Its Pickle Time!

Okay , so my Greenhouse has taken a break since the last time I worked on it I dropped way to many things on my head.  I took a break and built a new center island in our kitchen....

Its not totally done yet, I still need to add a layer of cement board, some wood trim and some neat ceramic tile on top.  Then put a few coats of poly coat on the wood.  No, I haven't forgotten about the greenhouse but have to admit I got a bit discouraged, or frustrated the last time out there.  Hopefully Sunday I'll take another crack at it.

Meanwhile the vegetable garden is doing well, I've put up beets, peas and beans into our freezer and now the cukes are coming fast and furious. I do love eating them but the majority of them are going into pickles.  PICKLES...mmmmm 

This is how I go about doing ours....

Onions, Cukes and Sweet Red Peppers.

First you gotta go out in your garden and gather up some nice cukes long and slender.  I am also lucky enough to have some nice onions growing too, but admit to having to buy the red peppers.

Before I do anything I fill the canning pot with water and start it going. It might start boiling before I'm ready, if so I just turn it off or turn it down depending on how much longer before I'm ready for it. Course from now until the cukes are done I'll leave the canner on the stove full so it won't take long to warm up , plus I'm not wasting water refilling it. 

wash those veggies

Wash all the veggies really well, nothing worse then dirt in your pickles!

Nice clean veggies

After you've got them cleaned up slice them all up no thicker than about 1/4" I usually cut up about 3 cukes, then layer some sliced Onion and Peppers then sprinkle about  some pickling salt on top, then another 3 cukes , onions and peppers and more salt using about 1/3 cup for that quantity.

After you got the amount of veggies cut up you need then you need to cover the bowl with Ice.

Leave the ice on there for about an hour and a half. ( this is a good time to make a few loaves of Butter Honey Bread !)

Now you need to rinse the veggies off, drain them and rinse them again.
In a big pot on your stove, put 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of vinegar and 1 tablespoon celery seeds. ( lots of time I double this to be sure I'll have enough if I cut up extra cukes) boil the mixture and once its boiling good, add the veggies and bring to another boil. While your waiting get your jars ready.

Its always nice to have a kitchen buddy with you while your cooking. Even if your buddy is just sleeping on a dish towel. :)

Wash your jars in hot hot water or if you prefer heat them in the oven at 250 for about 15 minutes. I usually wash mine and leave the lids and covers in the hot water until the jars are filled.  Fill the jars full with the pickle, onions and peppers then topping off with the liquid til 1/4 inch from the top, slide your spoon or knife around in the jar to remove air bubbles top off the jars with the lids and cover, usually I have a towel in my hand since the jars are quite hot now and it helps to be able to tighten the covers.

After all the jars are filled put them in the boiling water canner and process for 10 minutes.

Be careful  when removing the jars. You'll want to use some good rubber coated tongs. While the jars are cooling you should hear the "pop" of the lids and before storing the jars away push the top of the lids and be sure all have a good seal. You should be able to remove the cover and give the lid a gentle pull and it not come off.

Store jars in a dark place. They won't last long though these pickes are awesome!

The pickes I just made are on the left.  I like the bright clear brine for these versus the bread and butter pickles to the right that have some different spices which makes the brine more a yellow color. Both are good but I really like these tasty ones better, crunchy and sweet! 

Go make some pickles! :)