August has definitely been all over the place weather wise. Electrical storms, downpours, some soft summer rain, and the predictable heavy humidity. While our family was on vacation this past week, I did not have to worry about watering the garden. Everything grew a little too fast, and my sprouting broccoli was in full flower when we returned, tomatoes decided to come into their own, and I don’t think I have to mention what happened with the summer squash. Lots of heat and lots of rain equals abundance. But we had enough dry days for the hay to get bailed, so the farmers are happy.

Everything we need, and more

            At the farmer’s market yesterday, offered were just about anything one could want from blueberries by the quart and juicy local peaches, to sweet summer corn, beans and more beans, peppers and tomatoes of every color, eggplant and herbs galore, and lots of pickling cucumbers.

Sour pickles all around

There’s one thing everyone in our family agree on and that is we love pickles, especially sour dill pickles. My mom was the queen of pickling. She loved to make regular pickles, pickled dilly beans, and just about anything that needed to be processed. Mom even made pickled watermelon rinds which tasted pretty much like any other dill pickle.

Let’s make this easy

My daughter and I obviously inherited her pickle gene, and this time of year, that means we make our own, but not with mom’s exuberance or variety or array of canning jars. Refrigerator pickles are the simplest to undertake if you haven’t made them before. In this weather, I’m not standing over hot stoves canning pickles, it has to be easy, and nearly instant gratification.

Make them your way

We make these in the summer when both the dill and the pickling cukes are fresh and abundant, and when the kids and I crave them. These are easy and fun to make, so let’s get started. If your cukes are on the small side, pickle them whole, but I prefer this recipe using slightly larger cucumbers sliced lengthwise into quarters or halves. If your cukes are all over the place shape wise, slice them up in equal thicknesses and you’ll be fine. Easy. They only take a week to work, and even though you have to keep them in the refrigerator, they are really delicious and very “fancy deli” tasting. Adjust the seasoning according to your own preference.

Options

If headed dill weed is not available, use fresh dill weed and some extra dill seeds. I’ve also added garlic and a hot pepper here for added interest. The garlic is essential, but the pepper is optional. You can remove the seeds from the peppers to tame the heat, or leave them in. You can also add more peppers if you like! 

Pick your jar

The first time I made these, I used a gallon jar I begged from a local deli, it worked great except I couldn’t fit it easily in my refrigerator. Now, I generally use a half-gallon Ball jar which can be found at most hardware stores. Wide-mouth quarts work as well. To help you out, I actually measured my chosen cucumbers this time around and counted them. To fill my half-gallon jars, I used 8 to 10, 5-inch (13 cm) pickling cukes roughly the same shape. I quartered them lengthwise.

Something new and blue

My new addition to the pickle inventory this year came from a lovely dinner we enjoyed recently at The Shelburne Farm Inn’s restaurant on Lake Champlain. We were served a lovely summer salad of whipped feta cheese, heirloom tomatoes, cucumber ribbons, and pickled blueberries. I’d never tried pickled blueberries before, so it was an adventure, and it turns out, a pleasant one at that. Of course I went home and made my own the next day since blueberries are in abundance right now. So good! I’m already thinking pickled blackberries, raspberries, and more.

A good start

You can’t go wrong with these two recipes if you are just starting on the pickle road, so feel free to experiment. Add a few other vegetables for color, radishes are nice here, cauliflower too, and play around with the spices to suit your own tastes.

Sylvia’s Quick Refrigerator Pickles

Makes two half gallons

• 1 ¼ cups cider vinegar
• 8 cups water
• ¼ cup coarse kosher salt 
• 4 heads fresh dill weed with seeds
• 4 or more cloves garlic, very bruised
• 2 jalapeno peppers, split in half, stem top and seeds removed, optional
• 2 tbsp. mixed pickling spice
• 1 tbsp. mustard seed
• 2 – 4 fat luscious bay leaves, fresh if possible
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 gallon pickling cucumbers, about 18, 5” (13 cm) each

Sterilize two half-gallon canning jars, or four, quart jars. This can be done in the dishwasher.

Mix the vinegar, water, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.

While this mixture cools, prepare your cucumbers. Wash the cucumbers and slice them into quarters lengthwise.

Place half of the dill weed in the bottom of each jar, and pack the cucumbers in tightly, adding garlic, peppers, and rest of the dill along the way. You can get a lot more cukes in the jar if you slice them up.

Sprinkle the garlic, pickling spices, mustard, bay leaves, and pepper flakes into your jars. If you don’t have dill weed with seeds, add seeds separately to each jar, about a tablespoon per.

Once the liquid has cooled to room temperature, slowly pour it into the jars. Using a chop stick or the handle of a long wooden spoon, release any air pockets that may have formed.

I fit a little circle of parchment or waxed paper on top to keep the pickles under liquid. Cover, and place in the refrigerator for a week. After five days you can start to sample. Keep refrigerated, but you won’t have to worry about the space they take up for long because they tend to disappear. Quickly.

Pickled Blueberries and Shallots

 

       A little sweet, a little tart, a little sour. A great accompaniment to a cheese board, a salad, a sandwich, anywhere where you like a little zing with a twist.

• 1 cup white wine vinegar
• ½ cup water
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 pink ripe but firm blueberries
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh bay leaf

Run a pint jar through the dishwasher. Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and salt. Let cool to room temperature.

Pack the blueberries and shallots in the jar and slip the bay leaf in as well. You can also add a star anise, juniper berries, or other herbs or spices of choice. The dill seeds are the most important, but you might have to search hard for them.

Pour the cooled liquid over the berries, cover with a parchment round, then the lid. Let this sit in the refrigerator for a day or at least a few hours before sampling. They should keep many months if they don’t get consumed quickly. But they will.

“August is the month when the sun beats down and the flowers are in full bloom. It’s a time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like the taste of fresh berries and the sound of the ocean waves.” ~ Melanie Gideon

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