Quick Pickles

Cucumbers are one of my most favorite items to grow in the garden. It's the one plant in the garden that produces fruit the earliest in the season and continues to bear fruit throughout the summer. We eat them raw, but we love to pickle them. Honestly, we harvest so many cucumbers that we're almost compelled to pickle.

We have experimented with many different recipes from dill to Thai to sweet pickles. If you like Thai flavors, click here for the Sesame Glazed Brussel Sprout recipe. Make the sauce, but instead of Brussel sprouts use cucumbers and sliced sweet onions. Store them in the fridge for up to 4 hours before devouring.

Our favorite and most versatile pickle, happens to be this recipe. We eat these pickles right out of the jar or add them to burgers, sausages, deli sandwiches, and even The Bell House Cheeseburger Bacon Pizza!

If you are craving pickles, you can have them in a little over 4 hours.

QUICK PICKLES:

(six pickling cucumbers and one and a half small onions fill 2 pints)

4-6 pickling cucumbers, sliced

1 sweet onion, sliced

3-5 sweet peppers, sliced into strips

2 cups of apple cider vinegar

1 heaping cup of granulated sugar

2 tablespoons of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of yellow mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon of sweet curry powder

1/2 teaspoon of celery seed

In a large saucepan, bring to a boil all the ingredients except for the peppers, onion, and cucumbers.

Once the liquid has come to a boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved. Then take the pot off the heat.

Cut your veggies and pack them into mason jars.

PREPARATION TIP: Kirby Cucumbers that you find in the store are smaller than the pickling cucumbers from my garden. I wish I could remember the name of them, apologies. I was able to harvest enough cucumbers to double the liquid and make 3-2 cup mason jars and 1-3 cup mason jar. If my 6 cup mason jar wasn't full of dill pickles, I most likely could have packed all the good stuff in that jar.

Once your veggies are sliced and packed in mason jars, pour in the cooled liquid. Tightly seal the containers and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Don't let the onions and peppers go to waste. These are great for snacking too!