Pickles

I've never been a huge fan of pickles until I tried pickles made by Michelle and Nathan. Now I'm a pickle snob, so I figured I better learn how to make my own! Here is a good recipe I found. These pickles turn out very flavorful (too flavorful for some) and crunchy- just the way I like! You can make a lot of alterations to this recipe to customize it to your tastes. (original link)


Refrigerated Dill Pickles

1 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui), thinly sliced (** I did not use onion, I used crushed garlic instead) 2 pounds medium pickling cucumbers, scrubbed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds (**I could not find pickling cucumbers and used normal ones instead) 1 large bunch dill, coarsely chopped (stems included) 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds 2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup sugar (** I used less sugar than this, about 1/2 cup) 3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt 2 teaspoons dill seeds (did not use) Divide sliced onion (garlic-about 4 to 6 cloves) between two 1-quart wide-mouth glass jars. Pack cucumber slices horizontally in jars. Top each jar with dill. Using mortar and pestle or resealable plastic bag and mallet, crush mustard seeds and peppercorns together. Place crushed spices in medium saucepan. Add vinegar, 1 cup water, sugar, coarse salt, and dill seeds. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Ladle mixture evenly over cucumbers. Leave jars uncovered and chill 24 hours. Cover glass pickle jars tightly with lids. Keep refrigerated. These will last a couple of weeks! The vinegar is an antimicrobial so it keeps it fresh for awhile.