The prego lady wanted pickles!

Yep.  That's it.  I wanted pickles.  I'm pregnant and I wanted pickles.
 Good enough reason for me!

From when I was little, I can remember the smell of the awesome homemade pickles that grandma and mom would make.  A few years back, I decided to take my turn at making them!  If you are a "Blue Book of Canning Nag" I suggest you stop reading now.  We've been eating these pickles since the "bird sh*t on a fence post and the sun hatched ya out" (quoted from my beloved, late Grandpa Otto).  This recipe is NOT in the Blue Book.  It is also not a water bath canned or pressure cooked type of "pickle".  This is a salt preserved pickle, and it is FABULOUS!!!!!  

I called my friend Michelle over and offered to teach her, as fitting 12 jars of pickles is a lot for one overstuffed fridge!  So, here goes our story of pickling...One Mick and one Irish woman, at it again!

First....I dug out the recipe.  Yep, it's in my inbox...Check!  Next, Mick and I ran out to my folks place for fresh cucumbers, dill and garlic.  

File picture, Mimi Shanahan Aug 2011.

After leaving there, we ran to the store to pick up our jars and other supplies from the list we needed.  

The next morning....err afternoon, we started our pickling project!  Mick came up and we dug on in!  Well, as much as we could do...  See, Mick and I have an addiction to Cribbage.  So between pickling steps, we'd play a game or two....Hehe!  

Mick really CAN follow directions!

Michelle sliced the cucumbers.  She's awesome at running a mandolin!  We cleaned the garlic and the dill.  While she did this, I.....

Yes, this is an electric stove....Not recommended for canning.
Luckily, we only used it to sterilize the jars!!

Sanitized Jars..... (See mom!  There's proof!!)

I took pictures because you NEED to do this step!!  Do not skip it.  Sanitize Jars, lids and rings and never reuse lids.  There, I'm done.  My Canning and Preserving Class Presenter would be proud...of this part!

When that was all said and done, we filled the jars according to the instructions.  

Some full, some par-filled jars of pickles.

UPDATE:   The recipe has been released!

Mom's Kosher Dills

This recipe came from an old friend of Mom and Dad, Maxine.  Her and her husband ran Miller Liquor Store  in North Sioux City when I was a kid.  The year was around 1967.  (FYI - I kept this in because I feel it's important to know where this came from...in my opinion....  We may know where our recipes came from, but will our children?  Not if we don't keep track of it!!)

Brine

1  cup kosher salt

4 qts cold water

To each jar add:

1 or 2  stems fresh dill with head

1 or 2 cloves fresh garlic

2 tsp whole pickling spice

1 qt pickling cucumbers

1. Wash and sterilize jars.  (Because the pickles are not processed, I wouldn't skip this step!)  Stir salt into cold water until dissolved.  Add dill stem to clean jar.  Pack freshly picked pickling cucumbers to the jar.  (It is imperative that they be freshly picked!) Add  pickling spice and garlic cloves.  Pour brine into jar to within 1/4" of the top.   Seal with warmed jar lids and rings.  Seal very tight and store in cool, dark place.  Pickles will ferment.  In about two weeks, pickles are "half done" and can be eaten, though they are better if left until fermenting is finished, about a month.  Use up within 1 year.

What you may have noticed....

1.  We used cucumbers.  Big, homegrown cucumbers.  We didn't use pickling cucumbers.  I like the big, thin slices best.  Much better for snacking!  

2.  I used my electric stove.  I used it ONLY for boiling water that didn't need to maintain a consistent temperature for a long period of time.  

Thanks for reading!

L