Last weekend I made pickles for the first time. Well, the first time solo. I remember helping my grandmother when I was a child, but I obviously needed to brush up on what I remembered.
Doing anything with my grandmother was always interesting. She was a true "do-it-yourselfer." In those days, there was little choice. Money was short and days were long since most women in my world were stay at home mothers and wives. My do it yourself passion has a lot to do with the time I spent with her.
Doing these things brings back fond, warm memories of a woman I loved deeply and miss terribly. I think she would be proud.
The pile of "pickling" cucumbers before...
Safety is of the utmost importance when canning at home. I follow the recipes and processing instructions carefully. I like this book because it allows me to can more manageable batches....
Pickling salt and spices...
Sweet peppers for color along with fresh dill and mustard seed for spice and to make the jars beautiful...
The jar filled with the dill spears prior to processing in the water bath canner...
These are the bread and butter pickles brining prior to cooking.
The bread and butter pickles cooking prior to filling the jars and processing. Who knew that bread and butter pickles had turmeric and ginger in the spice mix??
And here is my cute little batch of homemade pickles after they were processed. It's worth all the work (which I really don't find very work-like but more relaxing and enjoyable) to see these little babies all lined up in the pantry.
