Pickles

Remember my News Years Resolution?

Practical Creativities as I like to call them.

What to do with 20 pounds of cucumbers?

Pickles of course!

Wash out your jars and lids with warm soapy water.

Slice the cucumbers into "can" friendly shapes and sizes. My mom had a french fry slicer that worked wonders on the pickles. Very sandwich friendly. We like our sandwiches!

Who knew a stack of pickles could be so artsy?

We shoved as many pickles as possible into each "can" and stuffed in equal amounts of dill and a clove of garlic. Next we boiled the full cans in hot water so that when we poured the pickle mix over the pickles the jars would not break. Then we processed them! My mom and I have never processed before but it worked! All of the cans popped!

You can do it too.

We ran out of room for one can so I took it home and put it in the fridge for us to eat this week.

Instant gratification!

I forgot about the pickles for a day because the next day was busy! Look who came to visit?

Yes! My friend Brooke! I knew I needed a reason to break out the sewing machine. More on that later...

The next day I saw these beauties in the fridge! There is nothing like a cold dill pickle on a hot summer day? Okay, maybe fresh squeezed lemonade? Or maybe a drippy ice cream drumstick on the back porch?

Now for the real test.

Does the boy like it?

Victory!

The first 4 quarts we used a Ball dill pickle mix. We still had 20 jars left! So we made a simple mixture:

3 quart of water
1 quart of apple cider vinegar
1/2 canning salt

Bring the liquid to a boil and pour over hot jars of cucumbers then process. This usually involves putting the warm lids on the warm jars and then boiling the jars in a water bath pot. Make sure that the water covers the tops of the jars by an inch or two. Boil them for 15 minutes. Remove the jars carefully and place them on a towel in a place that will not be disturbed for 12-24 hours. You can eat them right away but the longer you let them set the stronger the flavor! The canning process preserves for up to a year.

Easy Peazy Pickles

Follow the above recipe for these easy freezer pickles. We have been experimenting with pickles all week (does anyone else have a cucumber bounty?) and discovered that you could skip the whole processing step all together.

Use a freezable container and fill it with cut-up slices of cucumber and leave a 1/2 inch at the top. Add some dill and garlic cloves to the container. Do this to your taste. I like a strong garlic flavor but not everyone does. You could skip the garlic all together if is not your thing.

Boil the water/apple cider vinegar/pickling salt and stir. Make sure the salt dissolves. Pour the hot liquid over your pickles. Let sit until cool and then either put them in the fridge (you can eat them tomorrow) or put the container in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them put them in the fridge for a day to thaw.

We found that the hot liquid poured over the cucmber slices cooks them just enough and the pickles are crisp and crunchy! No processing. Does life get any better?

If you have a pickle experiment or adventure to share please leave your story in the comments!