Barbara McClellan

“A pickle of a predicament.” Now I know exactly what my mother meant by that.

Those of us who should be unaffected by the loss of air-conditioning since we were reared without it are just as spoiled as all you young’uns who cannot imagine life in a house that is not climate-controlled.

As I write this on my phone in a cool place with my phone charging, I try to cheerfully remember all the years when we were cooled by small oscillating fans, a water-cooler fan or the ultimate in cooling — an attic fan.

Come journey with me. Do we really want “the good old days” back? But wait. I think not worrying about our phones being charged and instead having face-to-face conversations might be one of the perks that went with the good old days that our offspring might not be able to believe.

As I write this, we are almost four days without electricity at our house and it is predicted that this uncomfortable situation will last for several more days.

Well now, will you cook without power? If so, how?

Will you go out to eat? If so, how? (Many restaurants have no power either.)

Let’s share a few ideas anyway. Hopefully the power will come back before you get to the bottom of the peanut butter jar.

I started writing this column Saturday and it is now noon Monday. Determined to visit with you this week, I have asked several people for ideas on getting through this. Can you believe several people had the nerve to say we should “plan ahead.” Well yes, but recently I am just in “survival mode,” as I believe many of you are.

At my tai chi class today (nothing keeps us from our lessons in balance, breathing, stretching, positive thoughts and yes, a bit of martial arts developed over 5,000 years ago, specifically for women), I asked for ideas.

One suggestion was to keep the food products that have shelf life, do not need refrigeration, cooking or a can opener (unless manuel kind). I scratched around in the pantry (with a flashlight) and found a packet of black bean soup one night and had crackers and some fresh tomatoes off my vines – a virtual feast! Of course, there are the various tuna instant packets.

I am going to share a recipe that I had planned to make today but it will wait. It is my friend Libby Novy’s dill pickle recipe that can be made one jar at a time. Now, you gardeners know that it seems all produce from your garden comes in on the same day — the day you were going to leave on vacation.

Try this recipe. It’s really good.

Crispy Dill Pickles

Ingredients

For each quart of pickles:

Enough medium cucumbers, washed, to fill a quart jar

1 piece of fresh dill

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

1 jalapeño pepper, if desired

Enough cool water to fill jar

Steps

Place all ingredients in sterilized quart jar. Put lids on tightly. Place jars in a deep kettle of cool water so that jars are covered. Bring to boiling point. When water boils, remove jars and tighten lids to seal. Cool and let set a few days. I keep them in the fridge.

“Pickle of a predicament” is an old English phrase that is self-explanatory: A difficult situation or dilemma, in a fix.

My favorite explanation was from our seventh grade math teacher. Dear Mrs. McCraney would say, when a student would report that the dog had eaten his homework: You are up salt creek without a paddle; at the same time you are in a pickle of a predicament.