Zesty Bread and Butter Pickles

We haven't really been up to anything overly interesting, so I am going to try interspersing my regular posts with recipes and pictures of the canning and cooking that I do! We really enjoy making delicious canned items using our harvest and getting to share the bounty with our family and friends! It is a lot of work, but the finished product is worth it and the more that I can the better I get! And, I need to practice if we are ever going to open Cote's Cafe and Pickle Emporium (aka, Pickle Me Silly)!!

Our cucumber crop has been particularly good this year, so I have been pickling up a storm! I started with Zesty Bread and Butter Pickles, which contain cucumbers AND onions from the garden!

Zesty Bread and Butter Pickles

10 cups sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers (I used field
cucumbers)

4 medium onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup pickling or canning salt

3 cups white vinegar

2 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp prepared horseradish

2 tbsp grated gingerroot

1. In a glass or stainless steel bowl, combine cucumbers, onions and salt. Mix well, cover with cold water and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Transfer to a colander placed over a sink, rinse with cool running water and drain thoroughly.

2. Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids.

3. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, horseradish, and gingerroot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in vegetables and return to a boil.

4. Pack vegetables into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar. Ladle hot pickling liquid in to jar to cover vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

5. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

I usually cool them upside down. It is something that my mother taught be to do.

And, this is what the finished product looks like! Don't they look delicious? I am so excited at how they came out and am proud that our garden produces such wonderful vegetables!

Oh yeah, and this is what Derrick looks like after almost slicing off the tip of his finger. . . Thanks for your help honey!

We finally got the cds with the professional wedding pictures so we will be able to get our prints and fill frames soon! Can't wait!

Other than that, I don't think there is much going on. Stay tuned for a post about Derrick's trip to the Pat's game and our weekend of camping, as well as another pickle post at some point!

Love, Sarah