Pickles, How I Love Thee

Let me start off by revealing to everyone that I, Bugaboo, am a pickle junkie. Pickle freak, some might say. I've learned to tame my cravings, but when I was a little girl, no meal could begin at my grandma's house until her homemade pickles were on table. Yeah, I'm that serious.

The problem I've found with most store-bought pickles is that they're too . . . cooked. Not crunchy enough. Not the right color. Granted, I make due because I've never been ambitious enough to make my own and have found that Claussen pickles are a decent stand-in. But seriously --- $3.99 for 1 jar of pickles? Hmph. There has to be a better way. Well, my friends, there is!!

I'm so thankful I stumbled on a recipe for refrigerator dill pickles over at Annie’s Eats. The main reason I've never made delicious little spears o' cucumber into pickles before is that, to be honest, canning intimidates me. Probably has to do with the burns on my legs from a few years ago, but I'll chalk part of it up to laziness too. And the amount of stuff I don't have that I'd have to purchase. Too much work!

I'm happy to say that this recipe really couldn't be any easier, and the pickles turn our fantastically crunchy and retain their vibrant green color. I'm not sure what I'll do when Mr. Winter comes back and I can't find pickling cukes anymore, but that's a worry for a few months down the road.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles
From Annie’s Eats

Ingredients for the brine:
3 c. water
6 Tbsp. white vinegar
3 Tbsp. kosher salt

Minced garlic
Fresh dill
Pickling cucumbers, cut into spears [and chips! I made pickle chips too!]

Combine all brine ingredients in a pitcher, stirring well to dissolve salt. Put several sprigs of fresh dill in the bottom of each jar. Pack half full with cucumber spears. Layer with more sprigs of fresh dill. Finish filling the jar with cucumbers. Sprinkle some minced garlic on top. Pour brine into the jar until it is full and pickles are completely submerged. Put the lid on and allow to refrigerate at least 2 days before eating.

Like I said man, wicked good! I might cut down on the salt next time, using only 2 Tbsp. instead of 3 to see what happens; they seem to get saltier the longer they sit. Serious yummage here folks, and no cooking or canning! Enjoy!

*Pics to come --- they're still on my camera. Story of my life!