Before Danika renamed herself Ivana Marzipan, this pickling pro was known as The Taco Belle.

At age sixteen with no job experience, we were lucky to work outside the bun. (Until the late 90’s, Maple Grove was just a gravel pit on the way to St. Cloud — A new Taco Bell was a really big deal.)

We schlepped burritos, cheeseritos, and cinnamon sticks with a smile. We cheerfully changed stinky tex-mex garbage that leaked diet Mountain Dew and refried beans on our teal striped uniforms. When we worked the late-nite drive-thru, we happily helped drunken Minnesotans pronounce our most popular menu items.

“Sir, we sell Chicken ‘Fa-hee-Tahs’ not chicken ‘Fa-Gyn-Ahs’.”

Through it all, Danika was radiant — a blushing belle in Border Sauce. (I had horrible acne and always managed to get sour cream stuck in my hair.)

Several career changes later, The Taco Belle… er… Ms. Ivana Marzipan has traded fast food for slow food. She can whip up a delicious veggie soup and bake a batch of buns on the side. Warm out of the oven, they are heaven with butter and perfect for soaking up the broth at the bottom of the bowl.

Danika also makes the tastiest of pickles. I was flattered and a little bit nervous when she offered me a tutorial. It’s one thing to screw up a stranger’s chicken ‘Fa-hee-Tahs’, it’s another thing to scald your friend with boiling water and rush to urgent care with third degreen burns.

When I arrived, Danika had finished most of the prep work and a batch of pickles was already cooling on the counter. Though she was sweating, Danika was (still) radiant and moved through her hot kitchen with grace and authority.

As she lowered more jars into the boiling water, Ms. Ivana Marzipan explained her process. She was forthcoming with her canning tips and tricks but tight-lipped about her secret recipe. I got some of the ingredients out of her, but I gladly traded my silence for a jar of pickles.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 15th, 2006 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Cucumbers + Melons, Preserving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.