So the first major winter storm of 2014 hit us today.  Actually it continues to hit us.  As I’m typing, the wind is howling and the snow is blowing.  It’s not even fit for a dog today.

“Open this door!”

So demo and cleanup is ruled out.  Even though we filled our first disposal bin yesterday and managed to get an empty one exchanged before the snow started this morning, there’s no way I’m hoofing any garbage outside today.

So what’s one to do when the weather makes a detour to your plans?  You roll with it.

Whenever we get house-bound for any reason, Vanessa goes full-on-baking-mode.  Today was no exception – the jar of fresh biscotti and a couple loaves of homemade bread on the kitchen counter proves that.

And as much as I’d like to just sit by the fire with a coffee and some of that biscotti – I kept busy too.

We bought a few bunches of fresh radishes this week to attempt something we hadn’t tried yet – pickling them.   And this is about as easy as it gets.

Wash the radishes, cut off the tops and root “tails”, quarter them and add them to a mason jar.

I’m sure slices would be fine – and probably easier for sandwich stacking, too.  In a small saucepan, boil 1 cup vinegar (cider vinegar would be nice, too), 1/2 cup water, 2-3 tablespoons honey (or sugar), 1-2 teaspoons salt and two or three cloves of sliced garlic and pour into the radish-holding mason jar.

Allow to cool and store in the fridge.

We didn’t water-bath these pickles for long-term storage – it didn’t seem necessary as we only one made one jar.  And to be honest, we’re probably going to eat all of these by the weekend, anyhow (they’re that good).  The radishes have a nice, peppery/pungent flavor that’s not like a typical pickle and retain they their crunch (because they’re not cooked, as such).  Guaranteed, we’ll be making these in a large batches come the spring with the radishes we grow in our own garden.

So, as it turns out, snow days aren’t so bad.  If it means you can’t do Plan “A”, there’s always Plan “B”.  And when you’ve finished Plan “B”, move on to Plan “C”.

Plan “C”