#Pickle Cucumbers at Home

[familytubem]

Quick & Easy Pickled Cucumber Recipe! 🥒 #PickledCucumber #FamilyFoodTutorials #viralvideo

[crownconstellation]

whoever invented the pickled cucumber... i hope they're getting like. their every wish fulfilled in the afterlife forever

[istjury]

me irl rn

[askwhatsforlunch]

Smoked Salmon and Pickled Cucumber Sandwich

Warm days are upon us; they really are! And after a jolly good walk under a hot sun, across meadows and fields, there is nothing better than sitting down to a picnic with this Smoked Salmon and Pickled Cucumber Sandwich, a couple of glasses of ice-cold Chardie (just remember to bring lots of water, too, when you go hiking!), a good book and the blissfully scented shade of a black locust tree! Absolutely delightful, I assure you! A very good day to all!

Ingredients (serves 1):

a small Baguette Viennoise

2 tablespoons cream cheese

a pinch of freshly cracked black pepper

half a dozen to 8 slices Pickled Cucumbers

about 60 grams/2 ounces Smoked Salmon 

Halve Baguette Viennoise without cutting it through, gently opening it like a book. Spread cream cheese generously onto each side of the Baguette Viennoise. Sprinkle with black pepper.

Layer Pickled Cucumbers and Smoked Salmon slices into the Baguette Viennoise, and press gently to close the sandwich.

Wrap tightly in cling film, if bringing as a lunch or picnic. Keep in the refrigerator.

Enjoy Smoked Salmon and Pickled Cucumber Sandwich with a few Crisps, and a well-chilled glass of Pays d’Oc Chardonnay Vigonier or Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

[murielles-crowsnest]

I cannot help but notice this list does not include cucumbers. I can only surmise one reason for this. Folks are like me, and there is one reason and one reason alone that you are growing cucumbers. You would never give a single one away.... yet. They were planned to be preserved from the moment the seed was planted.

You give those things away in jars.

How do you preserve the food from your garden so it doesn't go bad before you can eat it?

You are wildly underestimating my ability to go fucking feral about fresh produce. I don't think I even brought snap peas into the house last year. Just ate them right off the vine.

Though I did end up freezing the strawberries/blue berries as they ripened, but even those were consumed within the week.

The only tough one was the potatoes, but that was resolved by just foisting potatoes on everyone I knew. Much more welcome than Zucchinis.

[jensownzoo]

So that's:

--6 half pints of pickled pepper rings (sweet, sweet&hot, and jalapeño)

--4 pints of small whole garlic dills with red bell peppers and onions

--3 pints of sweet cucumber pickles

Added to the 5 pints of garlic dill slices and the quart of refrigerator sweety peps and I think I may be stocked up on pickles until next summer. Well, at least of the pepper and cucumber variety.

I still need to make jam, but I'm out of pectin so I've been stashing the fruit in the freezer for the time being. I probably should look up the way that uses apple skins/cores instead of commercial pectin but that's just a pain.

Almost out of freezer space though since I made enough pesto for the year when we had that first frost last week and I harvested all the basil (minus one flowering plant I left for the bees).

Mmm...next year if all that garlic I planted actually produces I'll also have jars of pickled garlic. Yum!

[jazzeria]

Doing a "perpetual pickle" jar by adding fresh cucumbers and salt to an already established, active dill pickle brine.

I started with some slightly sad dill cucumbers from the store, knowing I'd be hitting the farmer's market on the weekend. At the St Norbert Farmer's Market, I scored a big ol' bag of tiny dill cucumbers. The next day, I visited my partner's grandmother who gave us some home-grown pickling cukes too! So I staggered these over about a week.

My personal preference is "half-sour" dills, about 3 days of fermentation, when the flesh looks creamy and opaque, perhaps hints of translucent regions. It's crisp, tastes cucumber-y, but isn't too "juicy" the way a full-sour often is.

I'd extend this project for even longer, but my partner gently reminded me that my pickle cravings often come in waves. I go on a bit of a #picklerampage for a few weeks, then it fades for a while. But now I have lots of brine ready for whenever I want to start again.

[sol-flo]

i dont miss the city i used to live in the slightest however i had not one but two great wrap places nearby and i get some real intense cravings. that delicious and inexpensive falafel wrap could fix me real good

[smallboyonherbike]

a fun fact about me is that anytime i have dinner at home i'm eating 1-2 pickles at the end of the meal as a dessert. and it's always amazing and perfect. ofc i also have a major sweet tooth and eat a cookie or a chocolate but that's like later before bed

[autism-corner]

im so excited to eat wraps again oml

[dontforgetukraine]

This month, Olena Vladymyrets, a Holodomor witness from the Vinnytsia region,celebrated her 95th birthday. Ms Olena was born on November 4,1929. She is the only one of 3 daughters of Oleksandr and Marta Tsvylyk who survived the Holodomor. Photo from Nina Vladymyrets' Fb page. "We lived in Tomashpil village in the Khmilnytskyi district, Vinnytsia region.There were 3 of us: the eldest, Larysa, born in 1927; me, in 1929; the youngest, Mariyka, in 1932. Both of my sisters didn’t survive. Mariyka was only 5 months old," she told our museum staff in an interview. During the Holodomor, she was very young, but she heard from her parents that before collectivization, people lived decently. "Those who worked, they lived..." But then, all their bread was taken away. "You know, as they used to say: 'Lenin told Stalin to take away the 'surpluses' but Stalin thought: take everything to the last crumb!' And so they did. My mother managed to earn a small amount of grain and put it in a pot to cook. She placed the pot in the oven, covering it with cauldron of water as if she were only heating the water. Activists broke in, poured out the water, removed the small pot of grain, and dumped it into their bag. Neither tears nor pleas helped. They took everything from everyone, and that is how the famine began." In 1946-1947, Olena Oleksandrivna experienced yet another man-made famine. "Mother and five of us, children, (four were born after the Holodomor) were already without a father (he died in the war). In the winter of 1947, Mother travelled to Western Ukraine seven times to trade some household goods for food." Ms Olena recalls. "She took all the essential items we had at home, including linens, towels, and various other things. It was a hard journey; they travelled in boxcars,got caught,and were forced off. And I, at 16, stayed home alone with the children. When Mum returned from the West, she brought a bit of grain. We kept a little for ourselves,then took the rest to the market in Bykiv, 8–10 km away. There, Mum sold the grain and bought clothes—jackets, skirts, dresses, scarves to go back to the West, as we had already sold out everything we had. I looked at those clothes and wanted a dress or a skirt so badly; after all, I was a girl! But what could I say to my mother? There were still younger children at home who were asking for food…" Today, Ms Olena, along with all of Ukraine, is going through another hardship—the war unleashed by Russia. Despite her age, she helps her daughter Nina make trench candles for Ukrainian soldiers. In addition, throughout the summer, the women made homemade treats for the soldiers they grew themselves: pastila, adjika, pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, and berries! Although our birthday celebrant needs a walker to move, she actively contributes to volunteer work. She rolls cardboard for candles, peels fruits and vegetables, and assists her daughter as much as she can. Her daughter has also sent five drones to the front lines and provided medications, tourniquets and other essential items requested by the soldiers. We wish Ms Olena health,a long life,and a speedy Victory,which she dreams of more than anything else! May her dream come true! —Holodomor Museum

[myhrtbrkr]

my summer meal plan! 🥒🥚🍵

// on a boring day at home:

—breakfast • choose between:

oatmeal (no toppings): 160 cals

fruit bowl: 50-70 cals

iced coffee: 40-60 cals

yogurt bowl: 130-150 cals

smoothie bowl: 100 cals

cheerios w/ almond milk: 140-160 cals (eat w/ caution, as it is easy to b!nge with cereals)

—lunch • choose between:

plain rice cake w/ hummus & cucumber: 110 cals

shirataki ramen: 20-80 cals (depending on toppings)

iced coffee: 40-60 cals

spicy cucumber salad: 10-80 cals (depending on sauces)

HALF tuna fish sandwich: (not sure on cals but good for protein and feeling full)

—snacks • choose between:

rice cake: 40-60 cals

yogurt rice cake: 80 cals

tea: 0 cals

diet soda: 0 cals

airpopped/organic popcorn: 35 cals per cup

mini pretzels: 100-120 cals (my favs)

pickles: 5 cals

—dinner:

HOME COOKING : small portions!!

EATING OUT : have both veggies & protein and have full knowledge of what you are taking in

—dessert:

avoid ice cream & dairy at all costs

always go for the lowest cal option

~ tips :

* just because everyone else is, doesn’t mean you have to either. stand out because you’re doing what they don’t have the courage to do

* never let free, open food be the opportunity to b!nge.

* overate in public? no worries! make up for it tomorrow with sweat and tears in the gym.

* keep the sweet treats as TREATS. bad dogs don’t get treats remember? don’t be spoiled either.

[hiddurmitzvah]

I wanted to celebrate with these two prints that I made, a long history that jewish people, garlic and pickles have. You can purchase these print via my Etsy shop.

And here's the history:

Already in ancient times, garlic was a central part of celebrating Shabbat. The Talmud devotes several passages to talking about garlic, explaining that it is a key part of Shabbat meals. “With what does one delight in the day of Shabbat?” the Talmud asks, recording an answer provided by Rav Yehuda, son of Rav Shmuel bar Sheilat, who recalled the words of his teacher Rav: “With a dish of beetroot, and a large fish, and heads of garlic” (TalmudShabbat 11b). Elsewhere, the Talmud refers to Jews who celebrate Shabbat as “garlic eaters,” so closely identified was Shabbat dinner and lunch with this fragrant vegetable. (Talmud Nedarim 31a)

Even later on, in the medieval times, the conncetion between jews and garlic was quite close. In fact, it helped the community to survive!  In Istanbul, when Jews avoided the plague during a terrible epidemic, it was said that the virus did not penetrate the Jewish area because of the smell of garlic. Jews hung bulbs of garlic outside their doors to ward off the plague as a talisman and sign of good luck. The food historian Gil Marks adds: “Historically, the addition of garlic was among the typical Jewish touches that enhanced local dishes. In many cultures, the presence of garlic marked a dish as Jewish.”

In Germany, in the towns of Speyer, Worms and Mainz were home to large, vibrant Jewish communities. A popular acronym for these areas took the first letter from each town – S, W (which is written with a double “U” sound in Hebrew) and M – echoed the Hebrew word for garlic, shoom. The area was known as Kehillas Shoom (or SchUM) – the community of “Shum”, or garlic in Hebrew.

So identified were German Jews with garlic that some anti-Semitic images persist from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, depicting Jews holding or posing with bulbs of garlic.

But jews and pickles go back for a long time too. Eastern European Jews brought their pickle-making traditions to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and made it famous there. Pickled cucumbers were an important part of their diet due to the need for preserving food in harsh climates in Eastern Europe, where was a common practice to collect and preserve pickles in order to survive winter. Everything could be pickled, from lemons to carrots, with varying degrees of culinary success.

Some took the cucumber, a cheap, accessible vegetable, preserved it in the spring to make them last through the winter and feasted on it throughout the year. Some of those people were Jews and thus the Jewish love affair with pickling began, as a way of keeping vegetables hygienic and healthy.

Fermantation itself as has a biblical orgin in various places.  Perhaps the best-known early reference to fermented food is the Passover story in Exodus (12:39): When the Jews were "thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry," their dough could not rise (through fermentation). We know this unleavened bread as matzo. But when they left Egypt, after some time, their longing for these goods came up: "We remember the fish which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic” It’s likely that the cucumbers mentioned by our Jewish forebears were pickled in some way. Ancient cucumbers tasted extremely bitter and the ancient Egyptians “cooked” their cucumbers by lightly fermenting them. The resulting pickled vegetables were slightly alcoholic, and were seemingly eaten for their mind-altering properties.

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A bowl of avocado spread sculpted into a pattern, topped with olive oil and garnished with symmetrical lines of nigella seeds and piles of pomegranate seeds; a pile of pita bread is in the background. End ID]

متبل الأفوكادو / Mutabbal al-'afukadu (Palestinian avocado dip)

Avocados are not native to Palestine. Israeli settlers planted them in Gaza in the 1980s, before being evicted when Israel evacuated all its settlements in Gaza in 2005. The avocados, however, remained, and Gazans continued to cultivate them for their fall and winter harvest. Avocados have been folded into the repertoire of a "new" Palestinian cuisine, as Gazans and other Palestinians have found ways to interpret them.

Palestinians may add local ingredients to dishes traditionally featuring avocado (such as Palestinian guacamole, "جواكامولي فلسطيني" or "غواكامولي فلسطيني"), or use avocado in Palestinian dishes that typically use other vegetables (pickling them, for example, or adding them to salads alongside tomato and cucumber).

Another dish in this latter category is حمص الافوكادو (hummus al-'afukadu)—avocado hummus—in which avocado is smoothly blended with lemon juice, white tahina (طحينة البيضاء, tahina al-bayda'), salt, and olive oil. Yet another is متبّل الأفوكادو (mutabbal al-'afukadu). Mutabbal is a spiced version of بابا غنوج (baba ghannouj)‎: "مُتَبَّل" means "spiced" or "seasoned," from "مُ" "mu-," a participlizing prefix, + "تَبَّلَ" "tabbala‎," "to have spices added to." Here, fresh avocado replaces the roasted eggplant usually used to make this smooth dip; it is mixed with green chili pepper, lemon juice, garlic, white tahina, sumac, and labna (لبنة) or yoghurt. Either of these dishes may be topped with sesame or nigella seeds, pomegranate seeds, fresh dill, or chopped nuts, and eaten with sliced and toasted flatbread.

Avocados' history in Palestine precedes their introduction to Gaza. They were originally planted in 1908 by a French order of monks, but these trees have not survived. It was after the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (in which Britain, having been promised colonial control of Palestine with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after World War 1, pledged to establish "a national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine) that avocado agriculture began to take root.

In the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, encouraged by Britain, Jewish Europeans began to immigrate to Palestine in greater numbers and establish agricultural settlements (leaving an estimated 29.4% of peasant farming families without land by 1929). Seeds and seedlings from several varieties of avocado were introduced from California by private companies, research stations, and governmental bodies (including Mikveh Israel, a school which provided settlers with agricultural training). In these years, prices were too high for Palestinian buyers, and quantities were too low for export.

It wasn't until after the beginning of the Nakba (the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from "Jewish" areas following the UN partition of Palestine in 1947) that avocado plantings became significant. With Palestinians having been violently expelled from most of the area's arable land, settlers were free to plant avocados en masse for export, aided (until 1960) by long-term, low-interest loans from the Israeli government. The 400 acres planted within Israel's claimed borders in 1955 ballooned to 2,000 acres in 1965, then 9,000 by 1975, and over 17,000 by 1997. By 1986, Israel was producing enough avocados to want to renegotiate trade agreements with Europe in light of the increase.

Israeli companies also attained commercial success selling avocados planted on settlements within the West Bank. As of 2014, an estimated 4.5% of Israeli avocado exports were grown in the occupied Jordan Valley alone (though data about crops grown in illegal settlements is of course difficult to obtain). These crops were often tended by Palestinian workers, including children, in inhumane conditions and at starvation wages. Despite a European Union order to specify the origin of such produce as "territories occupied by Israel since 1967," it is often simply marked "Israel." Several grocery stores across Europe, including Carrefour, Lidl, Dunnes Stores, and Aldi, even falsified provenance information on avocados and other fruits in order to circumvent consumer boycotts of goods produced in Israel altogether—claiming, for example, that they were from Morocco or Cyprus.

Meanwhile, while expanding its own production of avocados, Israel was directing, limiting, and destabilizing Palestinian agriculture in an attempt to eliminate competition. In 1982, Israel prohibited the planting of fruit trees without first obtaining permission from military authorities; in practice, this resulted in Palestinians (in Gaza and the West Bank) being entirely barred from planting new mango and avocado trees, even to replace old, unproductive ones.

Conditions worsened in the years following the second intifada. Between September of 2000 and September of 2003, Israeli military forces destroyed wells, pumps, and an estimated 85% of the agricultural land in al-Sayafa, northern Gaza, where farmers had been using irrigation systems and greenhouses to grow fruits including citrus, apricots, and avocados. They barred almost all travel into and out of al-Sayafa: blocking off all roads that lead to the area, building barricades topped with barbed wire, preventing entry within 150 meters of the barricade under threat of gunfire, and opening crossings only at limited times of day and only for specific people, if at all.

A July 2001 prohibition on Palestinian vehicles within al-Sayafa further slashed agricultural production, forcing farmers to rely on donkeys and hand carts to tend their fields and to transport produce across the crossing. If the crossing happened to be closed, or the carts could not transport all the produce in time, fruits and vegetables would sit waiting in the sun until they rotted and could not be sold. The 2007 blockade worsened Gaza's economy still further, strictly limiting imports and prohibiting exports entirely (though later on, there would be exceptions made for small quantities of specific crops).

In the following years, Israel allowed imports of food items into Gaza not exceeding the bare minimum for basic sustenance, based on an estimation of the caloric needs of its inhabitants. Permitted (apples, bananas, persimmons, flour) and banned items for import (avocados, dates, grapes) were ostensibly based on "necessary" versus "luxury" foods, but were in fact directed according to where Israeli farmers could expect the most profit.

Though most of the imports admitted into Gaza continued to come from Israel, Gazan farmers kept pursuing self-sufficiency. In 2011, farmers working on a Hamas-government-led project in the former settlements produced avocados, mangoes, and most of the grapes, onions, and melons that Gazans ate; by 2015, though still forbidden from exporting excess, they were self-sufficient in the production of crops including onions, watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, almonds, olives, and apples.

Support Palestinian resistance by calling Elbit System’s (Israel’s primary weapons manufacturer) landlord, donating to Palestine Action’s bail fund, and donating to the Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee bail fund.

Ingredients:

2 medium avocados (300g total)

1/4 cup white tahina

2 Tbsp labna (لبنة), or yoghurt (laban, لبن رايب)

1 green chili pepper

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp good olive oil

Juice of 1/2 lemon (1 1/2 Tbsp)

1 tsp table salt, or to taste

Pomegranate seeds, slivered almonds, pine nuts, chopped dill, nigella seeds, sesame seeds, sumac, and/or olive oil, to serve

Khubiz al-kmaj (pita bread), to serve

Instructions:

1. In a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, pepper, and a bit of salt into a fine paste.

2. Add avocados and mash to desired texture. Stir in tahina, labna, olive oil, lemon juice, and additional salt.

You can also combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor.

3. Top with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Add toppings, as desired.

4. Cut pita into small rectangles or triangles and separate one half from the other (along where the pocket is). Toast in the oven, or in a large, dry skillet, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Serve dip alongside toasted pita chips.

[woso-story]

Pregnancy

Ingrid Engen x Mapi Leon

Ingrid's pregnancy was a revelation that brought unparalleled joy to her and Mapi. From the moment they found out Ingrid was pregnant, their lives were awash with excitement, nervousness, and love. Mapi, in her typical fashion, vowed to take care of every single detail to make the pregnancy as smooth as possible.

---

It started with Ingrid’s cravings. At 2 a.m., she'd wake up craving churros and hot chocolate. Mapi, bleary-eyed but unwavering in her determination to keep Ingrid happy, would slip into sweats and head to their favorite late-night spot. “You know,” Ingrid said one night, watching Mapi bundle up, “I don’t need this churro. I just want it.”

“And I want to make sure you get it,” Mapi replied with a wink, planting a kiss on Ingrid's forehead before heading out.

Their fridge became a chaotic mix of pickles, mangoes, and other odd combinations. The team teased Ingrid mercilessly when she brought a jar of peanut butter and cucumbers to practice one day.

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Ingrid said with a shrug as she munched contentedly.

---

Despite her growing belly, Ingrid insisted on attending training sessions. She scaled back to light workouts, sticking to stretches, yoga, and some ball drills. It gave her a sense of normalcy, a way to stay connected to the team and the sport she loved.

Mapi, however, was a different story. She hovered constantly, adjusting water bottles, fetching towels, and shooting glares at anyone who came too close during drills. “She’s pregnant, not made of glass,” Alexia teased one day, only to be met with Mapi’s signature scowl.

When Ingrid bent over to tie her shoelaces during practice, Mapi sprinted across the pitch. “You shouldn’t bend like that! Let me do it,” she insisted, dropping to her knees to tie Ingrid’s shoes.

“Maria, I’m fine!” Ingrid protested, half amused, half exasperated. “You’re making me feel like I’m 80.”

“You’re pregnant. That’s basically a license for me to spoil you,” Mapi countered, grinning up at her.

---

The rest of the team found endless entertainment in Mapi’s overprotectiveness.

“Mapi, can I breathe near Ingrid, or is that off-limits too?” Patri joked one day during a team lunch.

“You can breathe,” Mapi shot back, “just don’t breathe too hard.”

But beneath the jokes was an undercurrent of admiration. The team adored how Mapi doted on Ingrid and often stepped in to help. Aitana once surprised Ingrid with a homemade lasagna when she heard about her sudden aversion to cooking smells. And when Ingrid mentioned how her back was sore, Alexia gifted her a plush heating pad that quickly became her favorite.

The entire team had taken to calling Ingrid "Mama Engen" and frequently joked about how the baby was already part of the squad. Alexia even gifted the baby its first tiny Barça jersey with "Baby Engen-León" on the back. Ingrid teared up at the gesture, and Mapi made a vow to frame it when the baby outgrew it.

---

At home, Mapi was unstoppable. She installed baby-proof locks on cupboards, "Maria, the baby isn’t even here yet!” Ingrid laughed, researched prenatal massages, and even downloaded meditation apps to help Ingrid relax.

“It’s sweet, really,” Ingrid told Alexia during one of their chats. “But sometimes I just want to remind her that I’m pregnant, not dying.”

---

One evening, Ingrid came home to find Mapi assembling a crib in their living room. Tools were scattered everywhere, and she looked frazzled but determined.

“Babe, the baby won’t need a crib for months,” Ingrid said, sitting on the couch with a bemused smile.

“I know,” Mapi muttered, tightening a screw. “But I want everything to be perfect.”

Ingrid walked over, wrapping her arms around Mapi from behind. “It’s already perfect because it’s ours.”

---

The first ultrasound was a moment of pure magic. As they saw the tiny flutter of their baby’s heartbeat on the screen, Mapi’s eyes filled with tears.

“Can you believe it?” she whispered, clutching Ingrid’s hand.

Ingrid squeezed back, her own emotions threatening to overwhelm her. “We’re really doing this.”

---

Though the journey had its overwhelming moments, Ingrid wouldn’t have had it any other way. Mapi’s protectiveness, while occasionally exasperating, was a constant reminder of how much she was loved. And as they lay in bed one night, Mapi’s hand resting gently on Ingrid’s belly, Ingrid couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re going to be such a good mom,” she whispered.

“You too,” Mapi replied, pressing a kiss to Ingrid’s temple. “But for now, my job is to take care of both of you.”

Ingrid rolled her eyes affectionately. “You already do. And you’re pretty good at it. Just don’t drive me too crazy in the meantime.”

Mapi laughed, “Deal.”

And as they drifted off to sleep, dreams of their growing family filled the room, wrapping them in warmth and hope for the future.

[ltwilliammowett]

Christmas aboard Whalers

Christmas on board the Whaler was often a matter of that kind. It was up to the captain whether Christmas was celebrated or not. Especially in the early 19th century, it was very changeable and there was still no sign of Christmas decorations. So it could be that the crew got a day off from their captain. Or if they were unlucky, it was just Merry Christmas and back to work.

An old Christmas card, late 19th -early 20th century (x)

After the middle of the 19th century, when more and more women went to sea with their husbands, the whole thing took on a more family touch. Then the great cabin was decorated, stockings were hung up and a real feast was served.

December 25, 1856 aboard the whaler Addison,Mary Chipman Lawrence wrote : "Christmas. It seems to me very much as if it had come in July, instead of December. We generally associate Christmas with cold weather. Minnie (the Captain's daughter) hung up her stocking last night. She was fearful that she would get nothing in it, as we could not go to the store, but she succeeded as well for eatables as if she had been home. We had quite a Christmas dinner: roast chickens, stuffed; potatoes, turnips, onions, stewed cranberries, pickled beets and cucumbers, and a plum duff. For tea I had a tin of preserved grape opened and cut a loaf of fruitcake."

Other captains' wives also liked to make gifts for the crew, such as Mary Stickney on the whaler Cicero in 1881, where she filled the cabin boy's stocking with "candy, peanuts, coconuts, and a calico shirt" which she had sewn herself. It often seemed that the crew became part of the family at such festivities and were also included, especially the younger ones on board were spoiled with little things, like clothes or scrimshawed toys. 

Or they would meet up with other whalers at certain points and go on board a ship and have a big meal together and share wonderful memories as well as little treats.

As you can see here, it was a much more intimate gathering than in the Navy or Merchants.