Sartre quote of the week.

"The best work is not what is most difficult for you; it is what you do best." Jean-Paul Sartre

I hope that is pickling for me.

Come visit us in NoHo!

Horman's best is setting up shop in lower Manhattan at Carmine and 6th ave. Wednesday- Friday, 9-6pm. Come by for a visit, and a free pickle!

A neighborhood preschooler group, called the "purple pickles", came by for a visit today(below) I am weakened by their cuteness.





-- Posted from my iPhone

Edible Magazine does a story on Horman's Best

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/eastend/high-summer-2009/high-summer-2009.htm

Synchronized swimming (pickle style)

-- Posted from my iPhone

WilWilliam James quite of the week.

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

William James


-- Posted from my iPhone

Sightings of the pickle kind

-- Posted from my iPhone

Socrates quote of the day!

"Worthless people live only to eat and drink; people of worth eat and drink only to live."



-- Post From My iPhone

Pickle Combo of the week!

This week I decided to put together a more traditional pickle combo. I call it "Red Flannel Tuna". Here's what you'll need:
~Two cans of tuna.
~Mayo
~Fresh Pepper
~ (and of course)Horman's Best Red Flannel Pickles.

Okay, let's see if I can give clear directions. Take the tuna, put it in a bowl, mix in 3 table spoons of Red Flannel brine. Mix in 2 1/2 table spoons of mayo, along with 1/2 a cup of chopped Red Flannel pickles. Finish with a few cranks of fresh ground pepper. Finally, prepare yourself for a simple dish with a sweet twist.
I am not going to tell you how to eat your tuna, but here's what I do. I love tuna melts. For this lovely melt I used some pumpernickel bread, fresh ripe red tomato, and pepper jack cheese. And of course I added a classic Horman's Best Sour Pickle on the side as a counter balance to the sweet Red Flannel Tuna. Guaranteed to make you smile.

Pickles can play chess! New Tee's are here!

If you ever come across a sign that reads, “Brooklyn, Believe the hype,” it kids you not. I l like to think of Brooklyn as akin to the entire Hbp lineup, featuring endless depths and layers. Fresh like our New Dills, Brooklyn hosts young minds, and progressive ideas- whether its a matter of food, music, art, or even commercial projects, Brooklyn is a fertile land. Despite the reconfiguration of neighborhoods due the influx of young money coupled with the bohemian, Brooklyn has not lost its original flavor. There seems to exist a sentiment shared by both new-comers and traditional folk to preserve and celebrate what makes this borough so epic(count hbp’s among them). Like a well done sour pickle Brooklyn develops while keeping true to its origin. Preserving in this case is not a simply a matter of protecting and encasing old, historically rich sites, but rather a carrying forward of them, a transformation of their meaning. The Dumbo Brooklyn landscape, I’ve come to realize as I have spent time there selling pickles, embodies this notion quite well. One finds old worn down industrial buildings, some abandoned, others put to new use, adjacent to modern clean, simple architecture, full of life and out-growths of ongoing visions. Cutting across the horizon, the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, engineering marvels, taken in view from below, roar with passing cars and trains reminding us the world of Brooklyn is very much alive. Each part, old and new buildings, cobble streets, sea ports, Brooklyn-nites, tourists, and city skylines, are never given in full isolation, but as living in relation to each other. Like the strokes of a painting, they help form each other. It seems, than, that preserving is a matter of living more than it is one of dying. However much Brooklyn changes, grows, and layers, we fail not to call it by its right name. Like a pickle, however you slice it, Brooklyn is still Brooklyn.
That being said, we at horman’s best are in the business of preserving, and it is in exactly this spirit that we have collaborated with artist Jason Laurits of Forte Green Brooklyn. Jason is a tee shirt designer and screen printer and the following is a short bio from his website:

“While pursuing a career in music in his early 20s, Jason Laurits taught himself how to silkscreen for posters to promote his shows around New York City. His music, a mixture of rock and electronica, eventually took him to London where, to help fund his recordings, he used silkscreening to create one-of-a-kind t-shirts and successfully sold them at random indie fashion markets.
Eventually deciding to take a break from music, Laurits returned to New York City and attended the New School for writing. During this time he continued to sell his silkscreened tees, slowly growing a fan base. By the time he finished school, the now-named Paste, had enough potential for Laurits to put all his energy into developing it further.
Laurits wanted to take Paste toward a different angle from the oversaturated graphic t-shirt market. Instead of silkscreening conceptual images or those that evoke cooler-than-thou motifs, Laurits wanted Paste t-shirts to have a little more fun and a lot more narrative to them. Because of this approach, Paste has not only been featured in prominent stores across the U.S., Canada, Asia, Australia, and Europe, but also as part of several art exhibitions in the U.S., Ireland, and Switzerland.
The t-shirts, themselves, are made in California with Laurits’s own custom-colors, and are hand-silkscreened in Brooklyn. All graphics are designed by Laurits.”
Jason has been kind enough to get his creative pickle juices flowing and design hbp’s shirt graphic. As to how this links to our logo, “think. question. pickle.” Chess playing pickles, that’ll make you think. “Wait how do they move the pieces?” you may question. And well, pickle, that just fits in there naturally. We hope you enjoy. Shirts are available online hormansbestpickles.com or at our stands. And the come in men’s and women’s cut and in two different colors.

John Till get's interviewed in East Hampton Farmer's market

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-G5fS-DHw

I love the smell of pickles in the morning.

Who would of thought pickles could be so pretty?

Pickle combo of the week.

Things just got a little spicier for our Sweet Cajun pickle. My spontaneous ADHD impulse is to thank for this combo. As I was putting together the perfect farmers market platter, two single foods stood out to me, namely the Sweet Cajun Pickle and the Habenerro Chedar Cheese. Each of the foods stand very well on their own, but as I have come to learn about relationships, some of the best ones stem from independence. Luckily I followed my match-maker impulsion and stumbled upon a most heavinly combo: Spicy Sweet Cajuns and Spicy Cheese!(below)


Now what you need to know about this taste experience is that it doesn't unfold like a typical food pairing. Instead of consisting of a series of taste notes, the Sweet Cajun/Habenerro Cheese combo resembles an elongated violin note. The cheese the body of the violin, and the Sweet Cajun pickle the hand grasped bow, the two are in contact throughout the experience. The cheese offers a tangy yet nutty-like base which underpins the initial sweet crisp vibrato of the sweet cajun, and this single note builds to a creshendo of firery spice tranisition. And just as the peak has left its mark in this glorious continuim, the two exit quietly together and reverberate warmly within the music hall that is your mouth for minutues to come. I hope you enjoy this beautiful pickle combo, and check back later fora Hbp pickle art colloboration you can wear.

~Nicky Pickles

Derek "Red Flannel" turns 22

There's the man himself. Straight out of North Providence RI, Derek may look intimidating (below) but is really a kid at heart and is more apt to give you a free pickle on a stick or a hug than anything else.




Look out for Derek at Morningside Farmers market, in Manhattan, this Saturday. Wish him a happy birthday and get a free pickle on a stick. Happy birthday Derek!

Horman's Best gets a shout out.

Check out the link to Cathy Riva's "Celebrate Every Day" blog. Cathy is a widely followed, party planner extraordinaire.

http://cathyriva.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-post.html

Love your style, thanks Cathy.
Nicky Pickles

Pickle Combo of the Week!

Location: Fort Green Brooklyn, my college buddy Erik Anderson's house warming party.

Good food, good folk, and good times.

What do you get when you put together fresh baked French bread, Brie cheese, Horman's Best cherry peppers, and a fine pilsner beer? Quite simply my favorite pickle pairing combo.
This combo has it all, the warm embrace of a lovely French bread, the subtle yet enduring flavor of imported brie cheese, the red hot spike of hbp's cherry peppers, and just when you thought the syphony of flavor has reached its apex, the moment is greeted with no other than a fine pilsner beer (I recommend Pilsner Urquel or Brooklyn pilsner) adding great depth to the pickle combo experience.









Now that's a happy camper( below). I think he's digging the pepper combo. And now for some random pics.







Erik, the host of hosts.(below)








Pickle party! Nothing brings people together better than a schmorgesborg of hbp's. What a spread!









Back to the party. Nicky Pickles signing out.

Report from Dumbo

It may be cloudy and sticky out here in Dumbo Brooklyn, but that hasn't phased the brooklyn-ites and other urban dwellers. People are out in full force enjoying the splendors of the market. Jesse and his younger sister (below) are chumping on a couple of tasty, crunchy, hbp's New Dill pickles on a stick. Nothing like a fresh, cool, dill on a warm summer day.





A couple of must-buys when visiting Dumbo Market. Below, Jersey Tomatoes, from Philips farms out of Milford Jersey, are ripe and ready to go. These juicy babies are delicious by themselves or garnished with a pinch of sea salt. At the bottom fresh baked bread from Orwasher's Bakery. The oldest bakery in NYC, Orwasher knows how to bake the perfect loaf. Get to the market early to get your share. Look out for Orwasher bread as featured in
my pickle combo of the week.

Pickle gossip.

-- Post From My iPhone





"What's that smell? sniff sniff Garlic? Yes, but wait...there's a hint of something else permeating the morning air. I smell romance-might there be some fermenting at the market scene?"
Jon Till, a Horman's Best soldier (above) appears as if working and drawn into to the pickle stand, but I have a funny feeling his attention is elsewhere. If I had to guess where his mind was wondering, or should I say to whom it was wondering? I'd say to a one Sara Terry(below) from Terry Farms.





Various sourcses report having spotted Till and Terry picking daisies and sharing milkshakes in eastern Long Island.





There goes Jon now, to where? I think we know the answer. My poor pickle stand left alone, oh well, can't completly fault Jon, for all nobel men have hearts. And not to mention a heart with good taste.
Look out for more updates on what gossip is pickling at the market.
Later today check out hbp's pickle of the week and pickle party favorites.

Another day in paridise.

Yes, yes, we have ourselves another beautiful day at the market. I started off my day a bit sour as I rolled out of bed at 4 a.m., but my mood changed from the outside in when I jumped into the sweet farmers market brine. It's quite the scene here in Islip NY, the warm glow of the sun is casting long shadows, and people from the community-bright eyed and bushy tailed- are gathering around and lining up for their share. The farmers market looks angelic, like a Renaissance painting, a worthy, divine subject indeed. People peacfully coexisting, with each other, and the fruits of earth and human craft. Oh how sweet it is.





-- Post From My iPhone

follow the spiral

Groovy!

Pickle Thinker. Think. Question. Pickle.

My first blog post. Welcome and thank you for stopping by.

I hope to express in this first post both my gratitude towards everyone supporting Horman's Best Pickles (hbp's), and what this blog is all about. Thank you fans of hbp's for helping the tradition of the humble pickle peddler continue, for all your feedback, and for the friendly visits to the stand and to this blog. I send thanks, also, to the great crew at horman's best- Jonny, Derrick, Doug, and company, without you guys horman's wouldn't deserve the name best. Keep up the outstanding work! Now for a brief introduction to this blog. The hbp's blog is a loose collection of pickle inspired philosophy, recipes, and art. Post your pickle stories, comments, suggestions, and philosophy. I know you have them, you've shared them with me at the market, now post them on the web. Whether you laugh at me or with me, I look forward to hearing from you guys. . . . coming soon: look for psychedelic pickle posts.......