I don’t know why a home cook would get tired of making something people always ask her for.

I kind of got out of the pickle business, even though it was an easy, popular gift for friends.

My husband was just reminding me of how a neighbor would barter citrus from her yard for these pickles.

All you had to do was take a jar of store-bought dill chips, drai n the liquid, and pack the jar with layers of pickles, sugar and Tabasco. Soon the pickles were crunchy, richly colored and addictive.

My mom shared a jar of baby dills with me, so I’m trying the process with them. Here they are a few minutes after seasoning. I’ll try not to eat them for a week or two so they can do their sweet thing.

McCormick’s
new flavors

This company is always putting out something new and here’s some things out for your experimentation:

* McCormick Pure Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend extract with warm notes of ginger, nutmeg and allspice. This liquid is for baking and flavoring beverages

* McCormick Slow Cooker Sauces: Grab a flavor like Smoky Bourbon BBQ Pulled Pork for a quick January warm-up meal.

* McCormick Gluten-Free Recipe Mixes: I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who are finding the gluten-free route helpful. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness has approved four new mixes including meat loaf and beef stew.

* Thai Kitchen Coconut Cream goes in everything from cakes to curries.

Darraghcastillo@icloud.com