Everlasting Pickles
This will be our 6th year gardening. Every year we build upon our knowledge from the previous year. This year instead of having our cucumbers trellis on the garden fence we built an arch for them to grow up. The result was incredible! A leafy arbor buzzing with bees and perfect cucumbers hanging everywhere.
Fresh garden cucumbers are unbeatable. They improve a hot summer afternoon with their crisp juiciness and mild sweetness. They are indelibly refreshing and versatile. You can have them alone with some salt and chili powder, as a salad with rice vinegar and sea salt, or with yogurt to make tzaziki or raita. In this post I’ve gone super simple with two recipes that will prolong your enjoyment of these delicious vegetables long after summer has ended.
Refrigerator cucumbers
1-2 cucumbers
3 cloves garlic
2 small chilis or a dash of crushed red pepper
1 tsp dill seed
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp Kosher salt (or pink salt)
1/2 cup white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1 cup water
Boil salt, water and vinegar together until it reaches a boil. Take off heat. Slice cucumbers into 8ths or however you like them (if let whole prick skin with fork to allow brine to penetrate the cucumber). Peel garlic then use the back of your knife to smash it down, it releases incredible amounts of flavor. Cut the chilis lengthwise and either take out or leave the seeds (the seeds carry the heat). Add the spices to the top then add the cooled brine. Close up the jar and shake to incorporate the ingredients together. Let it rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours for their flavors to meld. Will last up to 4 weeks but only if you can stop eating them before then!
I’ve been also been making fruit and herb ice trays- cucumbers and mint, orange and sage, grapefruit and thyme, watermelon and tarragon. I pop a couple cubes into a clear beverage to enhance my drink and to savor summer all year long.
Fruit and herb ice
Chop cucumbers into tiny squares and place in ice cube trays with herbs such as mint, basil, tarragon, whatever strikes your fancy. Then fill with ice, let freeze, then pop into a clear beverage such as seltzer or gin.
