Pickles & Dilly Beans

Pickled cucumbers are a treat at any time of year.  Be sure to use the pickling type (bumpy ridges along skin).  Some of our favorite recipes are:

Bread & Butter Pickles
3 large cucumbers, sliced    1/3 cup sugar     2 onions sliced

1/2 tsp   celery seed     1 Tbs. salt   1/2 tsp   mustard seed

1 cup white vinegar
Use fresh cucumbers; wash and slice. Slice onions. Mix   vegetables with salt and let stand 1 hour.  Drain and rinse with 2 cups   cold water. Combine vinegar, sugar, celery and mustard seeds and heat to   boiling. Cook 3 minutes.   Pack vegetables into jars (2-3 pint wide-mouthed jars), add hot   vinegar mixture, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Seal at once and process in   boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Cool and store.

“Quickles” aka Refrigerator Pickles
1 lb. Pickling cucumbers     1 cup white vinegar     2 cups cold water     1 T sugar     2 T kosher salt     1 t. mustard seed     1 t. whole peppercorns     1⁄2 t. red pepper flakes     1 cup fresh dill     5 cloves garlic peeled
Evenly divide the garlic, dill and cucumbers among   four wide-mouthed pint jars. You can cut up the pickling cukes   however you want, from slices to halves, etc. (smaller slices soak up   the flavor faster). You can pack as many cukes into the jars as   possible, even more than the recipe calls for if there’s space.   In a bowl, mix together vinegar, water, red pepper flakes, salt,   mustard seed and dill seed to make a flavored brine. Use a funnel to   fill each jar with brining liquid. If the cukes aren’t mostly covered,   you can add a little more cold water and shake it up. Cap tightly and   refrigerate at least one week before eating (or eat some right away and   every day after, to see what they’re like:).

Another savory treat are Dilly Beans.  If you enjoy pickles, you’ll love these!

Dilly Beans

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 6 cups distilled white vinegar
• 8 heads fresh dill weed
• 1/2 cup pickling spice
•  1/2 cup mustard seed
• 8 dried red chile peppers
• 16 cloves garlic, peeled
•  1 teaspoon alum
•  5 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed

1. Sterilize 8 (1 pint) jars in boiling water for at least 5 minutes.
2. Combine the water, pickling salt and vinegar in a large pot, and bring to a boil. When it begins to boil, reduce heat to low, and keep at a simmer while you pack the jars.
3. In each jar place the following: 1 head of dill, 1 tablespoon of pickling spice, 1 tablespoon of mustard seed, 1 dried chile pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon of alum. Pack beans into the spiced jars in a standing position.
4.  Ladle the hot brine into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Screw the lids onto the jars, and process in a hot water bath for 6 minutes to seal. Store for at least 2 weeks before eating.

This recipe is from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dilly-Beans/