You can pickle that!

Have a hankering for some pickles, okra or a pickled beet? Join Karen and friends from 9:30 to noon on June 22 at White Rock Lake Market and learn how to pickle your favorites! Students will leave with their own preserves and pickled veggies! The class is $50 or $40 for WRLM members.

Thanks to all he came out last week to NorthPark Dallas for Williams Sonoma's artisan market. Karen was sampling some of our jams and pickles - it was yummy! Check our blog periodically to find out when we do this again.

Our days have been busy in the kitchen stirring our pot to create what our peeps have come to expect: nature's best flavors, handmade in small batches AND whenever it's possible ... local produce- sustainably grown!

Come see us in Dallas this weekend at WRLM/Greenspot and St. Michael's Market...
Our pick for the week... How it all started... Our Original Sweet and Spicy Pickles.

We are in GOOD COMPANY.

Can a giraffe fit in a phone booth? Does a sofa fit in a shopping cart? It all depends on how you size it up in this game of creative thinking and outrageous scenarios. Yep, that's right ... there's an IN A PICKLE game out there...

Looking to try a Zorba Omelet - fresh spinach, ripe chopped tomatoes, sliced black olives and Feta cheese?... Yummy and that's right... it's at the IN A PICKLE restaurant in Waltham, MA...

Or how 'bout Grilled Chicken topped with Goat Cheese, Sundried Tomatoes, and Basil?
Yep you can get that in San Antonio at IN A PICKLE catering!

In Florida, you can have your web page designed by IN A PICKLE webdesign 
or maybe you're having some pickle ponderings 
... artist David Lanham draws us one in his ode to IN A PICKLE 

AND... then of course there's the latest news story from CNN at Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs where a Massachusetts woman ordered a steak-and-cheese sub and was so angry about "too many pickles" on her sandwich she punched the employee who served he, and shoved two jars of pickles at her... as CNN put it.. "The jars shattered and the customer fled -- without the sandwich -- but the brine-covered employee managed to catch up with her and hold her until..." the local police arrived.

Ahh... to be in a pickle.
That's what author Karen Robbins creates in her book entitled ... you guessed it ... In A Pickle

her character Annie Pickels, a 65 year old widowed pickle entrepreneur is in real trouble.... and as the story goes.... "One of her city farmers is growing marijuana on his rented plot of land. Annie, thinking it is marjoram, uses it as a secret ingredient in her pickles."  

Well, that's a new take on pickles!

We hope you'll come out this weekend and try some of our jams and pickles... ummm...

there won't be any of that special marjoram but we'll promise the experience will be

splendiferous!

Stop by and say "hey" this weekend... on Saturday we will be at White Rock Lake Market - Lakeside, Fort Worth Herb Society at 9am and at 10am at the Piney Woods Wine Festival... in Mount Vernon ...find us on Sunday at GECKO Hardware sampling our tastiness in Dallas at 10 am.

And just remember... life's greatest moments begin when you are in a pickle ... OBVIOUSLY!

in a pickle moments for MOM

Well first... we have to give a shout out to all our new pickle peeps in the heart of Texas... the Austin Food and Wine Festival was simply SPLENDIFEROUS!  Thank you Austin... we hope we gave you something to think about when you are in a pickle!

Next up... we are in our own back yard this weekend at BRIT in Fort Worth from 10 to 2 or catch us in Dallas at the White Rock Lake Market Lakeside from 8 to 1 OR drop by St. Michael's Farmer's Market in Dallas from 8 until noon.  Some really wonderful venues folks and we will be there with great little gifts for MOM.  We are only one week away from that special day and why not give her something that will please her palate like in a pickle's strawberry vanilla jam pie...
Here's the recipe enjoy with your MOM...

IN A PICKLE'S STRAWBERRY JAM PIE
 
Ingredients:
3 ounces of dark chocolate pieces, divided
1 TBL butter
1 (9 in) pastry shell, baked
2 pkgs (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream (non fat)
3 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
1/3 cup iap strawberry vanilla jam, melted

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and 2 oz. of the chocolate pieces over low heat stirring constantly... when mixture has melted brush over and the sides of the pie shell and chill for 30 minutes in fridge.  In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Spread over the pie shell and cover and chill for two hours.  Arrange the fresh strawberries over the filling and brush with the melted jam.  Melt the remaining chocolate pieces and drizzle over the top of the pie.  Yields: 6-8 servings
 
 

Fort Worth Farmer's Market

Wow! The BRIT FORT WORTH FARMER'S MARKET was a delight!

So nice to be in our back yard even Angus enjoyed hangin!

Peep Pack Caddy

The Main Dog

We shared our newest in a pickle PEEP PACK... it's

a caddy for four jars of jam... or mix and match pickles and jams... and there's multi uses for the PEEP PACK too ... like a condiment caddy for those outdoor soirees, ...or put some of your fav spring bulbs in the caddy (we put tulips in ours)... or take your empty in a pickle jars and drop in your favorite votive candle  - slide them into the caddy and now your kickin it with in a pickle... Need a magazine caddy or a mail caddy? - The PEEP PACK is soooo versatile... and who would have thought you could get so much bang for your buck! 

We're lovin' our new PEEP PACKs cause they keep on keepin on, even after your last jar of pickle power is gone (don't forget you can get more pickle goodness on the web or at our many scheduled appearances)... We'll be back at the BRIT next month and we hope to see you Peeps out there... drop by and say "HEY" in Austin, or Dallas...it's Market time and we're on the road spreading our sweet and spicy delights...

Zinging at the BRIT

Jams



Pickles

Life's greatest moments start in a pickle!

FORT WORTH FOODIES UNITE

As the jams, jellies and pickles pop out of our kitchen... we are totally excited about our newest venue ... WE WILL BE IN FORT WORTH at the newly announced BRIT(The Botanical Research Institute of Texas) FARMER'S MARKET... YES!!! CAN'T WAIT!...Every first Saturday of the month we will be back in the Fort!  Pickle Peeps we're there!  10 am - 2 pm  and the inaugural market is April 6 ... SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND COME ON OUT!  From sweet and spicy to all things nicey ... we got it!  Try our Strawberry Vanilla Jam ... or our signature Original Sweet and Spicy Pickles - your gonna love 'em.

March brought us to the Salado Wine Festival - what a fun time, and so many new pickle peeps!  We're lovin' it!

March 30 we will be in Grand Prairie at the GPFM (Grand Prairie Farmer's Market... got it?) and April 12 mosey on down to Ballinger, Texas where you will find us at the Petticoats on the Prairie!

It's Spring pickle peeps and we are bursting into the season with seductive sweetness in the form of our artisanal fruit jams and our crowd-pleasing pickles!

Stop by and say, "HI" and try our foodie wares ... because life's greatest moments start in a pickle!

It only takes a really fine jam...

Our week has been jammed pack ... no pun intended.   We have been jammin' for the last few weeks.  First... we had to secure our Louisiana strawberries to make iap's rockin' strawberry vanilla jam.  

The pot's hot...

                                                     

                                                         the cook's hot ...








                         and the jam is READY! 


Find it at fine stores like the Coffee Company... Empire Baking... Bolsa Mercado... Celebration... Green Grocer... Jimmy's Food Store and of course check us out at White Rock Lake Market/Lakeside this Saturday, 9150 Garland Road, Dallas 75218 8am-1pm.  We also just restocked Fort Worth's Vending Nut Company and Arlington's Gene Allen's Gifts.


And for you Florida foodies out there... James finished a batch of iap Orangey Fig JAM for our newest customer ... Datz Delicatessen in Tampa, Florida. That's right iap Orangey Fig JAM to top off pizza! 

 


Thanks Datz for getting figgy with it!



 




Now here's a little figgy recipe from us to you... try it for breakfast with your favorite juice or coffee.


Splendiferous Figgy Morn Granola 

Start with a layer of Granola, add a layer of iap orangey fig jam, chopped walnuts, a layer of crumbled Gorgonzola, a thin layer of vanilla yogurt and then repeat ending with a layer of chopped walnuts.  Splendiferous!

And a shout out to the Dallas Morning News for mentioning us in their little diddy on Dallas-area artisans!
And like our photo says... "Time 2 Dance" Spring is here... dance with us in Austin April 27-28 at the Austin Food & Wine Festival.

Happy Trails!

     We headlined this post with Happy because we truly are blessed and happy to have met so many great folks along this in a pickle journey.   

photo courtesy jill johnson

     As we kick off a new year of Farmer's Markets this month, with what has grown to be one of our fav -  White Rock Local Market, we reflect back on our beginnings and how we started - we can't even begin to tell you how sad we are to know that one of our biggest supporters is not around... 

photo courtesy jill johnson

We lost one of our Westies - Mac, or THE MAC ATTACK as we so fondly called him... last month.   




Although, we mourn - we also know that a part of him will always be with us and that HAPPY is one of those feelings that he helped write in our minds... and going forth there will always be Happy Trails ... 

     So to all of our pickle peeps, our friends, our business partners, those of you who might feel like their in a pickle today ... just know that we wish you Happy Trails this year, and hope that our paths may cross and that our happiness may bring you good feelings as well.

photo courtesy jill johnson

     Look for us at WRLM, 9150 Garland Rd., Dallas TX 75218, Saturday, March 2 from 8am - 1pm ... and the Carrollton Gourmet Food Truck Event "Food Truckin For A Cure"   from 4pm to 9pm... and don't forget April 26-28, the 3-day Austin Food and Wine Festival ... we'll be there!  Happy Trails!