Olives

Olives...green, black, Spanish, delicatessan gourmet delights.  Their divine flavour belies the fact that when eaten directly from a tree, your mouth will pucker at the sharp disgusting acidity. How can something so foul possibly turn into a taste sensation??
Many people here have olive trees, but noone seems to actually use them, so I thought it must be really hard to make olives.  Well, take a bit of salt and water, and think again.
All you need is a jar or bucket, depending on how many you have.  Make a brine of 90% water, 10% SEA salt.  (Yes, apparently it needs to be sea salt, not iodised.)  Dissolve the salt thoroughly.  Prick the large olives (I use a fork).  The small ones I wrap in a tea towel and bruise with a rolling pin. Toss your olives into the brine, and make sure they are all under the liquid.  I put a glass on the top to keep them under the surface.  Soak, changing the liquid every 24 hours until the taste isn't bitter anymore (generally about 15 days for black, 20 for green). 

When no longer bitter, soak for 24 hour in fresh water, and then add your desired marinade, such as:  250mls wine vinegar, garlic, herbs:  thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, 100ml olive oil, lemon juice, cracked pepper...use your imagination!  Eat and enjoy. 

If you have a large amount you want to store, after soaking til not bitter, boil brine (without the olives), cool, then pour this cooked brine over the olives in sterilised jars.  Seal with 1 cm olive oil, and they will last until you're ready to eat them.