Homemade Pickles! *Guest Blogger*

Dear Diary,

A home garden is a perfect way to grow spices and red peppers for my pickles mixture. It also adds flowers to the middle of winter during its darkest days. The rose has now bloomed; the Christmas cactus will soon flower; the coleus never ceases to amaze me. In the spring, I look at a dead flower pot and think, “what should I plant here?” Then the coleus starts to grow as if to say, “Ha! fooled ya again.” - Marianne



Kosher Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

• 31/2 lbs pickling cucumbers, about 14 small


• 2 cups water


• 1 cup vinegar


• 1/4 cup Ball Kosher Dill Pickle Mix


• 2 Ball Quart (32 ounce) Jars with lids and bands

 I recommend to look for this type of cucumber, plentiful at the time of this writing. The package contains six. Take off the ends and cut into quarters. Cut into spears.

Combine water vinegar and pickle mix in a medium saucepan and heat to a boil. The mixture is perfect; I add lemon juice instead of vinegar in most recipes, even here. I started this project to use the spices that my son, Brahim, gave me, in the small dish. The mixture from the jar has distinct garlic.

Place the cucumbers in a bowl and add the boiling liquid. Then let the mixture cool at room temperature.

When cooled pack the pickles in-to the jar. Pack pickles based on whether you want to enjoy now which is what I always do. There is a recipe for long term canning as well.

(Compliments to our first guest blogger, Marianne, for sending this great recipe and wonderful tradition along to us!)