Slices of Life

This time of year always makes me think of the renewal of life. Flowers bloom, chicks hatch and the baby Jesus grows a beard and ascends into heaven. There are abundant symbols of this time of renewal and my favorite ones are filled with marshmallow and wrapped in pretty, pastel foil but naturally I found a pickle that's also perfectly appropriate for a spring time ritual.

Rick's Picks offers several varieties of pickled goods-green beans,beets,okra and green tomatoes, but since I like to focus only on pickled cucumbers this time I'm talkin' about the Slices of Life pickles. I'm eating these pickles right now and I can't help but be reminded of Christmas? I know it's Easter/Passover but these pickles taste just like Christmas/Hannukah!

I'm no stranger to Christmas pickles but this is the first pickle I've encountered that actually TASTES like Christmas. The label only says "pickling spices" but I'm guessing there is clove in there. I actually had to call my mother and ask her what the hell is in that stuff she keeps in a crockpot during the holidays because these pickles taste just like that! She said it was just an orange and some cloves and sometimes a little cinnamon and that most people call it "Mulling Spices". I googled "mulling spices" and only found out that in urban slang it means "crack and weed".

It sounds crazy to describe a pickle with a cinnamon/clove taste and at first bite I thought they were odd, but I just kept eating them trying to figure out what they hell they tasted like and the next thing I knew the jar was empty. That's exactly what makes Ricks Picks so cool, I don't think you'll find any of his varieties to be exactly what you think they are going to be. You may not like everything he does, but you've got to admit he's doing something different.

Rick Field, of Ricks Picks, lives right here in Brooklyn and pretty much lead the way for other awesome Brooklyn picklers like Wheelhouse Pickles and McClure's Pickles. He's won numerous awards and has even been deemed worthy of sharing camera time with Martha Stewart. I checked out the website before writing this and saw how handsome he was but, no, I haven't looked up his home address...yet...and I also saw that he is celebrating his 5 year anniversary of Ricks Picks. I moved here 5 years ago? Coincidence?

So let's celebrate (slices of) life, spring time and the rebirth of the pickle movement...oh and Jesus if you're so inclined!