Thursday, September 2, 2010

Bread and Butter Pickles

Hello September.

Now that you have arrived, contentment reigns. It was only the getting over the steep hill that caused a slight stumble.

School and the various extra activities are crossing over into my days at full throttle.

But first things first, I must make pickles. Bread and butter are my "pickle ala resistance" this year!



I was inspired by a jar of such pickles that were offhandedly passed on to me a couple of weeks ago.

Bread and Butter Pickles

1 gallon cucumbers
2 large white onions
2 peppers, I used 1 red and  1orange
1/2 cup salt
5 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon of tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1-1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon whole cloves
5 cups apple cider vinegar

Thinly slice cucumbers, onions and peppers. Place in crock with salt, cover with 1 quart of ice and let stand for 3 hours. For syrup, combine sugar, tumeric, cloves, celery seed, mustard seed and vinegar.  Mix and cook, stirring occasionally, to boiling, and then add cucumbers. Return to boiling temperature and ladle into sterilized jars. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.

I took an old recipe and tweaked it to my taste.  Both ground and whole cloves were added for extra spice, and what's bread and butter pickles without mustard seeds floating around in the syrup I must ask?

Side note: Witt happened to be here as I was ladling them into the jars, he taste tested them and requested a jar. Need I say more?

dumplings and cookies

" We'll all have chicken 'n dumplings when  she comes...." ( 4th stanza , She'll be Coming 'Round the Mountains,  ...