Sometimes I wonder how I ever accomplished anything before quitting the world of nine-to-five. (Or ten-to-six, as the case may be.) And then I remember that I lived in Manhattan, where stores are open all night and events are planned accommodatingly around the schedules of most working people.

Not so here in the greater Williamstown-North Adams metro area. (Ha-ha.) Here, events are planned accommodatingly around the schedules of wealthy stay-at-home moms, arts-advocate retirees, and students. In other words, things take place at stupid times, in the middle of the day. For example, Dan and I went to see the classic Japanese film Ugetsu a few weeks ago at The Clark, at 4 PM, and were somewhat surprised to find ourselves the only two brown-haired patrons in a sea of powdery gray and silver. We felt fleeting terror at the prospect of actually having to live around here, among the elderly and trust-funded, for more than a handful of years, but that feeling subsided quickly once the growing season began and we started making the weekly trek down to Caretaker Farm for our CSA pick-up.

And it was Caretaker who organized this week’s free, middle-of-the-day activity that, thanks to my flexible schedule (or, more realistically, my lack of paying work), I was able to attend. The subject at hand? Pickling Demystified.

The workshop wasn’t actually called Pickling Demystified, but it might as well have been. Our instructor, Dianne Lamb, works as a Nutrition & Food Specialist with the University of Vermont Extension in Bennington. In clear, simple language, and with much enthusiasm, she essentially shined a big bright light on what, to me, had been a somewhat mysterious and intimidating process — canning and pickling. By the end of my two hours in the Caretaker kitchen, I’d canned some dilly beans, learned a new technique for making yogurt at home (more on that later), and received an offer for a personal lesson on making kimchee.

Plus, I took pictures. Here’s a glimpse at what went on.

See the rest at my Flickr page »