Putting Up With Mark

A second blizzard is poised to hit Long Island this afternoon, meaning that Mark and I are going to be stuck behind these wood paneled walls for an indefinite amount of time. Although we used to harbor romantic notions of being snowed in with nowhere to go, having actually been snowed in this year has been sobering. For as much as we enjoy a good book, better bourbon and hanging out in our PJ's all day, we eventually reach the point where we need a good project to keep from quibbling over the cat and whatnot.

As of late, my go-to book of choice has been The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories & Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners. I clearly fall into the latter category, whereas Mark falls somewhere in the middle. Bottom line--I'm smitten with the gastronomic likes of Matt Lee and Ted Lee. They pay attention to the right stuff, not the least of which are collards, buttermilk and home food preservation. When introducing their chapter on Pickles, Preserves and Relishes, the brothers Lee write:

"The act of preserving and pickling today seems tinged with the old ways: the dusty jars, boiling cauldrons, dank cellars, and hardscrabble days of the era before affordable refrigeration. But 'putting up' was often just the opposite--a heady time of great plenty, when the garden was overflowing with color, a time for optimism and maybe a little pride."

Though I'm stuck with more snow than I care to consider, and the fields are overflowing with nothing but blankets of sopping wet white, I happen to have a couple of things going for me--a stockpile of root veggies that I harvested a little while back and MARK. I don't know too many gals out there who can boast about their partners' preserving prowess, but I'm proud to say that my husband can CAN. And how! He may have his faults, like leaving dishes and open FOOD on the FLOOR, but a good brine heals wounds (though, not when applied topically). So, on this freezing February day, without further ado, I'll introduce a new series of entries on this blog-o-mine that I'd like to call, Putting Up With Mark.