When you got cucumbers coming out of your ears...

You make Pickles!

I found this on FoodPhotoBlog which took me to The Hungry Mouse. Perfect, no CANNING!



Look at the 'bit' pictorial step by step, then the recipe will follow:






Wash and dry your pickling cucumbers. If you get them from your own garden, don't let them grow to full size before you cut them off the vine.









Slice them to your pickle slice size.











Put a layer of cucumbers and salt. Repeat.












I used a colander to layer my sliced cucumbers with salt. I wanted the water to drain off, not for them to be soaking in their own salty water.








Zingy Bread and Butter Pickles
adapted from The Hungry Mouse

4 large pickling cucumbers

1 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar

1 cup water

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (I used Chili Pepper Vinegar)

6 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt (for the cukes) + 2 Tbsp. kosher salt (for the brine)

1/2 tsp. mustard seed

1/4 tsp. celery seed (or ground celery seed)

1/4 tsp. ground tumeric
1 Tbsp. dried red pepper flakes
Makes 4 - 5 cups of pickles (liquid + pickles)

Prep the cukes:

• Wash them well under cold water and pat ‘em dry. Nip off each end with a sharp knife and discard. Then cut each cuke into slices.
• Make the slices as even as you can, toss them into a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
• Mix them around to distribute the salt.
• Let the cukes sit like this on the counter for one hour. This helps to draw water out of the cucumbers, which will help them stay crunchy when they’re pickled.
• After about an hour, you should have a fair amount of water in your bowl. Drain the sliced cukes and discard the liquid.
• Layer the pickles in a bowl.

Make the brine:

• Put the rice wine vinegar, water, and white balsamic vinegar in a medium-sized pot. Add the sugar and 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.Whisk to combine. Set the pot on the stove over high heat.
• Cook, whisking occasionally, until the sugar and salt completely dissolve.
• Leave the mixture on high heat. Toss in the mustard seed, celery seed, and tumeric. Whisk the mixture occasionally, and cook on high heat until it comes up to a boil.

Assemble the pickles:

• When the mixture boils, take it off the heat. Pour it over the sliced cucumbers.
• Let the pickles cool uncovered until they reach room temperature.
• Then cover them with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge overnight.
• The next day, they should be have developed a deeper yellow color and a fairly intense pickle-y flavor.

Tomorrow your pickles are ready to eat. Keep them in the fridge for a few weeks, if they last that long.

Serve and enjoy!

Thanks Hungry Mouse! Enjoy-