Still here.

Things have been very, very, uh, odd around here, in the Chinese curse kind of way. I may have been offered a new job or maybe not. I may be going to Minneapolis tomorrow or I may not. We may be listing our house or we may not. I may keep my new shoes or I may not. You see where I'm going with this, right?

The only thing even remotely on topic you're going to get from me today is that I am actively looking for and evaluating dilly and/or spicy (or both) zucchini relish recipes. Most of the relish recipes you find are sweet-spicy, which I hate and not just in zucchini. Any kind of sweet pickle offends me tremendously and no matter how much other people might like them I simply will not make any. Even for gifts. That's just the kind of girl I am.

Luckily I've come across a whole subset of preserving that is completely new to me and may be just the ticket for avoiding sugary pickle abominations: Atkins canning. I know of the basics of Atkins, of course - eliminate and/or reduce dietary carbohydrates (i.e., sugars) and increase intake of proteins and certain vegetables (which, regretably, often leads to the attempt to camouflage cauliflower as rice).

Anyway, my point is that there are lots of Atkins-ites out there who are working out all kinds of recipes to meet their new found dietary and nutrional needs. Within their ranks I have found dozens of recipes for non-sweet relishes. Finally! It took Atkins-mania to do it but I think I can reasonably say that I am freed of Piccallili forever!