Clausen Clones

All three people in this house are huge dill pickle fans.  There are always both spears and chips in the refrigerator and even though I never serve them at dinner (except for with hamburger), we seem to run out fairly regularly.  This past week I got 4 cucumbers in our CSA box and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to eat them all before they went back.  That got me thinking about a thread I had seen on a message board about making dill pickles that didn't requiring canning.  I dug around a little bit, found the recipe and the pickle production commenced!

Ingredients

4-5 medium to large cucumbers (cut into slices or spears) 

4-6 heads of dill 

1 large white onion, diced 

1/2 t. mustard seed 

4 to 6 cloves garlic 

Brine:

1/2 c. pickling salt 

2 c. white vinegar 

6 c. water 

Directions

1.  Mix the brine in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Set aside and let cool.

2.  Cut the pickles into quarters or into slices and fill your container.  The recipe suggested a 5 qt. pail but I just used a large glass mixing bowl.

3.  Add the dill, onion, mustard seed and garlic to the cucumbers.

4.  Mix the pickling salt, white vinegar and water in a large pot, bring to a boil and then pour over the cucumbers.

5.  Let stand on the cupboard for 3 days, uncovered. Cover and put in the refrigerator for up to 1 year. (I transferred the pickles to glass jars and covered them with some of the liquid and then transferred them to the frig.)

I can't believe how good these were.  I tried a slice after a couple of hours and they already were wonderful!  We got three more huge cucumbers this week and I will have to at some point get those going.  I couldn't believe how easy they were and how fresh they tasted. They definitely had more of a bite than most store pickles do but I would guess that is because they were so dang fresh!  They will take up some room in the frig but I am thinking we will have no problem making that happen!

****disclaimer**** 

 Because my last recipe was ice cream related and this one is about pickles I want to make sure that every one is very clear about this.  I am not pregnant.  It is actually very surprising to me how many people that know our story of wanting a baby and our journey finally having Taelin so casually throw around the idea of us have another.  I am glad that I am at peace with not trying to get pregnant again or the whole thing would be quite hurtful.  That said, I don't want to give anyone any fuel for that fire.  

***end disclaimer***