• By Deanna Kirk  –  Corsicana Daily Sun

Mondays may be dreary for some, but not for about 350 kids who turned out at Community Park for slipping, sliding, and a pickle party. Say that three times really fast.

The Corsicana Parks and Recreation Department hauled out the giant slide at Community Park Monday and mixed soap with water for a really good “slip,” and supplied the pickles as well as the summer fun tunes.

“We had 250 box lunches that FJV brought and handed out and they were gone within an hour,” said Sharla Allen, director of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Once the lunches of peanut butter and jelly, a cheesestick, pear, and chocolate milk were gone, there were still kids waiting in line. Family Joint Ventures is a non-profit 501(c)3 based in DeSoto that brings already-prepared meals to serve free-of-charge in the community.

Parks Department crew served the pickles, and Allen said they ran out of everything, including drinking water.

“You could hear those kids all over that park, you can tell that they loved it,” she said. “My guys even loved seeing it, the kids loved it so much.

“We have kayaking, messy art, and golf this week too in our summer programs.”

Allen said the Slip-N-Slide/Pickle Party will be reprised one more time on Monday, July 18. Everyone is welcome, there is no sign-up required for the event.

“There will be kids waiting for us to turn the water on,” she said. “We really enjoy this event. I think they went from that water event to the Spray Park, because it was packed. We are just happy from our Parks Department for kids to be enjoying our events.”

Allen also reminds those who regularly use the park pools, and know they are closed for maintenance on Mondays and Tuesdays, that the pools will be open on Monday, July 4 for the holiday, then the town will gather at the IOOF Park for the fireworks display sponsored by the Corsicana Rotary Club.

 

Kristen Inbody, kinbody@greatfallstribune.com   –   Great Falls Tribune

Long a customer favorite, Bowser Brewing Co.’s Jalapeno Hefeweizen is being bottled, a first for the Great Falls brewery.

A couple from Illinois, formerly stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, has called dibs on four cases already and is coming to Montana to pick them up, owner Evan Bowser said.

“One of the reasons for bottling jalapeno hefe was it’s different, something no one else is doing. We’re known for the funkier beer,” he said. “We don’t do the generic five beers. This is the beer that says what we’re all about.”

The jalapeno hefe is the brewery’s most popular, and customers have long requested bottles. Bowser has a machine that does 12-oz. bottles and cans as well, but Bowser is beginning with 22-oz. bottles.

The flavorful hefe also is award winning. Bars in eastern Montana have been requesting it since the beer won best of show among the 90 beers of the Bakken Brewfest in Sidney this spring. It will compete in the Great American Beer Festival in Denver this summer.

“A lot of people think it will be hot, but we de-seed the jalapenos. It’s a refreshing beer without a lot of heat,” Bowser said. “Add a lemon, and it’s a great ‘lawnmower beer’ for after yard work.”

The brewers removed seeds from 1,000 jalapenos for the 3,800 bottles of beer.

“I didn’t plan to go in this direction. I planned to focus on the tap room, but customers talked me into it. They wanted bottles not cans, and I prefer bottles, too,” Bowser said. “It just tastes better from a bottle, I think, though the debate is always ongoing.”

The first day, bottling took 20 hours. The second day, Bowser and his team had trimmed that to 13 hours. By the wee hours of the nights, labels no longer went on as straight as they had hours before. He plans to switch to screen-printed bottles in the future.

People who return six empty bottles will get a free beer in the tap room. Bottles are $8 in the brewery and $8.99 to $9.99 in the stores.

The Bowser bottles will be in Albertsons, Smith’s, Town Pumps and Zip Trips. Look for bottles in wooden grain elevator displays.

The brewery itself has cultivated a calm and relaxed atmosphere, with funky art and interesting conversations.

“It’s great for people who just moved here because you meet friendly people,” Bowser said.

The brewery also has an English hand pump drawing from beer in a barrel, where it ferments with natural carbonation.

“It’s starting to catch on,” Bowser said.

Bowser also experiments with beer cocktails, combining brews for fun new combinations. The jalapeno beer goes especially well with the strawberry blonde.

“A lot of customers say, ‘Mix me something,’” Bowser said. “If they like it, we remember the mix.”

Sometimes the brewery goes in an experimental direction. This summer will be “a purist summer of simple beers,” Bowser said.

Summer also brings Bowser’s Singer Songwriter Summer Series, with Friday sessions through the summer.

The food available at the brewery is focusing more on submarine sandwiches for summer, too. Nachos, mac-and-cheese and a flat bread will stay on the menu for the summer, too. The brewery makes a cheese sauce with beer, and bar nuts with the jalapeno hefe.

Bowser is Great Falls’ oldest brewery, with the Bowser family, Evan joined by his parents, Rich and Deb, and his wife Michelle, opening the brewery doors just before Christmas 2011.

A traditional gift for the fifth anniversary is wood, so Bowser will showcase barrel-aged brews for the celebration.

“I can’t believe it’s been five years,” he said.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Kristen Inbody at kinbody@greatfallstribune.com. Follow her on Twitter at @GFTrib_KInbody.

If you go

BREWERY: Bowser Brewing Co.

SINCE: 2011

LOCATION: 1826 10th Ave. S.

HOURS: 3-8 p.m.

TOP BEER: Jalapeno Hefeweizen

ONLINE: bowserbrew.com

NOTE: A bottle release party is 6-8 p.m., Friday, July 22, at the brewery. The event will include the raffle of a bottle signed by everyone who worked on the bottling project, live music and the release of the first five cases bottled.

Marissa Miller   –   Teen Vogue

If you love In-N-Out, then you love In-N-Out. So, fans of the iconic burger chain may be disappointed to hear that the vendor that supplies its cascabella peppers is facing a major shortage, Foodbeast reports.

You know what cascabella peppers are — those bright yellow, vinegar-marinated peppers often sliced into rings that make any and every animal-style burger 800 times better. (And no, they’re not jalapeño peppers. Hey! The more you know). Rations at the chain are in full force, to the tune of two measly chilies per order. Management have pulled the peppers from the ketchup station, so no more heating up to your heart’s content. And Subway and Carl’s Jr., who rely on the same vendor, are also facing the same pepper problem.

The shortage is attributed to a California weather issue, with a “combination of bad weather, disease, and poor soil conditions [reducing] the overall cascabella supply as much as 60 percent this year,” according to Munchies.

Customers want their cascabellas, and they want them now. Stores nationwide have even tried offering alternatives, like peperoncino, which was met with far less enthusiasm. The companyposted a memo on its Twitter page stating, “We hope to resume normal operations with chilies when the new crop is ready, hopefully sometime in July.”

 

Alan Henry , Gawker Media

There’s nothing like a crisp, delicious, fresh pickle, whether you prefer yours kosher, half-sour, or sweet. But making sure yours are crisp and crunchy starts with the cucumber-a crisp pickle demands a crisp cucumber, and nothing less will do. Here’s how to make sure you get the best ones.

First, our friends at Old World Garden Farms notes that timing is everything, especially if you’re growing your own cucumbers for pickling:

The best time to pick cucumbers is early in the morning (before 9 a.m.) but not before the morning dew is primarily gone off the plant.

The time of day you pick your vegetables affects the taste and storing quality of the crop. Vegetables harvested in the morning generally are sweeter, crisper and juicier than those picked at other times. This is because as they rest in the garden overnight, vegetables tend to replenish the moisture lost during the day. Picking mid-day will result in soft cucumbers that make soft pickles.

Second, they also note that you should cut off the blossom end as soon as you can-it produces an enzyme that will speed the softening process once it’s been picked. If you’re picking your own, you can tell the blossom end because it’s the one without the stem attached. If you’re at the farmer’s market or grocery store, look for the end with the rough, bumpy dot-not the smooth, indented one-and you’ll know which end to cut off first.

Of course, you should also make sure you have the right kind of cucumbers for your pickles. They explain the difference between salad and pickling varieties:

When it comes to making pickles, there is a big difference between pickling cucumbers and salad cucumbers. First of all, most pickling cucumbers are shorter and thinner than the salad variety. They have a small seed core and typically have a thick and bumpy skin texture. They tend to be more crisp, and therefore, when used correctly, make for crispy pickles.

Beyond this, make sure you use good pickling spices (and post linked below will show you how) and that you don’t over-process your new pickles. For more explanation on any of these-and a great step-by-step-hit the link below.