Gone Pickling

My love for pickles has finally developed into a full-blown infatuation. In the past year I pickled pears and plums and peppers, and made preserves with a few dozen picked-by-my-own-hands lemons.

Spicy green beans that pair well with Bloody Marys are a popular favorite; and of course I've tackled the classics--sweet bread 'n' butters and kosher dills--and finally encroached upon the fringes of pickle territory, filling wide-mouthed quart jars with deep purple, almost black, blueberry relish. Did I say the fringes? In truth, the vast expanse of pickletopia spans across the globe and takes on oh so many, delicious forms.

I've only just begun to pickle.