Pickles

My name is Janet Ann Collins and I am a pickle addict. Yes, really. (Well, sort of.)

Because of my food allergies I couldn't eat pickles for years and about a year ago I was delighted to find some with no ingredients I'm allergic to. My husband and I eat them nearly every day in sandwiches for lunch and I chop the pickles to put in tuna and potato salad in the summer.

But that's not all.

I've discovered that many foods taste delicious when cooked in pickle juice. For quick, homemade meals I often pour pickle juice over fish or chicken parts and microwave them. That's an easy way for kids to prepare a main dish.

And celery, cut up and boiled in a mixture of pickle juice and water, makes a tasty vegetable that might appeal to some fussy eaters.

If kids like sweet pickles, a few of the tiny ones are a good green veggie to pack in a school lunch.

I hope some of these suggestions appeal to other people. Maybe there will be more pickle addicts as a result.

School Lunches

There has been quite a bit of information in the news lately about the problems with unhealthy school lunches. High sugar and fat content and lots of advertising are certainly not good for kids.

But what's the alternative?

Way back in ancient history when I was a child schools didn't provide lunches except for one day a week when mother volunteers would come in and cook food for those who would pay for it. Everyone else brought their own food from home as they did the rest of the week. Usually we had a sandwich, a piece of fruit or some carrot or celery sticks, and something sweet (often home baked) for dessert. We would have either fruit juice or milk, which might be in a thermos bottle or a small carton.

However so many mothers now have jobs outside the home that there's not much chance of having enough volunteers to cook for a whole school and health departments probably wouldn't allow that anyway. Some kids do still bring their own lunches, but those usually contain pre-packaged food that's probably as unhealthy as the things sold in cafeterias. And low income kids count on school lunches to get adequate food.

With budget cuts in many school districts (especially in California where I live) selling school lunches might be a way to make a profit, but chances are the programs may be discontinued in some places and more families will be cutting corners by making lunches at home instead of buying them.

At least now we have good freezers so it's possible to make enough sandwiches for a whole week at a time.

Peanut butter and jelly, anyone?