recommendation: favorite pickles

All things pickle are not created equal. It really depends on your personal pickle preference - dill, sweet, spicy, etc. I am a pickle lover and while I don't like all pickles (McClure's are just too tart for me, I want to love them but I can't!), I do love a good spear. Here are a few that I just can't get enough of lately!

• Wickles Pickles - there are a few products we love. The first is their Hoagie & Sub Relish. Its got a slight kick to it and tastes awesome spread over a deli sandwich. We've even mixed it in with things like ketchup to take things to the next level. They make a relish that we haven't tried yet. We did try their pickles, which are classified as sweet. Bread and butter pickles I'm not a fan of but these things still have the Wickles kick to them (spiced but not too spicy). The recipes are 78 years old from an Alabama family that used to give them away as gifts and now sell them. Worth trying, found at my local grocery store, Buschs,or you can buy off their website.


• Speaking of sweet pickles, the best ones I've ever had, hands down, are from Chicago Q BBQ in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. They bring them to the table as snacks after you order your meal and they are absolutely out of this world. As I mentioned, I'm not a sweet pickle fan but I think these just have sugar added to the pickling juice. They are thin chips and have pickled onions with them. They are just great. And you can buy them! I love when restaurants sell their goods to take home with you. Online or at the bar for $7 a jar.


• Really pickle crazy? My friend Anne introduced me to Pickle flavored Pringles. You have to really love dills for this but if you do, you'll like them. I don't like salt & vinegar chips that much but it almost has that vinegar kick to it, the tang that makes your cheeks pucker a little bit, they are quite sour. But it definitely tastes like a pickle. Weird and awesome.


• Last but not least in the pickle world are the pickles from Zingerman's Deli. I've had some other immitation pickles recently from restaurants that want to serve a pickle two ways, but no one holds a candle to their beloved NEW (more like a cucumber, fresher and crunchier) or OLD (garlicky, more pickled) whole pickles that you get when you order a sandwich.

Honorable Mentions:
- Claussen Kosher Dill Spears: best crunchy spears
- Milwaukee's Midget Dill Pickle: best baby pickles
- Jimmy Johns Whole Pickle: best on-the-run pickle
- Trader Joes Dill Pickle: have not had but have heard good things!

recommendation: cheap & cute placemats

Kmart is not my first choice of stores (target, meijer, walmart all rank above it in my book) but every once in a while when I'm near one, I pop in to get something specific. They have a good spray paint selection too.

I normally don't mosey down each aisle to check out new inventory like I do in Target but last time I was there I did a quick walk through and it paid off. I snagged these awesome placemats - they are lace look alike (kind of ikat, mendhi, native inspired too) PLASTIC mats for $2.99 each!

If you go look for them, they are the Country Living Classic Vintage Crochet Plastic Placemat. Plastic placemats in our house are important because hubby always manages to spill on my fabric ones. I love these for summer and they look so pretty on the table.

note: do NOT use goo gone to take the price tag off, this took some of the design off with it. Just run under warm water and can use a little soap on a sponge.

recommendation: only pin the good

I'm starting something new on pinterest. You all know from my previous posts about 'actually doing the things you pin' that not everything on pinterest is yummy, fun, easy, achievable. I hate when people post a pretty picture but no link so you have no idea where the product is from or how to do it. I also hate when you try a recipe and its a complete disappointment. If I've tried something, and it didn't go well, I delete the pin. Why promote people to re-pin and try themselves? I want to link my rani recommends with pinterest so here's the deal:

• if there is a pin on ANY of my boards and I've tried it and liked it (even if room for improvement or personal interpretation), I will leave it and put a RR next to it so you know that RANI RECOMMENDS it!


• if there is a pin on ANY of my boards and there is no RR, that means I have not yet tried it


• if you once saw something on my board and didn't repin it because you figured you'd just find it again on my board (I say this because I do this for other people), and its not there - I deleted it. SO always re-pin something you like to your own board. It is literally a 4 click activity (repin, select a board to pin it to, edit or leave comments, click repin).

Obviously this won't work for all pins. There are some I will never try or be able to achieve (aka many in the 'to live in' board, my inspire board, etc.). But there are a lot of crafts, DIY, recipes, etc. that I have tried or plan on trying. And a lot of the good ones you'll hear about on here! Also, I have a 'to blog' board of pins that lead to posts here on rani recommends. Just want to make sure we're all on the same page here :)

Happy (re)pinning!

p.s. Its the weekend, and since its rainy, that means its project time. Here is what I'm trying within the next week so be on the lookout for blog posts, RR's on Pinterest (or maybe disappearing pins if they don't go well!):

- Grilled Sweet Potatoes
- Alton Brown's Grilled Brussels Sprouts
- Easy Braided T-Shirt Bracelets
- No-Bake Energy Bites
- Stairway Picture project, combination of this and this