- by Sandra
Harrington

Patt and Karen packed a peck of pickled green beans, A peck of pickled green beans Patt and Karen packed…

Go ahead; finish the rhyme. Then let me tell you about two intelligent professional women, one a mental health counselor, the other a public relations consultant, spending all their spare time, nights and weekends, packing vegetables into pint-size jars.

Patt Reed and Karen Gangel are your neighbors, living in Phase III’s Somerset Village. Pickling is “a hobby gone mad,” according to Karen.Their fondest dream is getting to the point where they can grow from a boutique to a massproduced operation. But first, they have to find an “angel” or win the lottery.

Friends and co-workers at Cigna Health Plan for years, Patt and Karen experienced life-changing events at the same time, encouraging them to buy a house together. First they bought an 80-year-old house in Seminole Heights, which they began to renovate. But that turned into a “money pit.” So they traveled north and west to Carrollwood Village, where they and their “silly little dogs” have been very happy ever since.

Karen rides her bike all over the village, and is still convinced “that elves come out at night and keep Carrollwood Village beautiful.

” As long as the women have been friends, one has been pickling spicy green beans, the other bread-and-butter pickles, so the pickle enterprise has been a long time coming to fruition, culminating in their business, “Everything Pickled.” They do everything themselves, except grow the vegetables. Most are purchased in Oldsmar. Then they are cut by hand, packed into jars, processed and labeled. Some work is done at home in their spacious kitchen, but, following Health Department regulations, they also use a nearby commercial kitchen, namely PastAmore, Tom Shepard’s catering business, on Turner Road.

Patt and Karen give samples at shows, and say it’s fun to watch people taste. “It’s like eye candy. They see them. They taste them. They want them. ” So they buy them. $6.00 a pint or 2 for $10.00. They also sell half-pints for $2.50 each, which are often bought by business people wanting small gifts to give their clients.

“Everything Pickled” is in a few stores now. Whaley’s in South Tampa is one of their newest clients. Eventually, these enterprising women want to do pickling full-time, maybe when they reach retirement age. They’ll sell you a jar or a case if you call 908-8511 or visit their web site: www.everythingpickled.com.