Events and Updates

Friends:

Over the next several days (February 6-10), I will be making store appearances in the Los Angeles area sampling Rick’s Picks.  Dates, times and locations are below… spread the word!

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 6

Whole Foods Thousand Oaks
740 North Moorpark Street
Thousand Oaks 91360
11 AM-2 PM

Whole Foods Woodland Hills
21347 Ventura Boulevard
Woodland Hills 91364
3:30 PM – 7 PM

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Whole Foods 3rd and Fairfax
6350 West 3rd St
Los Angeles 90036
4 PM – 7 PM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8

Whole Foods Santa Monica
2201 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica 90403
3 PM- 7 PM

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9

Whole Foods Pasadena
3751 East Foothill Drive
Pasadena 91107
11 AM – 2 PM

Whole Foods Arroyo
465 South Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena 91105
3 PM – 7 PM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9:

Cheese Store of Silver Lake
3926-28 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles 90029
12 noon – 3 PM

Olives Gourmet Grocer
3510 East Broadway
Long Beach 90803
3:30 PM – 6 PM

Spread the word and hope to see you out there!

Rick

Entertain your comPATRIOTS with some of these pigskin party GIANTS:

First Quarter: Don’t wait for a commercial break to start putting Mean Beans in your Bloody Mary.  3 beans, minimum.  Add a dash of the brine for an extra point.

Second Quarter: Make sure to have plenty of GT 1000s around as halftime approaches to embellish your burgers, sausages, cheese plates and panini.

Third Quarter: Enjoy an entire jar of Smokra all by your lonesome when things start to get tense.  This is the Super Bowl!  Tell your buddies to crack open their own jars!

Fourth Quarter: Whether your team is beating the other guys or getting beaten, pass around the Phat Beets, pun fully intended!

Postgame: it’s time for a little Victory Vodka.  How about a Pickletini?  Add a little Spears of Influence brine to your Martini and garnish with a Spear.  YOU ARE THE CHAMPION, MY FRIEND!

A big thanks to our readers for sharing your mouth-watering brine ideas!  Our last newsletter prompted several of you to strut your brine-y stuff with these simple, tasty recipes.  Check out what your fellow pickle lovers had to say….

* Thanks so much for recommending “Phat Beets” for our summer rolls!  The beets were an unusual but splendid twist on one of our favorite dishes.  The beets provided a little zing of flavor and the color added some flair to the presentation.  We also love the “Spears of Influence” for a dirty martini.  Thanks.

-Erika
Washington DC

* I use the brine in potato salad dressing (especially great with hot potato salad). Here’s my recipe – feel free to link to it

http://www.forkandbottle.com/cooking/recipes/hot_potato_salad_with_bacon.htm

I also throw a dash of brine into hamburger meat to add an interesting spicy zing. The brine of course is great for brining traditional things like ribs too

- Joanne White
Santa Rosa, CA

* Mean beans are my total favorite, and my favorite use for the brine is in canned tuna for tuna salad.  with a little mayo or oil, it’s SO GOOD!  i also recently added some in homemade vegetable soup and in a bloody mary.

Thanks for making them, they’re really so great!  i wish i could eat them for every meal.  forever!

- Margaret

* Hi Rick and Friends!  I’ve drained a jar of ordinary, pimiento-stuffed olives and transferred them to the jar of left-over brine.  It really makes those drab olives perk up.

- Susan
Brooklyn, NY

* Hi – I reuse the brine from the Pepi Peps with raw red peppers.  I just take out the stems and seeds, cut the peppers into fairly large sections and immerse.  It’s a fresher and somewhat less intense pickle – different, but also good.

- Cheryl
Brooklyn, NY

*Brine ideas with Smokra:

I use the brine as part of the liquid for making rice.

I use the brine as a base for soup.

I use the brine to puree cooked beans in a cuisinart.

Thank you for pickling enough okra over the summer so I can enjoy it over these cold winter days.

- Susan
South Plains, NJ