Sweet Summertime Dreams

A reminder of summertime that still seems rather far off.

The sunshine outside today seemed to hint at the warmer days that are sure to come.

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” 

 
― John Steinbeck (Travels with Charley: In Search of America)

 

Easy Refrigerator Pickles -- Yummm!

Summer's bounty--what to do with it?

One of my favorite recipes is Refrigerator Pickles--so easy and oh so good!

 Just slice up your cukes and onions and layer them in a large jar.  Mix your brine, heat it and pour over the veggies.  Wait a few days and then devour.  How easy is that?

My family loves these pickles--including my two-year-old granddaughter. 

I usually plant bush cucumbers so they don't produce the large slicer cucumbers.  You will want to pick smaller cukes before they develop the large seeds inside; but you want them large enough to slice into nice rings--not gherkin sized.

I usually use sweet onions (Vidalia or such).  I don't plant my own onions so I usually have the sweet ones on hand for my general cooking purposes.  These are yummy when they are pickled too--not super strong.

I use old gallon jars for these pickles.  Some of the lids are a little worn inside so I just line them with waxed paper like my mom used to when reusing old jars for storage.

I also have some half-gallon jars I saved from store-bought kosher dill pickles.  They are just the right size--the layers will fill the jar nicely.  As the pickles wilt down, you will end up with a finished product about half the size.  

I usually make multiple batches of these as the summer progresses so I can give to my sons' families and also have a couple jars in our spare frig in the garage.  These will keep for a long time so you can enjoy pickles in the months ahead.  I know the recipe says to store them for one month--they keep just fine for a much longer period.  After all, they are pickled.

One other thing I do that makes the recipe quick and easy is to use refrigerated minced garlic.  I always have that in my frig--I don't usually do fresh garlic.  It works as a quick substitute in this recipe.

Try a batch and enjoy!

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Easy Refrigerator Pickles

• 6 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 2 pounds)
• 2 cups thinly sliced onion
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Place 3 cups cucumber in a medium glass bowl; top with 1 cup onion. Repeat procedure with the remaining 3 cups cucumber and remaining 1 cup onion.
2. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; stir well. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Pour over cucumber mixture; let cool. Cover and chill at least 4 days.
3. Note: Pickles may be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Original recipe from Cooking Light

 Note:  You can leave the crushed red pepper flakes out if you don't want them to have a "bite" to them.

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 What's your favorite pickle recipe?  Please share it with us!

Country Life

I love the country life!
I love summertime!
I love surprises!

When you put them all together, you get something that looks like this:

You look out your kitchen window and see this strutting just off the side of your deck...

or you see these cute babies...

with Mama not far behind...

keeping careful watch...

  

or you find these yummy bites of nature freely growing behind your shed and you envision the scrumptious cobbler that will result...mmm-mmm.  Sorry, no pic of the cobbler--I didn't think of that until it was half gone, then it wasn't nearly as pretty!  ;)

Berry pickin' 2013 

 

or while picking "said berries", you hear little sounds coming from the back of the shed.  You search a little and find this cute face looking up at you.  We had only seen what was obviously Mama once, just the day before, in our front yard.  Not sure where she came from and why she chose us--but they are adorable.  Our two-year-old granddaughter enjoyed peeking in at them.  As they were mewing, she said, "Awww, they want their mama."

 

or as you poke around in the gardens, pulling a few weeds, you find these hiding in those cucumber vines :)  Can't wait to get enough so I can make some refrigerator pickles...stay tuned for that recipe...

and did you catch this glimpse of Mama in the garden pic above?  She was sneaking past the garden beds when I took this pic this morning.  How appropriate that I could include her in this.

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So who else loves the country life?  I'd love to hear from you!

"A country life is to be preferred, for there we see the works of God." - WILLIAM PENN

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Life's so fast

Summer Eye Candy

Riverbank beauties....

 "Earth laughs in flower."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sundrops--an appropriate name, don't you think?

A couple little visitors to our yard one evening--Mama was lurking in the woods keeping a watchful eye.

I love the happy "faces" of pansies!

Beauty in a Mother's Day basket!

I purchased this sign years ago at the estate sale of an elderly neighbor lady from my childhood.  I remember waking in the mornings and hearing her outside tending her flowers and always whistling--really loud for a wisp of a lady--dear Mabel--a sweet old soul.  This picture is a very appropriate tribute to her and her lovely flowers.

A bit overgrown but lots of pretty lilies...

One of my favorite fragrances of spring/summer--Mock Orange!

Can anybody identify this flower for me?  It was along for the ride in the pot with another perennial I purchased at a Garden Club sale several years ago...

You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt.

~Author Unknown

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Who else loves gardens?  And the free therapy that goes along with tending them?  :)