Olives!

I was doing my shopping at Leisure Coast and saw lots of fresh olives.  I'd never seen them before so I wasn't sure what they were at first.  Since I'd never tried them I thought I'd get some.  When I tried one I realized why they don't commonly sell fresh olives at the grocery store.  They're very bitter.  

I went online and found out about how the Greeks used to hang them in bags over the sides of their boats until the bitterness leached out.  And current methods where someone's grandmother hits each one with a rock to open the olive so you only have to soak them for a few days.  Some methods use lye, some salt water.

I used my mortar and pestle to crush the olives.  Some split really easily and with those I took the pit out right away.  Some it was easier to leave them attached.  Now they're soaking in the fridge.  I figured the first couple days I'll rinse with plain water, then salt water.  Then I'll decide what spices I want to use with them..