Middle Eastern Pickled Vegetables

true confessions time
I used to be a professional belly dancer
this happened because I went to some
Greek Restaurants back in Chicago
fell in love with the food
the music
and the dancer’s costumes
picking out recipes to make
from my extensive cook book collection
I became a fairly good middle eastern cook
the dance lessons were
part of my post partum recovery exercises
one thing led to another,
I finally had the costumes
and a job
my son grew up on middle eastern music
lying there in his bassinet while Mom slimmed down
when his school needed fund raising events
I threw “Time Travel to Tut’s Table at Thebes”
with a course of food and a course of entertainment
I went to visit Naji Baba to get some recipes
this pickle recipe is one of those
after tasting the pickles at his place
I went home without washing my hands
and mixed up the brine, tasting up and back
between my dirty fingers and the new mix
until I had a match
to the best of my knowledge and tongue memory
this is what they were:
brine:
half apple cider vinegar, half lemon juice
thinned with an equal amount of water
for a pint of vinegar and a pint of lemon juice
add about 1/8 cup of salt
bay leaves and dill weed to taste
about 2 medium heads of garlic
the vegetables include:
cauliflower
cabbage
turnips
red onions
and perhaps beets, (peeled and cut up)
peel the turnips and cut into bite sized chunks
poach a broken head of cauliflower
and a head of cabbage cut into wedges
until tender
add thickly sliced red onion
mix all in brine
wait 2 to 3 days
taste and make adjustments

© 2010 Sandy Vrooman