Pickled Radishes and Sewing Camp for Kids Chez Moi….


Hi everyone and please click on the title of this post to read more. I would like to tell you all about the fashion camp that took place in my house this week (Yes, it is relevant to pickled vegetables because I served them to the children in the camp, so there!).

Just as cooking seems to be a lost art these days, so is sewing. How many us really know how to sew a button, make a hem or even make simple curtains? My daughter is very much into fashion and learned basic sewing from my friend Pamela when she lived with us. Now that Pamela has moved to CA (boo hoo), I decided to help my daughter with her passion by thinking out of the box: I asked my neighbor who is a fashion designer (www.sapienzacouture.com) if she would run a camp for 6 girls out of my house, teaching them the basics of sewing. She said yes-hooray!

To my great pleasure, after months in the planning, the camp took place this week and was a huge success. Christine Sapienza, the instructor, showed the girls that they could indeed learn the basics of sewing as well as make a skirt in just one week’s time. They were so proud of themselves and the whole experience was really inspiring. These girls will grow up and not have to outsource by sending their clothes out to be sewn, hemmed or even created if they choose to pursue fashion design. We are doing a part two to the camp and Christine will be doing after school programs as well as weekend workshops for kids-we are so excited!

I felt it was my job, since I had these girls at lunchtime, to expose them to a variety of my week’s culinary concoctions. The majority of them loved everything I made, including, to my surprise, the pickled vegetables (see video below). I told them how to make it and gave myself a little plug by telling them to send their parents to my blog for the recipes. One camper told me she wished she could put a flat screen on her ceiling so she could watch my blog videos all night. I like her.

Anyhoo, in the immortal words of CSN, teach your children well…how to make pickled vegetables. This is a modified version of a NY Times recipe and I hope you like it:

Pickled Radish (and other veggies):

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into thick matchsticks
3/4- 1 pound daikon radishes cut into thick matchsticks (can get Daikon radishes at Whole Foods and other supermarkets and Farmer’s Markets)
1/4 small cabbage, shredded
1 beet, raw and peeled and cut into thick matchsticks (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons plus 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar.

1. Place carrot, cabbage and daikon in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and 2 teaspoons sugar. Knead vegetables for about 3 minutes, expelling water from them (this will keep them crisp). Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water, then press gently to expel extra water. Return vegetables to bowl, or transfer to a glass container for longer storage.

2. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, the vinegar and 1 cup lukewarm water, and stir to dissolve sugar. Pour over vegetables. Let marinate at least 1 hour before eating, or refrigerate for up to 4 weeks. Remove vegetables from liquid before using.
P.S. If using beets, you may want to marinate separately b/c the red may bleed into the other vegetables, making it look a bit messy)

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One Response

  1. Alma, it's absolutely wonderful how you reach out to people and help highlight their natural talents. A Sewing Camp is such a great idea. And I miss you guys too!

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