One of my future pickles.
Pickles, my way. You can do this to dill pickles but I make my own. I peel and remove the seeds from a cucumber. Cut it any way you choose and find a fairly clean jar. Add vinegar and water about one to three. More water, you want to choke. Dump in some chopped garlic, onion, and dill (weed or seed). Now the best, add a few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce. Let set in the icebox for a few days and BOY, dats good.
One Pot Meal #1 by Chef Zeke Cut up a half a head of cabbage into a big old pot. Add to it three cut up taters and three or four sliced carrots. Always dice a half onion and two or three (or more) smashed cloves of garlic. A bay leaf is nice and a little rosemary too. (That for the Ladies) Grind some fresh black pepper, I don't use salt but you could. Add a bunch of diced spam. ham, smokey links or anything leftover in the fridg. Cover with water and cook until the whole house spells great or the carrots are done. If you eat right out of the pot you won't have any dishes to do. Keep the spoon in your pocket, (you don't know when you might get hungry again) and put the pot in the fridg until you feel the urge.
I discovered something new and great. Pickled garlic flowers. They are Cajun "Cha Cha's" from (where else) Louisiana. Make ya pucker.
Well, I found the recipe, for the chicken heart chili, in the basement in a box of old computer printouts.
CHICKEN HEART CHILI SUPREME by Jerry Arzdorf First, get your beans going. About a pound of pinto beans in a large pot with water more than covering the beans should do. Bring to a boil for 15 min. Shut off the fire and let sit for a hour. Drain off the water and add fresh water and cook 'till done. (That's 'till they're soft, son.) Cut about a pound of chicken hearts* in half and dump into a black cast iron skillet. Splash in a little bacon drippin's and start frying. Before the hearts get too crisp, put in a whole diced onion and two or three smashed cloves of garlic in the center of the cooking meat. When the onions are transparent add, two crushed red chili peppers and some chili powder to taste, three small cans of tomato sauce, a large can of whole tomatoes cut up a bit, a small can of diced green chilies, and a handful of cut up mushrooms. Some fresh ground pepper and a little salt don't hurt. I don't use salt, the blood pressure you know. Let this simmer 'till the beans are done. Drain the beans and add the meat mess to them.Slowly simmer for two hours or all day. Cool and refrigerate over night. Heat up just as much as you want and serve with hot french bread and cold beer. When the pot gets low or more people than you figgered show up, add some macaroni or noodles and it will feed a thrashin' crew. * Any meat will do but chicken hearts are best........JA
VOLUNTARY POVERTY HARDCASE SURVIVAL PINTO BEAN SLUDGE ( This was written while in Southern Utah) 1. Take one fifty-pound sack of Dipstick County pinto beans. Remove stones, cockleburs, horseshit, ants, lizards, etc. Wash in cold clear crick water. Soak twenty-four hours in a cast-iron kettle or earthenware pot. (DO NOT USE TEFLON, ALUMINUM, OR PYREX. THIS WARNING CANNOT BE OVERSTRESSED.) 2. Place kettle or pot with beans on low fire, simmer for twenty-four hours. (DO NOT POUR OFF WATER IN WHICH BEANS HAVE SOAKED, VERY IMPORTANT.) Fire must be of juniper, pinon pine, scrub oak, mesquite, or ironwood. Other fuels may tend to modify or denigrate the subtle flavor and delicate bouquet of Pinto Bean Sludge. 3. DO NOT BOIL. Add water when necessary. 4. Stir gently from time to time with wooden spoon. (DO NOT DISREGARD THESE DETAILS.) 5. After simmering, add one gallon green chiles. Stir gently. Avoid bruising beans. Add one-half quart pure sea salt. During following twelve hours stir frequently and add additional flavoring as desired, such as, ham hocks, bacon rinds, saltpork, corncobs, kidney stones, jungle boots, tennis shoes, jockstraps, cinch straps, whatnot, old saddle blanket, use your own judgment. Simmer additional twenty-four hours. 6. Ladle as many servings as desired from pot but do not remove pot from fire. Allow to simmer continuously through following days and weeks, or until contents is totally consumed. Stir from time to time, gently, when in the vicinity. (DO NOT ABUSE BEANS.) 7. Serve "Voluntary Poverty Hardcase Survival Pinto Bean Sludge" on small flat rocks that have been warmed in the sun. If flat rocks are not available, any convenient fairly level surface will do. Plates may be used, if obtainable. (WEDGWOOD ONLY, PLEASE!) After serving, slather beans generously with SALSA, ketchup, or barbecue sauce. Garnish with sprig of fresh sagebrush. (Your guests will be amused and pleased.) 8. One cauldron of Pinto Bean Sludge, as specifed above, will feed one starving artist for approximately two weeks. A grain supplement, such as rice, wheat, or maize, is needed for full protein complement. by Edward Abbey########################################
"ARIZONA HIGHWAY R.K.STEW" 1/2 cup rattlesnake grease a la blacktop 2 lbs sun-dried skunk (from the middle of the road) 1/4 cup jackrabbit blood (dehydrated) 2 lbs squashed cottontail bunny 1 lb flattened chipmunk (with tread marks) 1 1/2 lbs macerated ground squirrel 1 1/2 lbs laminated kangaroo rat 2 lbs elongated bull snake 2 lbs mashed house cat 2 lbs smashed dog a la asphalt Can be combined with "Pinto Bean Sludge" for a complete diet. Also by Edward Abbey