I tasted my green cherry tomato-pearl onion pickles recently and I think they turned out very well.  So I am passing on the recipe. Note that this same method could be used for many veggies, such as green beans, cabbage and cauliflower.

Another way to make use of an abundant crop of cherry tomatoes, here as an snack with aperitifs, with fresh goat’s milk cheese and anchovies.

On a recent warm evening, a storm passed through Orthez, with wind and beating rain.  We were snug inside but the cherry tomatoes took a hit;  the next morning I discovered a lot of green tomatoes on the ground around the plants.  My mom used to make pickled green tomatoes using the same recipe she used for dill pickles…Why not give it a try?   We have just harvested onions , so the smallest these will make a great addition, along with a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of dill.

Since this is a new process for me, I sought out a recipe in my Grand-mother’s cookbook, The Lily Wallace New American Cookbook, circa 1949.  When I say it was her cookbook, I mean that it was the ONLY cookbook she owned, her go-to for everything about the kitchen, stuffed with more than 3800 recipes and advice on everything from canning pears to pickling tongue to serving an elegant afternoon tea to how to make a Sidecar.  The copy she passed down to me is full of mark-ups and notes in my grandma’s hand and stuffed with other recipes and articles she gathered somewhere along the way.

It selected a recipe for “Mixed Pickles”, recipe 3627, which seemed to be going in the direction I was hoping for.  The only change I made was that I salted the vegetables and left them overnight, rather than leaving them in brine for 16 days as the recipe recommended.  After that, I packed the vegetables into a sterilized jar with spices and dill, then covered with a mix of 50/50 cider vinegar and white vinegar, then sealed the jar. Now I just need to wait for 4 weeks and see how they turn out.  I will provide the complete recipe once I have tasted and made corrections.

Washington coast rock fish filet served with roasted sweet pepper-orange coulis and a warm salad of nectarines, cherry tomatoes, sweet onions, corn and cilantro.

Le Pichet chef de cuisine Vince Hall has added a trio of summer appetizers to the menu at Le Pichet this week that mark the arrival of summer produce to local farm tables. Here are a few pics to whet your appetite!