I’ve not posted in the last month or so because we’ve been busy…busy with an unexpected house problem and a working vacation of two weeks.  Phew!  That just took the stuffing out of me!

In the meanwhile, I’ve done pickles & waited for my tomato plants to ripen up.  We had some early tomato “blossom end rot” a problem with low calcium in the soil, so the entire first crop went bad.  After treating with garden gypsom, the second crop seems to have made a come-back.  But while waiting, I pickled.  My cuke plant this year, while prolifigate, is only one plant and isn’t producing enough for pickles at one go.  So I bought a 1/2 bushel at the farmers market.  Those cukes are usually big, so I quarter them (this year with child help, so they’re nicely irregular) and stuff jars.   I just jam them in.  As many as I can get into one jar.  It’s a bit like tetris in a jar… I also put a clove of garlic and a small onion into each jar. 

Then, onto the pickles.  This year, I made 4 different varietys of pickle, 2 dills, a dilly bean and radish pod pickles. 

Dill pickles – basic recipe

Brine:

12 c water

3 c white vinegar

2 c sugar

¾ c salt

Plus:

1 head dill weed

Ann’s Dills

1 grape leaf per jay

1 clove garlic

1 sprig dill per jar.

1-2 small onions or scallions per jar

Stuff jars with speared cukes

Pickling spices – pinch coriander, mustard seed, dill seed & celery seed per each jar.

Brine:

12 c water

3 c white vinegar

2 c sugar

¾ c salt

2 TBSP Gerra spice  for 3 batches of this. (if you don’t have this, 1 TBSP Cinnamon & 1TBSP Paprika will substitute)

Water bathe both of these for 15 minutes.

Dilly Beans:

Stuff as many beans into a pint jar as you can jam in there.  On the bottom, put 1 clove garlic, 1 part grape leaf, 1 sprig dill. 

Add:

½-3/4 tsp mustard seed per jar

1 pinch dill seeds

1 dried red pepper – ground

Brine – used left over brine from the dill pickles

12 c water

3 c white vinegar

2 c sugar

¾ c salt

2 TBSP Gerra spice  for 3 bathes of this.

I can’t find the recipe for the radish pods, but it’s similar to the dilly beans. 

On to the tomatoes.  This year, I put in heirlooms…OMG.  They’re freaking mutant cool tomatoes!!! Huge and rippley!