When Life Gives You Cucumbers, Make Pickles

I planted one small cucumber vine thinking it would produce enough for slicing on salads this summer.  I never imagined that one vine would not only creep beyond the boundaries of the garden but would yield a superabundance of crunchy green cukes!  These past few days, I picked 20 cucumbers...far exceeding my salad needs.  What to do?  

I turn to my new best friend, Mrs. Wages for advice.  We met in the canning supply aisle at Ingles. Mrs. Wages has become my canning tutor.  The company also sells a number of canning mixes for anything from salsa to ketchup to all variations of pickles. I purchased the Kosher Dill Pickle quick process packet, a case of Ball-Kerr Mason Jars, some vinegar and a few other canning necessities, then set to work.  While they are not certified kosher (no rabbi with me in the kitchen), I now have seven quarts of dill pickles just waiting to adorn my next burger or spice up my tuna salad.

Often in life I find myself with way more than I expected or can manage.  What to do?  Complaining and whining only leave me feeling overwhelmed and full of despair.  The only answer is to make the most of what is before me with God's help.  

So, when life gives you cucumbers, make pickles!

Thinning Beets

This week I harvested beets.  Now I ponder their preparation.  I’ve tagged several recipes to try: Roasted Beet Salad, Rosy Beet and Broccoli Slaw, Pickled Beets, Farfalle with Beets, Beet Greens and Pine Nuts, Creamy Kale and Beet Salad, Beets with Swiss Chard (both the kale and chard are ready to harvest in abundance as well), and on and on.  Where to begin with these beautiful purple-red nuggets and their beautiful jade and crimson-veined greens?!?  Soon I will be enjoying this goodness from the earth; but, it came at a cost that was not only the price of the seeds. 

Being a novice gardener, I have delighted in holding each vegetable’s seeds in the palm of my hand, putting them to bed in the soil and then watching their seedlings emerge above the ground.  Each one has a personality.  The radishes peek out of the ground with leaves that look like lambs’ ears.  Carrots begin with tiny feathery fronds.  And, the beets emerge with those beautiful greens standing like flags on purple stems.  All of them hold the promise of a delicious surprise hiding just underneath the ground.  

One day I was admiring all of the green growth in my garden with my gardening coach, Kim.  We walked through the rows examining the various plants and their progress.  When we came to the row of beets, I looked on them like a proud mother watching her child grow an inch taller.  Suddenly, Kim reached down and began plucking beet plants out of the ground. I had already experienced the trauma of thinning radishes; I did not like plucking up and throwing away their tiny seedlings; it was like taking away the emerging new life. I think my gasp was audible because she began to explain why thinning the beets was so important.   Beets and radishes don’t like to be crowded. As they grow, the plants become squeezed together.  They begin to compete with one another for water and nutrients from the soil. They need space to develop and flourish.  So, it is necessary to pull out even the healthy looking sprouts to make room for the beets to bulb out.  

I’ve thought a lot about the hidden truth in thinning the beets recently; about how life sometimes needs thinning.  When the worries of life...the demands of an overcommitted schedule...the things that constantly need maintaining...the oughts and shoulds that jam my mind and my heart...when all of that begins to crowd in on me, to make me less loving, something needs thinning out.  Yes, it can be painful, especially when you have to let go of something that you thought to be significant and that you highly valued.  Although it is difficult work, I am discovering that when thinning is done with a thankful heart and trusting God to accomplish God’s good purpose in my life, the more I let go, the lighter life becomes.  I find strength in deeper rootedness and joy in expanding measure.  

Sow True Seeds Company sent me the online Fall crop planting guide today in my email.  I’ve already made note of the dates I can plant my next beet crop.  Time now, though, to savor the gift of this crop.  

One final note...I took the greens from the beets pulled during the thinning that day and sauteed them with onion and pancetta.  They were quite tasty!