniment to Italian Food. Yummy.