Pickle Day!

So I had pickle day recently....

Pretty much all you need to make quick and easy pickles. 

Nope. I didn't make gallons and gallons of pickles.... I just made some quick and easy refridgerator ones. What's the difference? These aren't processed in the pressure canner. You just make up the brine and shove them in the fridge.

The process is extremely easy. Cut up some cukes (the little pickling ones), make the brine on the stove top, pour it over the cukes....and pickles! Easy peasy. I've been eating these all summer. While I can't grow a cuke to save my life I just stop at my Amish neighbor's roadside produce stand. I think she charges $0.10 a cuke. How fun is that?

I found this terrific recipe from Alton Brown. The vid is really short (a little over 3 minutes) and worth watching at least once - you can see how to adjust the seasonings for different results. However, it's important to keep the same vinegar to water ratio.

I also use some of the seasonings from this recipe. Sometimes I have dill and sometimes I don't. This weird summer has been terrible for growing. Everyone I know has been struggling and it's really frustrating. Some market farmers I know have ended up just tilling under their entire growing gardens. I think we are all hoping for a mild fall and winter just to extend the growing season.

But back to pickle day.... today I'm going to see if I can get my pressure canner gauge checked at the local extension office. If I do then I'll give you the how's and what's tomorrow.

Happy Pickle Day everyone!