La Vida Locavore: In a Pickle!

Years ago, when our son played Little League Baseball, we learned the art of playing pickle defense. A "pickle" is a situation that occurs when the baserunner is caught between two bases protected by two defensive players. The players close in on the runner in an attempt to tag them out. Here's a YouTube video example of a runner successfully escaping the pickle.

When the kids were young we used to meet up with another family of five to play baseball. The father of the other family (let's call him Mr. Pickle for the story's sake) was caught in a pickle between myself and one of the kids. He did the "pickle dance" and then took off for the opposite base, I threw the ball with all my might. I nailed Mr. Pickle in the head and he went down. The kids gasped and yelled, "Mom! You hit him!" After a moment of stunned silence, we realized he wasn't hit hard and was just fine. Always a clown, Mr. Pickle flopped and rolled like a fish out of water, moaning and calling out, "I've been hit! I've been hit!" He had all of us in stitches.

Now today we're going to talk about pickles, but not THAT kind of pickle. THIS kind of pickle:

Last week we bought some beautiful pickling cucumbers from Finley Farms at the Solvang Farmer's Market. I've tried pickling cucumbers before, but it never came out right. We wanted a simple recipe and found something that looked promising.

The recipe is as follows (our changes/omissions are highlighted in yellow):

Put the following Pickling Solution into a pot and bring to a boil:

6 cups water
2 cups vinegar WE USED APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
1/2 cup canning salt USER COMMENTS CAUTIONED AGAINST USING THIS MUCH, SO WE FOLLOWED THEIR ADVICE AND HALVED THE AMOUNT TO 1/4 CUP SALT
1/2 tsp. alum (optional) WE DID NOT USE THIS

While that is coming to a boil, do the following:

Wash enough fresh pickling cucumbers to fill a 1 gallon jar CHOOSE THE THIN CUCUMBERS AND FORGO THE THICK, ROUND ONES. THE LATTER DO NOT PICKLE AS WELL AS THE FORMER. THE ROUND ONES CAN BE SLICED AND USED RAW ON SALADS, ETC. SO WON'T GO TO WASTE. WE ONLY HAD ABOUT 1-2 POUNDS, BUT CHOSE NOT TO ALTER THE SOLUTION PORTIONS.
1 large bunch fresh dill weed (about 1/4 lb)
1 large onion
2 whole cloves
2 tsp. sliced garlic

Clipping dill leaves.

Clipping dill flowers.

Sliced onions. (Garlic skins on top left. The garlic was already chopped and added.)

Layer whole, unpeeled cucumbers, onion, cloves and garlic and dill.

First layer: Raw, unpeeled cucumbers.
Second layer: Chopped garlic.
Both cucumbers and garlic from Finley Farms.

Third Layer: Dill from the backyard.

Fourth Layer: Onions from Finley Farms.

When the vinegar solution reaches a boil, turn off the stove and pour it over the layered cucumbers, etc.

Solution poured onto the layers.

Let set on counter for 3 or 4 hours.
Refrigerate, ready to eat in 2 to 4 days.
WE TASTE TESTED AT TWO DAYS AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS! AT FOUR DAYS THEY WERE PERFECT! I THINK WE SHOULD USE A LITTLE BIT MORE SALT NEXT TIME, BUT MY DAUGHTER BEGS TO DIFFER. SHE LIKED IT WITH 1/4 CUP. I MIGHT TRY JUST OVER A 1/4 NEXT TIME.

See how the color has changed? Ready to eat!

Variation: Sliced cucumbers may be used, and ingredient amounts can be varied to your taste. WE WANT TO TRY THIS NEXT TIME!

THE PICKLED ONIONS ARE DELICIOUS, TOO! GREAT TO SLICE UP AND EAT.

Thanks to Cooks.com for providing a basis for this pickling recipe.

Next up:
After scanning recent posts, we realized that we've become extremely cooking-centric. So, we're going to try and spend more time blogging about the backyard farm, the in's and out's of growing our own food, and ways we're trying to "live simply." We're also going to share with you how we constructed and designed our chicken coops, raised them from chicks, and more!