Pickles!

How can you not smile, at the very least, at the word "pickles?" Seriously. (It also brings me back to the early days of Nick Toons...) Say it three times. Feel good?
Awesome.

And who doesn't love the taste? My husband. That's who.

Regardless, he was enamored with the pickle-making process. I threw these together the day before our mini-vacation (is three days a mini-vacation, including driving? Or is it a full-blown vacation?) to use up a bunch of the cucumbers we'd been hoarding from our weekly CSA boxes. Of course, we still have more, but I figured 6 pints would do us just fine and help with the glut of cukes.

You can make these refrigerator pickles and make this quick as well as easy. But, nope, in the midst of cleaning, doing laundry, packing, and the usual toddler-watching rigmarole, I undertook the delight of washing and sterilizing mason jars, rings and lids. Silly girl.

It really wasn't that bad. I'd call it "easy" if you follow the steps. Just not quick. And, of course, I went rogue, so we'll see how they turn out in the end!

I used the recipe blogged about on Elephant Journal, but made some adjustments. I left out the green onions (more room for cukes! Shove 'em in until you can't shoves no more, folks!) and tried one with more garlic, another with some habanero pepper. But, when it was time to process the jars in hot water, I'm afraid I might've ruined the texture of 'em -- one site I read said to process for 5 minutes after reaching a boil, which meant that NONE of the jars sealed. Attempt #2, they all sealed. However, that means that the final pickles will probably be a little limp. If they taste good, though, I'm happy. ;-)

I'm thinking about giving the green and yellow beans I've got a "dilly bean" treatment. Can you believe I've never tried 'em? I know. Bad, BAD natural mama.

Oh, and if you're wondering: Hadman loves pickles. He's been picky about a lot of veggies lately (fruits, however, he could survive on, so thank goodness for small victories), but I think if I continue to preserve and save - and I totally mean in a "zucchini muffins" way - them in ways like these, he won't know what hit him.

Mwahaha.

So, here's my version of the recipe...

Homemade Dill Pickles (for 6, 1-pint containers)  

- 6-8 cucumbers, washed and sliced (however you like them, but the bigger they are the better texture they'll have)
- dill seed (NOT weed), about 1 tsp. per jar
- lots of garlic, smashed, 3+ per jar
- red pepper flakes, pinch per jar (or more)
- ground pepper or peppercorns, 1/2 tsp. or so per jar
- thinly sliced jalapeno or habanero pepper, optional

Put spices in the bottom of each jar. Tightly fill with cucumbers (and pepper, if using). Pour following brine to cover cucumbers, cover with lids, and seal.

Brine - Simmer the following until dissolved: 3/4 c. apple cider vinegar, scant 1/4 c. white vinegar, scant 1/2 c. water, and 3/4 T. salt PER JAR {for me, this came to about 4 1/2 c. ACV, between 1 1/4 & 1 1/2 c. white, about 2 c. water, and 4 1/2 T. salt total}. Slowly pour into each jar before processing.

So, who else attempts pickling? What's YOUR favorite recipe? I'd love to try different ones out.