A Bushel of Cukes

We ordered a bushel of #1 Kirby cucumbers from Zellwood - they are between 3 - 4 inches long and are the perfect pickling cukes. Time to attempt jarring our pickles for the first time instead of the usual cold pack. We are making a big batch of Kosher dills and some sweet and smokey bread and butter slices with some smoked paprika (Lillie's favorite spice!)

The girls were a great help sorting and washing the cukes as well as adding the spices and herbs to the jars. A few leftover sugar snap peas were thrown in for good luck. I submerged each jar into boiling water for 10 minutes and initially didn't think they sealed correctly. Once they sat on the counter and started to cool, the lid sucked down to the jar and a perfect seal was in place. I don't think we can wait two weeks to try them - we might have to crack a jar early!

random pickle image

pickle puppet onstage

I ran a few image searches for the word "pickle" while doing some research for the blog and I was surprised at just how many funny pickle pictures there are out there. Just make sure your "safe search" is enabled. ;) I decided to save a few and randomly post them as we go along. I like this guys little pickle nose...

crazy pickle chomp

Apparently Sadie loves pickles. We were enjoying "free" black and tans at Sea World's Hospitality Center when we came across the world's biggest pickle. She would chew off a big bite, suck the pickle juice out of it and then spit the rubbery piece onto her shirt. Too funny. I need to get that garden going again so I can make her my barrel cukes!