For Hollister visitor Leonora Ching, life is a jar of pickles of the beets, okra, mango and, of course, cucumber variety.
In the next two months, the Hawaiian resident who regularly visits her daughter in Hollister will demonstrate pickling at the San Benito County Free Library and Downtown Certified Farmers’ Market as part of promoting her book, “The Pickle Lady’s Pickle Passion.”
Called “The Pickle Lady” by friends and family, Ching, 71, published a book of more than 100 pickle recipes and she will prepare some of the foods Wednesday and Aug. 27 at the Downtown Certified Farmers’ Market. She will also demonstrate pickling at the public library Aug. 15.
This will be the first time Ching demonstrates pickling in Hollister, where she is visiting her daughter Elissa Long and her son-in-law Casey Long.
“I just love to cook. I’m the type, I can stay in the kitchen all day and I can multi-task,” Ching said. “I don’t work on one or two things. I work on 10 to 15 at the same time and I love people, so I love talking with them and I love teaching people, especially if they’re young.”
Ching bases her recipes on what she knows: her Chinese heritage, her husband’s Burmese traditions and the flavors of the Hawaii she calls home.
“A lot of my recipes came from just walking around the various ethnic stores, and if I like it, I take it home and try and make it,” Ching said.
One of Ching’s favorite recipes is a southeast Asian-style tomato salad, which combines cherry tomatoes, shallots, cilantro, lime, dill and minced chili peppers with a drizzle of vinegar, lime and fish sauce.
Another recipe teaches people how to make a pickled product that’s part of a Vietnamese sandwich praised in Hawaii. The meal calls for a special mix of pickled carrots and turnips, which is added to bread along with mayonnaise, cucumber slices and cold cuts. A single 12-ounce jar of the pickled product costs $5 in local stores, a price Ching thinks is much too high.
“I think that’s ridiculous.” Ching said. “I say, ‘you can make that for pennies,’ so I show people how to do it.”
She self-published the first edition of her recipe book in 2005. At the time, she printed about 25 copies of the book. Now, nine years later, she’s sold at least 6,000 copies of the book and is on her second edition of the publication.
When she’s not working on a pickling recipe, she teaches cooking classes to the blind, handicapped and autistic.
Teaching – and talking with people – is a big part of why she loves sharing her recipes with the public.
“If people have any questions, my phone number is right in the book,” Ching said. “I tell people they’re welcome to call me anytime and I’ll walk them through it.”
Pickle Lady Schedule
Wednesday, July 16: Demonstrations of how to pickle Asian vegetables at 5:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at the Downtown Certified Farmers’ Market.
Friday, Aug. 15: Demonstration of how to create regular pickles at 4:30 p.m. at the San Benito County Free Library on 470 5th St.
Wednesday, Aug. 27: Demonstration of how to cook leafy vegetables at 6:45 p.m. at the Downtown Certified Farmers’ Market.
To follow the culinary adventures of Hawaii’s Pickle Lady when she is not in San Benito County, go to her Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Pickle-Passion-Cookbook-By-Leonora-Ching/116774308360152 or her website: pickle-passion.com.
