In a Pickle.

Sorry for the title, I can't say the word "pickle" without thinking of The Sandlot, and how Benny the Jet got Smalls out of the "biggest pickle any of them had ever seen".  This post, is not about that, but merely about pickles...

It started a couple of weekends ago, we went to the farmer's market downtown.  In my ideal world, we would go every Saturday and get our veggies for the week, and of course some fresh cut flowers.  I love all the smells and colors of being at the farmer's market (even if it is near a meat packing plant).

In reality, we usually think of it about once a year, and we end up buying things like cinnamon rolls (not complaining about the cinnamon rolls).

Getting to the pickle part:  Addie and Evelyn love pickles.

 I used to be the same way, I remember even drinking the juice out of the jar...gross.  I haven't caught them doing this yet, but I can totally see Evelyn going for a swig.

So, when we were at the farmer's market and Addie saw the little cucumbers for pickling, she really wanted them.  They did look like bins of actual pickles. Once she found out we could make pickles, she was excited to try it.

I conceded and bought two pounds of pickling cucumbers.  I've never made pickles before, and most homemade pickles I've eaten I have not liked, so we decided to start small.  We also picked up a bunch of dill.

We looked up a couple of recipes online (then had to go out again to get pickling salt), and decided to make a refrigerator version of dill pickles 

It was so quick and so easy!

It was about 15-20 minutes in the kitchen, and then we had pickles!

 (well, technically we had to let them sit in the refrigerator for two days...then we had pickles!)

All three of the girls helped, but Addie and Evelyn were especially pleased with themselves...and with the fact that there were pickles in the frig!

If I had it together, I would have taken a photo of them trying the pickles two days later.  

It was a mixed review.  

The pickles were crunchier and a little "zingier" than store bought.  I thought they were delicious, but I could see how a 6 year-old version of myself would disagree.  The girls preferred the littlest ones over the bigger pickles, I think because they were softer.  In the end, they each ate and enjoyed the pickles, though they took a little getting used to.

 It  definitely was worth it and we'll do it again!

If you're so inclined, here's the recipe (though I didn't follow it exactly):

Small Batch Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients

• 3 lbs pickling cucumbers
• 1.5 cups vinegar (white or cider)
• 1.5 cups water
• 2 tbs salt (pickling or kosher)
• 1 chili pepper (I used Serrano, but a jalapeño will do too)
• 3 tsp dill seed
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 glass pint canning jars with lids

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the cucumbers lengthwise (trim there top and bottoms, they are bitter).
2. Sterilize the glass canning jars in boiling water. Remove them from the hot water and sit them on the counter.
3. Add the water, vinegar and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Mix it until the salt dissolves.
4. Add a clove of garlic and a teaspoon of dill seed to each pint jar.
5. Slice the chili and divide among the jars.
6. Pack in the sliced cucumbers and pour the brine on top. Make sure to keep a half inch space at the top.
7. Put on the lid and let it sit for 48 hours in the fridge. They will last up to 2 months.

Enjoy!