SPICY FRIDGE PICKLES
•It’s summertime and all of the garden fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful. I’d love to say that I grew these cucumbers in my vast garden, but I’m not having too much luck this year. I do have some tomatoes coming soon, lots of herbs and beautiful rainbow chard that only me and the bugs seem to enjoy. Truth is, I ordered too many cases of cucumbers at work and need to use them up and wanted to try something different. And who loves pickles……THIS GIRL!! I didn’t follow any sort of recipe, just used what we had around and used flavors I thought would go good together. Think I kinda hit it out of the park with this one. They are crunchy, tangy, a little sweet with a nice spicy kick. You can make it spicier with chilies or peppers, add some carrots to pickle along with the cucumbers, or add different herbs like tarragon or thyme. Make a big batch and divide up into canning jars and give away or bring as a hostess gift (so Martha Stewart) to your next summer BBQ. Will last in the fridge for a couple weeks…..or two days in my house =)
In a large pot, add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt and bring to a simmer just to dissolve the sugar and salt. Turn off heat.
Add the red pepper flakes.
Add the fennel seeds.
Add the caraway seeds.
Add the black pepper. Whisk all together and let come to room temp while you work on the veggies.
You’re going to need to thinly slice the cucumbers using a mandolin* or a sharp knife. I have a pretty fancy one at work, but your can get a plastic mandolin for not that much money. It makes quick work of things. You will use it more then you might think to make potato chips, slice tomatoes, make zucchini planks for veggie lasagna, slice mushrooms and makes life easy for shaved fennel and grapefruit salad.
Quarter the onions and thinly slice those as well. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off large strips of lemon zest. Thinly slice (would not recommend using the mandolin for this if you’re fond of your finger tips) or chop garlic.
In a large plastic or glass container that has a tight fitting lid, layer the cucumber, onion, garlic, lemon zest and dill in about 5 layers. You don’t have to be fancy or anything, just want to make sure that all of the flavors mix together.
Pour over the pickling liquid making sure that everything is covered. Use a smaller lid or a plate to press everything down and make sure all stays submerged. Put the lid on the container and pop into the fridge. After a couple of hours take out of the fridge and stir or shake things up a bit. Do that a couple more times. Let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Will only get better as it sits♥Enjoy
•Will last in the fridge for a couple of weeks. You can try the hot boiling canning method, but think that will effect the crispness. Just don’t make more then you can eat or give away in two weeks.
