Refrigerator Pickles

Last night, during a bout of insomnia, I made a jar of Refrigerator Pickles out of two cucumbers we had kicking around. Now, if I were a pickler worth my salt (pickle joke), I would know to use only the freshest cucumbers to pickle with. By freshest, I mean picked a few hours ago. But honestly? These will still taste fine.

I'll share the recipe I used below, but let me preface it with an important warning. You can see that I guessed on some measurements and sort of threw things together in this recipe. If you are planning to seal your pickle jars and store them anywhere but a refrigerator, you may not do this. Hear me? Don't do it. Find a legitimate, tested canning recipe and do not deviate from it. Seriously.

Okay, on to pickle fun!


Step One

Bring 1 cup each of apple cider vinegar and water to boil in a small pan. (White vinegar would also be fine)

Step Two

While you're waiting for the liquid to boil, slice 2-3 cucumbers into whatever shape or size pleases you. Slice up a clove of garlic and some fresh dill too. Shove it all in a quart-sized jar. Really shove it in there.

Step Three

By now your liquid has probably boiled. Whisk in about a half cup of sugar, some pickling spices, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and a whole tablespoon of salt. Boil it all for ten minutes.

Step Four
Pour the liquid over the cucumbers in the jar. Put the lid on and stick it in your fridge for a week or two. Then, enjoy for about three months (if they last that long)!

Pickled Beets

I've gotten a bunch of beets, two weeks in a row, in my CSA share. I'm not a huge fan of beets, but I do like them pickled (feel the same way about cucumbers), so here's a seasonal recipe for pickled beets:

2 bunches of beets (5-8 in each bunch), sliced into thin strips
1 head of new garlic, roughly slice each clove
1 quart white or cider vinegar
1/2 quart sugar
1 heaping tsp. salt
1 tbsp. pickling spices
Small handful of chopped dill, if you like it

Fill 2 sterilized (read: just out of a HOT dishwasher) quart-sized mason jars with sliced beets and garlic. Bring vinegar, salt, spices, and dill to a boil in a pan. Remove from heat and add sugar. Then, pour it through a cheese cloth (read: a thin dish towel if you're not Martha freaking Stewart) into the jars of beets. Now, at this point, you can just throw a lid on the jars and keep them in your fridge if you'll eat them within a few weeks (but wait 24 hours before cracking them open).

OR you could seal them:
-Get some NEW lids and rings--you can reuse lids for fridge pickles, but new is essential for making a seal.
-Boil a giant pot of water, dunk the lids and rings in it for a minute or so, then put them on your full pickle jars.
-Then submerge the jars in the boiling water for 10 full minutes.
-Take them out with canning tongs (or regular tongs, carefully), and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours. You might hear them pop as they form seals. You should NOT be able to get the lids off by hand, without a can opener.
Now, you can eat them immediately or store them in your pantry for up to a year. I would recommend doubling or tripling the recipe if you plan to seal the jars. It's not really worth the trouble unless you make a decent sized batch.

(Hopefully my lazy ass will upload some pictures of these beautiful pickles soon).