Safe, Sound & Heavenly!

17 years ago

I *finally* made it to the post office today to pick up my package from........Chase!!!!(Sharon) And what a package!

First, oh, heavenly first, there was the homemade/handmade ~

Sharon enclosed a note, mentioning that the pickles should be refrigerated first, since they are much better cold. Well guess what ~ they are FABULOUS at room temperature! And they are also beautiful - check out this closeup, with the lovely dill flower heads.

On to the Chile sauce, which of course I didn't wait to taste either. Sharon described it as something popular in Canada, a sweet-sour-tart-with a kick sauce. A very apt description, and it is delish! She suggested using it on burgers, dogs, egg dishes and meatloaf. (I have already had 3 spoonfuls, so I am not sure it will survive long enough to see any companion foods.)

Next is a very cool looking bottle of

made in the region where Sharon lives. I am very excited to get this, as I've been curious about Ice Wines but have never tried one. The Ice Wines from this area are considered the best in the world, so I can't wait to try this. (BTW, Sharon is now wanted in Canada AND the U.S., since at the very least, it's illegal to ship wine. Look for her photo at a post office near you.)

Now ~YAY!~ Sharon was kind enough to respond to my blatant request for

Thank you!! I have already flipped through it, and there are some outstanding recipes. I am definitely not a vegetarian, but wanted a good book for making more interesting side dishes. This absolutely fits the bill. Here is a

that will be #1 to prepare. I adore fennel!

Here is

Sharon, thank you so much for a perfectly wonderful package! I love everything!

I must now work on clever plans to snag continued shipments of dills and chile sauce.size=-3>

Comments (43)

Lars
17 years ago
Look for my picture next to Sharon's. I'm curious what she wrote on the custom's form. Glad it made it through!!

I love dill pickles, but then I love most pickles, except the sweet ones. Next year I will try to get around to making Sharon's recipe, or maybe this winter, if I can get dill to grow.

I'm completely ignorant of Ice Wine, but it sounds intriguing - please give us a report on how it tastes. The cookbook looks great too, and I agree with you on the fennel.

Lars
goldgirl
17 years ago
Weed - I've had the cookbook for years and have never used it! I'd love to hear what you think about various recipes so I can give it a try.

Wonderful package. The pickles are especially beautiful.
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lowspark
17 years ago
I've heard of ice wine only recently and don't know much about it. Looking forward to your review of it! Veg cookbook looks great and I'm SURE the pickles & chili sauce are fabulous. Great package!
ann_t
17 years ago
Very nice. And as much as I love Sharon's pickles and that cookbook looks interesting, it is that bottle of Ontario "Liquid Gold", I'm drooling over. If you haven't tried Ice Wine before you are in for a real treat.

Enjoy Wendy. Well done Sharon.

Ann
chase_gw
17 years ago
Wendy so d@mn glad it ALL go there, I surely was worried about the Ice Wine making it through customs.

Ice Wine is a very special treat, may not be to everyones palate but it is very, very special and worth an event of it's own. Chill it, sip it, share it! I much prefer Ice Wine chilled and served with savories, not as a dessert wine and for sure not with dills!!! LOL

As for the regular mailing list........ya never know!

Enjoy girlfriend!
chancesmom
17 years ago
Wendy....that ice wine will be devine, do as Sharon suggests with savouries and cold. Sounds like you got exactly what you wanted, way to go Sharon!
Terri_PacNW
17 years ago
The assortment looks so colorful and fun!

And you are already enjoying it, so just keep at it!
sheshebop
17 years ago
That package is wonderful, and your camera work is pretty good too. Congratulations on a great package.
ziporion
17 years ago
What a nice assortment of goodies. I have the Greens cookbook, and Deborah Madison is one of the authors on that one. Apart from not being able to get some of the ingredients for some of the recipes, the recipes we've tried have been delicious! I know you'll love that cookbook. That fennel dish looks amazing.

Covet that ice wine, it's something special! And if those pickles made it to my house, they'd disappear very quickly!

Excellent swap package Sharon!

Catherine
momto4kids
17 years ago
A terrific package!! I need to understand what ice wine is. I'll Google it. The cookbook sounds great! Sharon's homemade goodies. Lucky, lucky you! A package worth the wait!

Great job Sharon!!
blueiris24
17 years ago
What a great swap package. Those pickles look amazing. I've never had ice wine either but I'd love to try it - let us know what you think. Enjoy!
teresa_nc7
17 years ago
I've always thought ice wine sounded interesting. Let us know how you like it, Wendy. And I'd kill for some of those dill pickles and that chile sauce. Looks yummy! Be sure to post any recipes you try from your new cookbook.

Fantastic swap package, Sharon!
riverrat1
17 years ago
Ohhh, Sharon's Dills and Chili Sauce! You lucky lucky girl!

I can't wait to hear about how much you like the ice wine. I've only had it once and I loved it! It's very hard to come by where I live.

Enjoy!

Sharon, Niiiice job!
jimtex
17 years ago
Another lucky recipient of the most edible dills on the planet. And a fantastic cookbook too, it never enter my cluttered up head to get one just for vegetables. The ice wine sounds nice but if you can't serve it in a frozen mug with salt and lime then I'm not qualified to judge it. Cool package Wendy from a nice lady.
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
17 years ago
I wasn't kidding. Absolutely devine.
trixietx
17 years ago
Weed, that looks good, really good.

The ice wine, DO NOT DRINK IT, it is addictive. Send it to me, let me dispose of it! Janet (chancesmom) sent me some in a previous swap. I don't know much about wine, but it is so good and very $$$$ to buy in Texas. ( I know because I have asked about it in the liquor stores.)

Nice package, Sharon!
KatieC
17 years ago
OK, now I have to go find ice wine. I like gewurz...mmmmm.

And the legendary pickles....mmmmm......
lsr2002
17 years ago
That is a heavenly package. The Ice Wine is a treat indeed. I don't think I've ever seen a photo of Chase's dills before, but their reputation is well known, and they are really beautiful.

The cookbook looks really neat and your fennel dish looks fabulous. Puh-lease, please share that recipe now; I have 3 perfect fennel bulbs in my fridge that are begging to show up on a plate looking like that.

Super choices as always Sharon,enjoy it all Weed.

Lee
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
17 years ago
Lee, I will try to post tonight. I have a party at work so I'm not sure how late I will be. Tomorrow for sure!
compumom
17 years ago
Ooh noo, I'm lusting after Sharon's homemade goodies and the recipe for the fennel. I'm another to adores it! Enjoy it all, it's a super treat!
sally2_gw
17 years ago
I'm among those that have never heard of Ice Wine, and I'm disappointed to hear it's so expensive in Texas. Makes sense, though.

I have that cookbook and use it a lot. I've never made anything out of it that I didn't really like. You need to crack your's open, Goldgirl, and use it. Weed, I'm sure you'll get lots of enjoyment from that book.

As for the pickles, can I have one? I love dill pickles, and are those garlic cloves I see in that jar? MMMmmmmm. Those look delicious, and so does the chile sauce, but the pickles are what I'd reach for, first.

Sally
Gina_W
17 years ago
YummmmmY!
doucanoe
17 years ago
Well, you sure can't go wrong with a package like that! Ice wine, a cookbook you really wanted and Sharon's dills and chili sauce...simply wonderful, all of it!

Wow, Weed, your photo of the fennel dish looks sinful!

Linda
alison
17 years ago
I didn't know there was anyplace where ice wine isn't expensive! What a treat.

The pickles and the cili sauce sound great, too; sour-sweet-tart with a kick sounds like my kind of sauce.

I've copied recipes out of that cookbook -- it's really great, even for omnivores.

Wonderful package!
robinkateb
17 years ago
Okay I am jealous of the whole package. That cookbook looks amazing, I am dying to try the dills, I love ice wine, and Sharon will you share the recipe for the chili sauce please?

-Robin
mustangs81
17 years ago
Those pickles!! They look devine. I have heard of ice wine but don't know anything about it; I'm eager to hear a report.

Good job Sharon.
lsr2002
17 years ago
Thanks Weed, it looks like Ellen and Linda and others I'm sure will be happy to have the recipe also. Your photo of it just looks wonderful. Tonight or tomorrow is fine.

Lee
Bizzo
17 years ago
oh wow! That cookbook looks like it needs to find a home on my cookbook shelf. What great pictures! And how yummy! I'm another dill pickle lover... so ummmm.... !! And I haven't had much Ice Wine, but I've read about it, and keep meaning to grab a bottle to add to my collection...
maggie2094
17 years ago
Those pickles are beautiful as is the Ice Wine bottle. I would also love to know about the chili sauce. Great selections, Chase. Enjoy Weed:)
lynnalexandra
17 years ago
That really is a package to drool over. The pickles are beautiful - I didn't know pickles could be beautiful. Ice wine sounds like something I must try.

And that cookbook - I have so overindulged with buying cookbooks that I can't keep up with - but I really have wanted to add this to my collection. Weed - that picture is pushing toward the edge. Someone push me over and I'll buy it. Sally - I remember you mentioned that you had that book (which is why I got you the Italian one).

chase - that's a wonderful, epicurean package.

Lucky Weed.
Lynn.
weed30 St. Louis
Original Author
17 years ago
OK, I have posted the braised fennel recipe (and more) over on the Recipe Exchange forum.

And, I had an *ice cold* pickle tonight. Folks, these are definitely the best I've ever had. Super crisp and garlicky. YUM. I think about them being made by someone I actually know, which is so cool.

And it doesn't even skeeve me out that she soaks them in her bathtub. {{gwi:529114}}
granjan
17 years ago
The pickles are beautiful, my mother used to make them like that. And your fennel does justice to the cookbook. Great package.
lsr2002
17 years ago
Thanks so much Weed. I have one that's very similar to the second one you posted with the wine and Parmesan. I'm looking forward to trying some of these.

Lee
colo_lady
17 years ago
Ahem. Deborah Madison is THE BEST, hands down. Ahem. I NEED that cookbook. This isn't merely a want situation, it is truly a need. The Greens being my favorite restaurant on the planet, and all... So, couldya please hand that over? If I blatantly ask you? (Hey, it worked for you...)

I'm thinking that I will have to confiscate that wine, since ya'll broke the law and all that. Hand it over nicely or I'll have to come and get it.

Okay, I'm comin' to get it...
lakeguy35
17 years ago
Lucky you Weed! Those are the BEST pickles I've ever had too. I treat myself to Ice Wine once maybe twice a year thanks to Sharon. Good stuff! Sounds like a great cookbook....great to see food pic from you. Thanks for the recipe. Super package Sharon!

David
lori316
17 years ago
Oh, Weed, that does sound heavenly! Thanks for posting the fennel recipe, a definite must-try.

I think my cookbook library is going to dramatically increase after this swap. There's so many good ones out there.

I'm an ice wine virgin. I think I have to look into it.
Virginia7074
17 years ago
The dish you prepared looks absolutely amazing. I would eat that in a heartbeat. Sounds like a good cookbook. I love ice wine. If you find you don't like it, I will duel Trixietx (my swap buddy) for it. And the dills and sauce sound very tempting. A very nice assortment of goodies.
dlundin
17 years ago
Sigh... what can I say? I am so jealous. Those pickles... that's another legend. I am a pickle fiend. Sounds like that cookbook was perfect for you. I think you may take the record for someone making something from a cookbook they've just received from a swap.

Chase, one of those days I'm heading to Canada and I'm going to track you down and get a pickle. :) Nice package.
shaun
17 years ago
Yep yep, another awesome swap box.

Those pickles, I could almost taste them hahaha!
annie1992
17 years ago
Ice wine is pretty expensive here too, I bought some from Chateau Chantal in Traverse City. I don't even like wine and thought it was pretty good!

The book looks great, I've never met a vegetable I didn't like, and the pickles? Well, they look pretty darned good for something that's spent time in Chase's bathtub. LOL

Annie
andi_2006
17 years ago
The pickles that get the ***** review!! Lucky you!!! Your dinner photo looks TDF - please post some recipes from your cookbook! Ice wine - delish!! Sharon, what a fantastic package!
traceys
17 years ago
Wow, Ice wine, Sharons dill pickles and chile sauce! That is one really special package. The cookbook looks terrific too. I really should go buy that one too.

Enjoy Weed! Let us know about the wine. It's something I've wanted to try for a long time.

Great package Sharon!

Tracey
debbie814
17 years ago
Ooooooh, I'm glad you posted the braised fennel recipe on the Recipe Exchange forum. I love fennel more than chocolate. LOL I also love ice wine and pickles. Great swap package.

Safe, Sound & Heavenly!

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