In A Pickle ?

How about pickles! We decided to try to make pickles from our cucumbers we have grown this season. Ok- I'm a first time veggie gardener and now a first time pickleiler (is that a word?)-what a year!

First you need about 7lb of cucumbers. Here are a few of our home grown (with love) cucumbers. They are all different shapes and sizes- not like the perfect shaped ones in stores.

Then you put on your apron and make sure all the kids are sound asleep!

While your jars and lids are heating at 180 degrees you get all your seasonings together.

You boil the seasonings with 2 1/2 cups of vinegar to make this green witches brew- Hee Hee just kidding! Your whole house starts to smell like pickles!

While the good smelling stuff is boiling you cut your cucumbers into spears.

Then you put the spears into the hot jars. Don't touch the jars with a bare hand...It hurts!!!

The good smelling stuff then goes into the jars with the cucumbers. Lids go on tightly...

AND now you are ready to process the jars to preserve them.


We canned them in a propane out door cooker for about 15 minutes once the water boiled. So- for 15 minutes we sat under the stars dreaming off yummy Dill Pickles!

Now they are done! We have heard them all pop to let us know they are sealed. We just have to wait 4-6 weeks for them to season really good! Anyone up for some homemade Dill Pickles?