homemade pickles

My daughter loves pickles.

I can remember the first time she tried them as clear as if it was yesterday. We were eating take out on the deck—sandwiches and french fries. My daughter asked for a french fry. I asked her if she wanted to try a pickle instead. I thought she would be surprised by the tart vinegary contrast to what she was expecting. Instead, she surprised me by devouring it and my husband’s, as well.

She’s been a pickle girl ever since. Whenever we are out, it’s kind of an unsaid thing that everyone immediately puts their pickle on her plate. Sometimes she’ll ask the server if she can have a side of pickles as an appetizer. Surprisingly, this hasn’t caught anyone off guard.

A few weeks ago our CSA offered us a choice of two large or five pickling cucumbers. My daughter was stunned. “We can make pickles?!” I remembered a refrigerator pickle recipe in one of the CSA newsletters so I said, “Sure!”

Making pickles is super easy. One of our cucumbers didn’t make it out of the crisper alive, but I managed to fit the other four into a single jar. I chose this recipe from Kate Payne’s website. The hardest part has been the waiting. Just a few more days and we’ll be able to crack open the jar. I’ll let you know what our pickle girl thinks.

After spending a little time on Payne’s website, I checked her book out of the library and I’m really enjoying it. I’ll post a review when I’m finished.