A Princess Birthday

I actually got my first real order for decorated cookies and a birthday cake! A little girl turning 6 wanted a princess birthday party. She had seen my cookies before and decided she wanted princess dresses for the girls and swords for the boys. She also wanted a  cake covered in pink ( what else!?) fondant. I haven't had too much experience with fondant, but it was something I thought I could do. Turned out to be no major problem, except for one. In all my enthusiasm and making sure it was finished on time and with perfection, I forgot to take a picture of it! Cute, huh? I'm trying to find out if they took a pic at the party before they cut it and if so, I will post it at another time. I was very pleased with the result of the cookies and so was the little girl. Funny thing happened at the party- her Dad told me that some of the boys wanted the dresses and some of the girls wanted swords! Good for them- no gender issue there! It all worked out in the end and everyone got what they wanted. Hope this is the first of many more orders to come- I really enjoyed  the process!

Committment

OK- this is it! I'm tired of being a procrastinator. I just joined the "The Cake Slice" group and I am committed to posting once a week ( remember those words!) and being diligent about taking pictures of things I bake. Actually, today I am writing about something I made a few weeks ago, and has nothing to do with baking. I like to cook but I do it because people need to eat around this house. If I could just serve sweets all the time, I'd be happy! One thing I have found I do like is pickling veggies. The taste of homemade is so much better than the store-bought stuff and without all the preservatives and unpronounceable ingredients.

Someone brought me a kilo of freshly picked radishes from a farm in the Southern part of Israel and I knew that we were not going to eat a kilo's worth of them- no matter how delicious and fresh they were! So, start my never-ending interent search for something to do with radishes- something easy that is! The idea of pickling them seemed interesting and appetizing. After viewing a number of recipes I came up with a concoction of my own, taken from a variety of sources. It's quick, easy to do and how yummy! Great to add to a sandwich, salad or just munch away for a snack!

Pickled Radishes

1-2 lbs. red radishes

2 small garlic cloves

1/2 raw red beet ( can be cooked if you happen to have it around like I did) optional

4 TB. dark brown sugar

4 tsp. kosher salt ( pickling salt or sea salt is fine too)

1 cup white vinegar ( I happened to have apple vinegar hanging around and that was fine too)

1-2 cups water

Wash the radishes, trimthe ends and cut in medium size slices. Peel garlic and cut in  half. Pack the radishes and garlic into a  canning jar with the red beet if using- it really enhances the look with a bright pink color.

Put the remaining ingredients into a small pot and boil. Pur the hot mix over the radishes and close the jar. Let cool , then refrigerate for 4 hours or longer before serving. Keeps for weeks in the fridge , if they last that long!