Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Cool Cucumber Conundrum

It will not always be summer;
build barns.
-Hesiod
   
I'm here, under a pile of cucumbers. Hey there.

The cucs are going crazy this summer. Every day, I come in with my nightgown or shirt or basket (depending on the time of day) weighed down like too many kids on a saggy trampoline. My, do we have the Boston Pickling cucumbers. Cool cucumber conundrum, though, huh? So I did what any pioneering housewife would do: I made pickles...
 
...and I made pickles...

...and then I pickled more pickles. Spears and slices and whole cucumbers. If you even so much as looked my way this weekend, you got salted and pickled in vinegar and spices. 
 
Have I told you that I think war is coming? If one does, come to my house and we'll eat pickles and blow our pickle breath on anyone that gets too close. That's my strategy, anyway. We'll outlast everyone. You'll see.

Anyway. Have you ever made pickles before? I hadn't. I followed the super easy directions for Dill Spears in Put 'em Up! and was very pleased with the results. Quick and crunchy. If you like to can anything at all- or if you want to try- I can't recommend this book enough. It will help you turn your cool cucumber conundrums into... what-the-heck-do-I-do-with-all-these-pickles-would-you-like-a-jar-of-homemade-pickles-please-PLEASE? conundrums.

I'm here for you like that. ;) Happy pickling and canning this summer! -Brin

8 comments:

Becky K. said...

I adore pickles...just ask my family. Therefore I loved this post!!! My mother and I used to can dill pickles every year. I kind of miss it. I'll have to check out that book.

Anonymous said...

that sounds good, I'm up here in Ohio, watching my cucumber plants grow, I want to make pickles too, and that sour kraut idea of yours that flopped, I've thought about that too, but I'm not so sure yet... I've stock piled canned tomatoes that I want to make sauce out of. I'll be ready for the war :D

Brin said...

Love it, y'all! :) Nothing beats stuff you can yourself, be it tomatoes or cucumbers or jam or anything, right? :)

Rebecca said...

I have made pickles...for a couple of seasons...many long seasons ago. My dear MIL, God rest her soul, gave me a recipe for spicy, hot, garlicky pickles, made with peppers. I loved them. My teeny tiny garden is just beginning to come in. I have a few tomatoes already, a few cukes too. Those garlicky pickles might be good ammunition for the war. And,I think I'll take a look at the book you mentioned.

Unknown said...

Still waiting on our cucumbers to produce but once they do, I too will be making pickles and relish!

sherry. said...

i love pickles. period. :)

Lyn said...

I love pickles. I also love cukes thinly sliced with sour cream, vinegar, s&p and dill. And if I have too many, I juice them! Such a refreshing drink (I use juice recipes I search out online and combine the cukes with things like watermelon and lime).

sherry said...

you're missed. :)