Pickle Goddess

Some people have claimed recently that i'm nesting, but truth be told I've always gone through fits of homeliness and creativity.

Last week I decided to make pickled cucumbers. Back in September I made pickled cucumbers and chokos (or chayote), and they were delicious. The Man's boss loved them. So knowing that he was coming this week to visit, I decided to make some more pickles and do a bit of a suck up job!
Truth be told, I hoped that by sweetening the deal with pickles, I would miraculously reduce the amount of whinging that goes on when he comes to visit!

So last Monday evening I went to the markets in town and bought some delicious, organically grown cucumbers (the chokos are now out of season), and then I set about working along my pickle production line.

The production line

When I made my last batch of pickles back in September I followed this recipe and I found it very straight forward and easy. The pickles were delicious and they kept for ages in the fridge... In fact I still have a jar from the September batch sitting in the fridge now!

This time, I had trouble finding the recipe that I'd used again (stupid pregnant brain) so I just worked off the top of my head and, surprisingly, came closer to the original recipe than I gave myself credit for at the time!

Last time I used pickling spice from the supermarket, mustard seed, dill, and garlic. This time I used mustard seed, dill, garlic, and onion in varying combinations. I don't like spicy food, but in two of the six jars I also added a chilli from my garden, as I know the boss likes them spicy.

After about an hour of hard labour, cutting, heating and packing, I was left with six glorious jars of pickles (and a fair bit of washing up)!

Yum yum x 6!

For the jars I just used old pasta sauce jars that I had been keeping for just this occasion. I put them through a wash cycle in the dishwasher and filled and sealed them while they were still hot from the washing. Between the lids and the tops of the jar I put two squares of wax paper before tightening the lid, to help give a good seal.

I find that these pickles are delicious on their own, as part of an antipasto platter, on a sandwich, or in a salad (especially in potato salad, where they add a bit of crunch and texture)!

After a week of sitting in the fridge, Mr BossMan cracked open a jar yesterday, and promptly declared them to be "not pickled enough" so they have been left to cure for another while.

I might give them another few days and then crack open a jar myself!