Friday, July 20, 2012

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I picked a bunch of cucumbers this week and decided to look for a dill pickle recipe, since I still have a bunch of Sweet Freezer Pickles in the freezer.  The kids are sweet pickled out, but I think they will go for dill pickles.

I came across this recipe from One Perfect Bite (who got it from Bobby Flay) and decided to give it a try.

Here's the recipe, with my substitutions:

Refrigerator Dill Pickles...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
(distilled white vinegar is most likely made from GMO's)
1/4 to 1/3 cup granulated sugar
(I used cane sugar)
4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water
2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced or cut into spears
(you can pickle any cukes, but ones grown specifically for pickling tend to make more crisp pickles, from what I have read)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1) Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl(not plastic). Add hot water and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is clear. Cool to room temperature.
2) Place cucumbers, garlic and dill in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Pour brine over all and turn to coat cucumbers. Cover with a plate to hold them down and keep them covered in brine. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice. Transfer to an airtight container.


Keeps up to two weeks. 
Makes about 1 quart.

Here's how mine came out. This is only part of them, the others we ate already were good and crispy! Yum!


Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Chick Update: 7 weeks old

Our Light Sussex chicks are 7 weeks old today.  They are really filling out, and I am impressed by the sturdiness of their legs and feet. To me, they are reminiscent of the Cornish Rock chickens that we raised for meat a couple years ago. I think this is a good thing, since one reason we are raising them is for a potential meat bird.

 We've had no casualties with the Light Sussex chickens since they were chicks, and the one surviving one that had a crooked neck has recovered and I'm not sure as to which one it even is.

It got really hot today (104 plus  humidity) and I put some ice cubes in their water.  I also gave them some weeds and some bug-chewed chard from the garden to give them something to do.

The camera is not working right....I hope to be back soon to post pics or video!