Makin' Pickles

We had the tiniest break in the rainy weather today, so while Will started his latest painting (pictures soon), I ran out into the garden to weed and harvest. Nothing like freshly rain-washed produce!

The tomatoes have gone wild and I have given up trying to wrangle them into shape. This laissez-faire approach seems to be working, though, and all three plants are fruiting like mad.

We've even got a bunch of Hawaiian sweet peppers coming in (don't they look spicy, though?)And the avocados, which we are waiting patiently for.

We even had three adorable "pickling cucumbers" ready for harvest! Which inspired me to make pickles! The recipe is ridiculously easy and so yummy. They actually remind me of the ones from Brent's Deli (for those of you lucky enough to have tasted their magic).

Quick Pickles (a.k.a. Refrigerator Pickles):

A few cucumbers (cut either into spears or disks)

One Tablespoon salt

A dozen or so whole peppercorns

1/4 cup sugar (or less if you don't want the "bread and butter" kind of pickles)

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (or chopped for more intense garlic flavour)

Few pinches of your favorite herbs and spices (I used dried dill and Italian spices, but I bet fresh dill would be even yummier)

1 cup white vinegar

1. In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, peppercorns, salt and sugar 1-2 minutes until salt and sugar is dissolved

2. Add in garlic and dried spices and bring to a boil. (If you use fresh dill, don't put it in the boiling mixture until just after it comes to a boil, or the vinegar will "boil away" its flavour)

3. Put the chopped cucumbers into a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling mixture over them.

4. Let stand for 40 minutes, then cover and pop in the fridge for a few hours (or overnight).

5. Enjoy! You can make these in so many different ways, just by adjusting the amount of sugar, herbs and spices. I've made them super spicy before by adding in red pepper flakes and using only 1/8 cup sugar.