We’ve had a lot of cucumbers this year, but not from Rose-colored-glasses-firmly-planted Señora Weinhaus. She is truly the definition of an optimist. Just about every year since I have known her she has attempted to grow vegetables and herbs in the garden on the side of the garage. She has had fair success with the herbs, but just about every year the deer get the vegetables. She has tried all sort of things to keep them out. Right now we have a Mission Impossible web of fishing line around the garden. The deer have still managed to sate their appetites. If it is not the deer then it is rabbits. However, the rabbit population seems to go in cycles. Some years you see many, and other years they are as rare as Yoda using common syntax. Indubitably, spring will roll around and she will be trying again.
Question became what to do with all the cucumbers we had “shared” with us. I found a recipe for Easy Refrigerator Pickles from the Taste of Home website that results in absolutely fabulous pickles. We are working on our third batch.
Follow the link above or the recipe is below. Enjoy.
Ingredients
6 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
Place cucumbers and onions in a large bowl; set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook and stir just until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over cucumber mixture; cool. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.
Señora and I have gone back and forth about peeling the cucumbers. I think we have decided the peels give a nice extra of a crisp crunch when you eat them. Red onions give a nice contrast.
Keep well.
They are so terribly delicious. The texture, the flavor…..oh my