Pickle Bouquet
flowers
personal
Feb 13, 2021
TODAY'S MISSION: Making a pickle bouquet for my husband. #picklemission #lovetakesmanyforms
Backstory (see also video at top)
J and I were talking about Valentine's plans yesterday. I have a pretty snazzy gift ordered but looks like it will become a birthday gift.
I mentioned how I had seen a pickle bouquet kit (at that point an Xmas contender but sold out).
HE LIT UP.
Then the joke was that J would have to ferry my ass to the grocery store since he drives and usually does nearly all the grocery shopping.
He had a good sense of humor about it. Bless him for always being so helpful.
But last night, I thought, "I can layer up, mask up and DO THIS," since there is a Michael's, Binny's, Mariano's all CTA-able.
Of course, I started with a sketch:
I did a sweep for what I already had. Which wasn't much. Footed bowl, some sport peppers and... I swear I had more skewers.
It was cold cold today, so I did indeed layered up, masked up, and hopped on a bus that had the best clump of stores for supplies.
Target had ONE pack of skewers waiting for me.
Binny's liquor store totally delivered AND had 2 Letherbee special edition gins we missed.
1. Suckerpunch garlic dill spears
2. Garlic stuffed olives
3. Blue cheese stuffed olives
4. Chili pepper stuffed cocktail onions
5. Itty bitty gherkins
(6. Aforementioned sport peppers)
A sign of success, but I have a very heavy backpack very early in mission.
I popped into Michaels and got the half styrofoam ball for the bowl base. Next, Mariano's grocery for kale and even more jars.
Stopped for grocery sushi due to crashing blood sugar. Now I can nab a 36 bus home, since I spent my Uber budget on gin...
From Mariano's:
7. Red cherry peppers
8. Yellow peppers
9. Baby dills
10. Pickled okra
11. ... I think another kind of spear.
No bread and butters. I am going to try to make spears work, but slices felt too messy.
I wish I had a big ol' pickle in a bag for a centerpiece. But I may be too tired to try to find one at the Walgreens I will pass. #choices
J has no idea I am doing this already and I found out he has to work 4 more hours. PLENTY of time to rock this and make a great snacky dinner spread.
7: 58 pm: He just called telling me not to go outside.... little does he know....
I flattened the half ball Styrofoam into a squarish shape and it fit snugly in the dish. Then it got covered in the gorgeous kale.
Building the Bouquet
Step 1: Baby dills
Step 2: Garlic stuffed olives
Step 3: Pepperoncini
Step 4: Gherkins
Step 5: Cocktail onions.
Step 6: Cherry peppers
Steps 7-9: Garlic spears, pickled okra, blue cheese olives.
He unlocked the door to enter the condo, and said, "DON'T LOOK!"
I said, "DON'T LOOK EITHER."
He gave me armfuls of tulips (my favorite) and red roses. He knows red roses aren't my thing and quickly explained. A coworker asked him where to get roses near work. J answered, but also picked up some for them, knowing they may be hard to come by on Valentine's Eve. The coworker didn't take them. More flowers FOR ME.
Before he could step farther into our home, I made him close his eyes and hold out his arms. Then I placed the magnificent pickle bouquet in his hands.
I wonder if he smelled it first...
HE LOVED IT.
"That is GLORIOUS." I got his eyes sparkling. I love getting his eyes all sparkly.
"Best edible gift I have ever gotten."
J's MC Chris shirt is perfect.
Now onto eating the saltiest dinner ever. 💚
Tips for making your own pickle bouquet:
- Start with a wide heavy base. All the pickled stuff is heavy.
- You could use white Styrofoam, green floral foam, or a piece of melon inside your container to poke the skewers into. I still opt for white Styrofoam for the most stable choice.
- Totally go for a variety of colors and shapes. That'll make a gorgeous and tasty bouquet.
- Blot the brine off the items, especially the spears. That'll help keep the messiness lower.
- Uh, this is a crap-ton of salt. No one should eat their bouquet at once. Pacing yourself just prolongs the gift.
