Pickle Bonanza

Sometimes food you make at home is good, but you know you've had better. Sometimes you just don't have either the skills or the equipment to replicate some tasty thing you've had elsewhere.

And then, every once in a while, you do manage to produce something that is otherworldly, something so much better than you've ever had before.

The pickles you see to the left are one of those rare moments when something turns out far beyond any expectation. These are my homemade bread and butter pickles, and I can not begin to tell you how good they are. I have had to stop myself from just sitting down with the quart jar of pickles and a fork and eating the whole thing. I get up in the morning and go out to the fridge and eat four or five just to get the day started. They are crunchy crisp, sweet and perfectly spiced. And almost embarrassingly easy to make. Here is the recipe I used.

I know you're thinking to yourself hey, these are just pickles. You're thinking that this whole retirement thing has pushed me over the edge and that I've lost perspective. Perhaps the words are even on your lips: Bernie's gone a bit dotty. Say what you will, but I have never had bread and butter pickles so good.