Truth be told, I have never properly canned anything in my life. I keep fancying that I will some day bathe mason jars in boiling hot water on my stove top and store jars of delicious long lasting goodness in my pantry. But another truth is, I just don’t have the time to do all of the things I’d like to do. As fun as bathing mason jars in scalding hot water sounds and all, I have more pressing matters.
Like gardening.
As counter productive as it might sound, there’s just something about digging in the dirt that washes all the day’s cares away.
Honestly though, I am probably about as good at gardening as I am at canning. I want to do a little bit of everything but I don’t always have time to do it all. Or properly.
We have terrible soil in our yard. So last year I finally got smart and built some raised beds and started square foot gardening. I got spoiled our first yard where I could grow anything. Practically all I had to do was toss it outdoors. Our current house, no so much.
That’s why I was excited about trying the new Gro-ables seed pods. You pop them into your garden, water and watch them grow. It’s that easy! If you don’t believe me you can see me plant my salad and herb container garden right here.
Welcome to Seed Watch 2014! My little dill plant is getting so big! It seems kind of ominious to say I can’t wait to eat it…but I. Can’t. Wait.
I love dill, any herb really, but dill is one of my all time favorites. And any time I have some fresh dill growing in my garden making my kind-of-famous Garlic & Dill Pickles is just sort of expected.
In addition to a large bunch of fresh dill, you will need:
– 1 qt Apple Cider Vinegar (minus 1/2 cup*)
– 2 qts of water
– 3 TBS of brown sugar
– 2/3 cup Canning/Pickling Salt
– Large bunch of fresh Dill
– Head of fresh garlic
– 2 tsp Alum
– 25 – 30 pickling cucumber
*I like vinegar but I don’t necessarily like for my pickles to taste like vinegar. That’s why I always remove about 1/2 cup of vinegar from my 1 qt container. I mean, it’s pickles, you know vinegar is in there but you don’t want it to be the overwhelming taste.
Directions:
Heat vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Meanwhile, chop dill, garlic and cucumbers (anyway you like). Place cucumbers, garlic, dill and alum in a large plastic or glass container – a reused ice cream bucket or the top of a cake container are perfect. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture and allow to cool for 1 hour. You can leave the pickles in the container if it has a lid to seal it or you can place them in jars. They will keep in container for up to two weeks and in sealed jars for longer. Must be refrigerated.
How’s that for fast and delicious! And you can always tweak the recipe to your liking or even add some other fun things like peppercorn and corriander seeds to the mix.
I love how these look in jars! And I always feel like I’ve accomplished something huge whenever I make them. It’s almost embarrasing how easy they are.
They are perfect for gift giving! My family loves them and so do their friends.
And imagine how impressed everyone will be when you tell them not only did you “can” them yourself but you practically grew them in your backyard. Don’t worry. We won’t tell them how easy it was.
Your garden looks amazing!
Thank you so much! Hopefully it will grow amazing, too! 😉