Pickles, Part I

As promised...here is the pickle post!!! (oh, joy, Ren!)

I love our garden but every year it seems like there is one particular veggie that takes over everything else.  Last year it was zucchini.  Even I got tired of zucchini.  So this year we didn't plant any zucchini, we planted extra cucumbers.  We have cucumbers coming out our ears.  Literally.  But I'm not giving any away, since they are Mr. Ranch's favorite food.  But...what do I do with them, so they don't go all gross and mushy?  Make pickles, of course!

A very small selection of our cucumber harvest

I started out with traditional dill--using an "easy refrigerator recipe" I found online.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Yield: about 3-4 16 oz. jars of pickles

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh dill

4 cloves garlic, peeled

3-4 medium-large cucumbers

3 cups water

6 tbsp. distilled white vinegar

3 tbsp. kosher salt

Directions

Add 1 minced or pressed clove of garlic and a few springs of dill to the bottom of each jar.  (Don’t stress over exact amounts.  I’ve made these countless times, undoubtedly different each time, and they have always been great.)

Cut the cucumbers into spears or whatever shape you like.

 Add the spears to the jars, packing in as many as you can without having to force them in.

 In a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher, combine the water, vinegar, and salt.  Stir well until the salt is dissolved.  Pour the mixture into each jar over the cucumber spears so they are completely covered.  Top with an additional few sprigs of dill, if desired.  Screw on the lids of the jars.  Repeat with remaining cucumbers, making additional brine as needed (only takes a few seconds!)  Refrigerate for two (agonizing) days.  Enjoy!  Continue to store in the refrigerator…presuming there are leftovers, of course.

Thanks to Annie's Eats

Trying to not have $64 tomatoes, we are re-using jars...look up the book if you've never heard of "The $64 Tomato"

Two nice little jars of dill pickles.....

 When Mr. Ranch arrived home, he asked....and announced he wanted spicy pickles.  Well, alright-y then....

Back to the internet...

Spicy Dill Quick Pickles

© Tina Rupp

Spicy Dill Quick Pickles

Contributed by Grace Parisi

 TOTAL TIME: 20 MIN Plus overnight brining

 SERVINGS: Makes 2 quarts

    Vegetables

    3 tablespoons kosher salt

    2 tablespoons sugar

    1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar (5 percent acidity)

    2 tablespoons coriander seeds

    6 large garlic cloves, halved

    4 to 6 long red or green hot chiles, halved lengthwise

    16 dill sprigs

    Pack vegetables into 2 clean 1-quart glass jars. In another jar, combine the salt, sugar, vinegar, coriander and garlic. Shake until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 2 cups of water and pour the brine over the vegetables. Tuck the chiles and dill between the vegetables. Add enough water to keep the vegetables submerged. Close the jars and refrigerate overnight.

 I quickly realized I had everything...except the coriander seeds.  Grrr.  But wait, thanks to my somewhat scattered gardening skills, I have overgrown cilantro in the "herb garden"--wha-la...coriander seeds!

 And there we are...more jars of yummy, spicy pickles...ready to eat in 48 hours!  I feel like Laura Ingalls...(what? She lived most of her life in the 20th century...she had an ice box!)