I don’t know what it is about hot weather that makes me think about pickles. Maybe it’s all the barbequing or the desire for food that doesn’t have to be cooked over the food or the need for a chilled snack? Maybe all of these. Whatever it is when the temperature starts climbing into the high 80s, low 90s my mind turns to pickles. The local food co-op sells these locally made New York deli pickles that are wonderful and I’ve been hitting them all summer to satisfy my craving… Until a few weeks back when I decided that I should make my own pickles. The internet is full of recipes, easy ones, an pickling by itself is not difficult at all. Also, pickling cucumbers had just started showing up on grocery shelves. I mentioned this to D and last weekend she came back from the store with two pounds of pickling cucumbers and a bag full of spices. She even found a recipe that looked promising…
So, I made some pickles!
First, you need to find some pickles these are kirbyshalf or quarter them...Cram them vertically into a sanitized jar of some sortAdd your spice/pickling mixGet your brine boilingPour the boiling brine into the jar with the cucumbers
Seal the jar, let it cool until it’s room temperature and then throw into the fridge for 24 hours.
This is the part where you eat them!It's generally at this point I wish I had a better camera and some photography skills...
Thanks to Punk Domestics for providing the recipe it worked perfectly! I did change it by omitting the garlic, onions, and dill (in the future I’ll put those back in.) Though, in the future I think I will use white vinegar instead of apple cider which is a little too strong for my tastes…
Like this art? Custom made by me! I'm open for commissions
“Indie” games seem to be popular right now. Or were they popular a few years ago and now are just another thing? I have a hard time keeping up with what is cool and trendy in the video game world these days. With services like PSN, XBox Live, and STEAM these indie games are becoming readily available. I don’t know if one can earn enough money making them for a living… Eh, before they were “indie” games they were just games you found on the internet and shared with your friends. I like to think of them as the shareware of the “00” without having to mail in a check to get the rest of the episodes…
Anyway, there is a lot of these games out there now. Some of which you’ll have heard of (Spelunky, Cave Story, Knytt) and some you haven’t (Hero Core, Lyle in Cube Sector, Strange Adventures in Infinite Space.) Because I had no life in college (and today know people who are still in college or play videogames for a semi-living) I can help you wade through all the dross and find the ones worth playing.
Here they are in the order they occured/recommended to me:
Spelunky – Is a procedurally generated platformer wherein you play an Indiana Jones like character delving through mines and caves looking for treasures. This game was so popular that a publisher noticed it and decided to throw money at the developer to port it to Xbox Live Arcade. This doesn’t happen very often though, so if you’re thinking of going into the business… Anyway, what makes Spelunky great is the fact that its random and you can get your little guy into all sorts of absurd situations. Watch some videos on Youtube to get an idea (I recommend the adventures of Iowa Jack)
Viriax – I reviewed this game when it came out earlier this year. Viriax is a simple shmup-like (is that a word/genre? It is now I just made it one.) where you control a virus as it infects a host body. I use the term shmup-like because the virus doesn’t shoot anything instead it must swim past enemies and then attack them from behind. I’ll be the first to admit I’m not very good at this game but it is enjoyable and the music is great.
Cave Story – Another game everyone has heard of at this point. What you didn’t know is that the game has been out now for more than 5 years now. I first heard about it at the end of 2005 and poked around with it for a bit before something else distracted me. I picked it back up after hearing that Nintendo was bringing it to Virtual Console… Cave Story is a Metroidvania style game where you control a little robot with amnesia stuck in a cave world. Charming visuals, a good soundtrack, and excellent gameplay can all be found in Cave Story.
Hero Core – The sequel to Hero and another Metroidzania. This is a very “retro” styled game. That black & white pic above? Is from Hero Core. I haven’t played much of this one (who has the time for all these video games?) but it’s intriguing enough to keep me coming back and checking it out some more.
Desktop Dungeons – Some people hate their lives. They hate their lives so much that in their free time they play roguelikes.I do not hate myself and even if I did I’d have better things to do with my free time (like cutting myself) Which is why Desktop Dungeons is nice. This way I get to experience a roguelike without the atrocious ASCII art and opaque design. I know, I know roguelikes have deep, complex gameplay that rewards investing time and effort into the genre. The thing is I don’t want to die 1000s of time before I manage to beat the game. Desktop Dungeon distills all the pain out of roguelikes and leaves a smart, quick, fun game behind.
Lyle in Cube Sector – The creator describes the game as a “block throwing action/adventure game.” I just found it charming and fun to tinker around with.
I Wanna be The Guy – The most infamous “indie” game on the planet. Not my cup of tea (I like myself) but it was made by a friend of mine so I couldn’t not put it here. Super hard, surreal platformer. Let me know if you beat it though. I want to shake your hand.
Strange Adventures in Infinite Space – a quick 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game that can be played in 5 to 20 minutes. Explore the galaxy, make friends, kill aliens. Nothing here but love.
That list though is only the beginning, and only what I could think of off the top of my head. I can vouch for all of these but there are 1000s of these games out there. Good thing we have the internet. Good thing some kind hearted soul (Derek Yu, the creator of Spelunkyand two other guys) has already done all the footwork and created a searchable database of independent games: TIGdb. I’ll warn you know though that TIGdb is a rabbithole and I can’t say when if ever you’ll find your way out.
As long as you have fun, I guess it doesn’t matter, huh?
Spring (or is it summer) came late to Northern California this year. But, despite a 4 week delay it seems to finally be here now with temperatures rising to the high eighties and low nineties. Spring and Summer have a lot of things going for them; one of my favorites though, is sun tea. What is sun tea? Well it’s tea, usually herbal, you brew in the sun. I suppose most people just call it iced tea but I like the phrase ‘sun tea.’ ‘Sun tea’ conjures up images of a blue sky, mild breeze, blinding white walls, and sparkling pools. Oh, and the delicious taste of ice-cold tea!
Sun tea is really easy to make. You don’t need any fancy teas or tea bags (though you can use these things! Lipton is the blandest of teas and there are so many great flavors out there!) Here’s how I make it!
This is an Orange blossom, clove, and cranberry tea. I bought it in bulk from my local grocery co-op
You’re going to need some tea, a tea bag (if it isn’t prepackaged tea), and a large water jug. My jug is an old Santa Cruz Juice gallon jug.
I find it easier to place the tea bag in the jug before you put in the teaI fill the bag up as much as possible
Once you have the tea bag full, make sure you close it tight. The bag is going to be submerged in water for several hours and you don’t want it spilling out into the water. The tea won’t be ruined if it is but you’ll have to pour everything through a strainer, you can save yourself the hassle by making sure it’s closed tight.
Push the tea bag into the water. Make sure it is fully submerged
Once the tea bag is in the water, make sure the strings are still hanging out of the jar’s mouth and that the bag has plenty of slack, seal the jar and set it out in the sun.
Place in a spot where it will be fully exposed to the sun for at least 3 or 4 hours
After the tea has been in the sun for a sufficient period of time (the longer it’s exposed the stronger the tea’s taste) bring it inside, remove the tea bag, and chill in the refrigerator. I rarely, if ever, add sugar, honey, or other sweeteners to my tea but you can of course. If you feel fancy enough you can mix sun tea with a simple syrup for some Sweet Tea. As you can see from the first picture I enjoy mine over ice with some lemon juice and a slice or two. Sun tea is best enjoyed anywhere summer is happening.
Anything in particular you associate strongly with the summer season? Share it in the comments below!
Now that all the weird weather seems to have come to an end (really, hail in June? That’s uncalled for!) The garden has really started to spring into action. The tomatoes and zucchinis are blooming, the beans and cucumbers are sending out creepers. I imagine in two or so weeks we can start harvesting veggies from it. I can’t wait to make bread salad using only vegetables I’ve grown and bread I’ve baked. D and I are hoping that we’ll get enough tomatoes this year to do some canning as well.
Zucchini blossoms
Green beans. By the time their done those creeping vines will be all over the place...Tomato blossoms
So far, there hasn’t been much of a problem with pests. I don’t know if it’s because of the beer traps or the heavy doses of Sluggo I used early on. Not pictured are the cucumbers, eggplants, basil, and spinach (that last one was inadvertent, it was in the winter garden and must have seeded at some point.) The cucumbers are at the very back of the box next to the fence and we’ve hung some netting between the garden box and the fence so they have something to climb. If the beans get out of control we’ll also direct them towards the netting…
Here’s a tip for those of you gardening from home as well, don’t get your blossoms wet. This has a tendency to insure they never fertilize or bear fruit. We lost out on have a season of tomatoes because of this last year. Also, don’t let your tomatoes bloom too much. All that flowering will take energy away from making nice big fruits. So once you’ve got some tomatoes on the vine cut back some of your blossoms…
If you’re lucky enough to be growing some of your own produce I’d love to see some of your pictures or hear any tips you’ve come across! Share them with me in the comments.
