Pickled Pickles

She picked a peck of pickled pickles… and that is how this story goes.

I admittedly (and sort of recently),  learned one can plant cucumbers, and one can plant cucumber pickles.  These are cucumber pickles.

Little did I know what I was doing when I planted the seeds, but they have grown to leaps and bounds that we have pickles, pickles, and more pickles.   They are pretty fun to discover underneath the big leafy vines.  The cucumbers need to be checked almost everyday, as they grow fast!

Once they are picked, they need to be cleaned and dried and used within a few days.   Or they can be pickled and canned!  This recipe is a variation of this green tomato pickle recipe, which comes from Denise.

Sometimes, I think canning can sound so intimidating…but it’s actually quite easy for these pickled pickles.   I either slice the cucumbers or cut them into spears (depending on size and how well they fit into the jars).  Once I cut them and place in jars then I place 2 black peppercorns in each jar, a sprinkle of crushed pepper, dill seed, alum, 1/2 of a garlic clove and then fill the jar with the salt water vinegar solution – almost to the brim. Then cook with a rolling boil, hot water bath for about 10 minutes.