Song: The Glass Hall
Artist: Andreas Vollenweider
Thanksgiving actually started out on the night before for me.
After my mother and I had gone out to eat...
we stayed up the rest of the night watching movies
(my mother and I have always been night owls).
(I was half way home here)
When I had left my mother's house...
the morning had already begun.
I would sleep in until early in the evening...
and we would then go out to eat sushi at the Atlantis Casino...
and we then stopped in at a grocery store to buy some turnips.
I wanted to make my favorite pickles...
'Reno Red Hots'.
Although my mother has made turnip pickles for many years...
as has my wife...
there are some key differences among the way my mother and wife make them...
and 'Reno Red Hots'.
Although the basic recipe is the same...
I've made some key alterations to enhance the aspects I love the most
(I love stronger flavors)...
and I have minimized the negative...
as I will explain a little later on.
First of all...
ensure the turnips are always crispy...
never rubbery.
The crisp texture of these pickles is one of the key positive aspects.
I will explain how to keep this crisp nature throughout its storage life...in a bit.
There are but four basic ingredients:
Memmi (or soy sauce)
Sushi Seasoning (or rice vinegar)
Red Peppers - crushed or ground
(Korean or Thai peppers are what we use).
Turnips
One kilogram of these ground peppers will last many years.
The initial steps involve...
washing and scrubbing the turnips...
slicing off the stems...
cutting out any discolorations and divots...
and then peeling them.
Now...
I know that most of the nutrients (per equal unit of measurement)...
are in the skin of the fruit or vegetable.
However...
I also know that unless you may personally control all the variables
which may affect human health through ingestion of the vegetable or fruit
(starting with the actual essential mineral content of the soil...
and with the knowledge that there would be no usage of:
Herbicides
Pesticides
Fungicides
Sprout Inhibitors
and that all of the fertilization of the fields was properly composted...
and of the correct types to prevent cross contamination from naturally occurring
gut bacteria of the fertilizer source animal which could infect humans...
and of the processing and handling which could also cross contaminate the final products...
it is best to peel the fruit or vegetable.
Later on...
when we buy our final retirement property...
I will be planting and harvesting all of our fruits and vegetables...
including turnips...
to not only ensure none of the negative aspects of store bought produce...
but to ensure a more highly nutritious end product...
chiefly through soil nutrient content
through proper composting and soil preparation years ahead of time...
(the proper soil resting / crop rotation
and the building of high quality naturally occurring fertilizers
through the control of the richness of the humus...
which not only lends to higher nutrient content and proper drainage of the soil...
but provides a rich environment for earth worms to further enrich the soil...
and through the natural full ripening through attachment to the mother plant
(biologically speaking...not 'New Age' speaking :)
Okay...
sorry.
I got off topic.
(But I simply love organic gardening).
I can hardly wait for our final acres of property...
so I may grow many fruits, nuts, and vegetables, of great nutritive value...
and of trees and plants of great beauty...to enjoy year round.
Every time I look at grocery store produce...
I get a little galled...
for I know what has been done...
and most of all...
why it has been done.
I know almost everything is a balance of cost vs. benefit...
however...
there should be a line of quality which should never be crossed...
especially when it involves health.
However...
unless you may grow your own...
it would be more unhealthful to not eat store bought fruits and vegetables...
than to eat them.
So, for now...
wash and peel :)
Okay...
onwards...for now.
The ratio of the ingredients to each other...
is what gives its flavor.
The Memmi or soy sauce is what gives it the base flavor and saltiness.
The Sushi Seasoning or rice vinegar...
is what adds to the sweetness and/or to the tartness.
Just use the amounts of each...
to tailor fit to taste.
The ratio of ground red peppers to the fluids...
is what turns simple turnip pickles...
into, what I dubbed as, 'Reno Red Hots'.
When I eat pickles...
I want them to really spice up the meal.
These pickles are not about pure 'heat'.
It is about the flavor of the meal being enhanced by the fire of the peppers.
I did the rest of the pickles...
for a reason.
First, I halved the turnips..
and I then sliced them with varying thicknesses
(important step).
Now...
it is not only the ratio of ingredients which determine the flavor...
it is time spent in storage.
As we cannot control time...
we may control the effects of time on the product...
or rather, what happens over time as it soaks in the solution.
The longer the turnips are in the solution...
the more it gets infused with it.
As these pickles are eaten over a period of days...
were these to have been sliced evenly...
the turnips' taste would vary over that period of time...
gradually becoming less crisp and more salty.
I sliced them from approximately 1/8 an inch...
to approximately 1/4 to 1/2 an inch.
Simply strive to eat the thinnest cuts first.
By the time you reach the thickest cuts...
they will have been soaking the longest...
but their thickness will have preserved much of the natural turnip taste...
and with much of the saltiness negated
by having a higher ratio of raw turnip to infused solution turnip.
The effect over time is one which is similar to the thinner cut turnips
having been soaked for only a day or two.
The unused washed and peeled turnips may then be stored in the fridge for use within a few days.
Just slice and put in the solution.
The solution may be used over and over...
at least a few times.
When the solution becomes too diluted...
you may simply make more.
Of all the pickles I have ever eaten in my life...
there is but one king of pickles...
'Reno Red Hots'.
The flavor is simply addictive.
These pickles will enhance almost any meal...
and are excellent by themselves
as a snack while watching a movie
and drinking an ice cold non-alcoholic beer.
I left my mother's early in the morning.
I am getting my mother used to living in cooler temperatures
(keeping her house at 68 degrees F...
instead of the insanely warm conditions by heater that most women seem to favor).
Keeping cool (in arid climates)...
especially in winter...
is much better for the health...
besides the pocket book...
for reasons I shall go into at another time.
Hana always beds down somewhere near us as we watch TV
(she likes having a blanket on her at night).
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