Tasty Tuesday! Late Edition

Pickles!

     I know....I know. I'm late again. I've been burning the candle at both ends trying to finish this grad thesis. I've had to put a few things on the back burner. But, I have returned and this time I have brought pickles. I've written before about food preservation and my goal to have a waste free garden this year. I decided this past week to learn how to make my own pickles, and with the help of a family recipe that was given to me recently, I did just that. My garden hasn't produced any cucumbers of its own yet, so I bought two large cucumbers from my local grocery store instead, but I do have a ton of fresh dill. I figured that this will be practice before I become overrun by cukes in the next couple of months.

     The process was MUCH easier than I thought and took very little time. This is a dill pickle recipe but there is an endless variety of pickles you can make. I'll explore those later. So, if you're looking for new ways to use those left over cucumbers or just want to get on the DIY bandwagon. Give pickling a try.

     This recipe will make a couple large jars of pickles or maybe 3 small ones.

• 2-3 medium sized cucumbers
• 1qt. water
• 1c. vinegar
• 1/4 cup of salt

To each canning jar add the following:

• 1 clove of garlic
• a few sprigs of fresh dill
• 2 tsp. pickling spice

1. Combine 1 quart of water, 1 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup of salt in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once the liquid begins to boil reduce the heat to medium low and stir until all the ingredients are combined (basically until you can't see any salt).
2. Let the liquid cool completely. You don't want to cook the cucumbers when you add the liquid to the jar.
3. To each jar add a clove of garlic and a few sprigs of dill. 
4. Cut the cucumbers into thin slices and fill the jars.
5. Next, add two teaspoons of pickling spice to each jar. I added one teaspoon before the cucumbers went into the jars and another teaspoon after.
6. Fill the jars with the cool liquid. Do not fill the jars completely full. You will need about 1 inch of head space between the jar lid and the liquid.
7. Keep the jars in a the refrigerator. The longer you let the cucumbers marinate the better.

A couple of cucumbers are about to feel the wrath of my sweet Santoku knife.

A sprig of fresh dill I grew in my garden. No big deal...I just cultivated life, that's all.

Sliced cucumbers, sprigs of dill, and a clove of garlic nestled snuggly in a glass jar.

The finished product with pickling spice. Looks way better than Vlasic.

Take care of yourself and each other...