Staying cool as a cucumber with Among the Colors.

My garden is official going wild. From now until October it will be a part-time project to upkeep, harvest, cook and preserve all the goodies that our harvest is giving us. First up in our garden preserving process are PICKLES. The cucumber vines are going off, and I couldn’t be happier. This is my third year growing cucumbers and, finally, I seem to be having some luck. For the first batch of cucumbers, I didn’t have much time, so I opted for this quick pickle recipe to get me started. With quick pickles, it is a fast, no-fuss process that allows me to harvest a handful of cucumbers and make pickles without busting out the whole pressure-canning process. You just refrigerate them for a week and you are good to go. The pickles are good for four to six weeks, so they are great for all your cookouts and also make a great hostess gift.

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Small Batch Garlic & Dill Pickles

Makes 5 pint jars.

  • • 3–4 cucumbers
  • • ½ red onion, sliced and cut in halves
  • • 3 cups apple cider vinegar
  • • 3 cups water
  • • 4 tablespoons of sea salt
  • • 2 teaspoons of organic cane sugar
  • • 1 head of garlic
  • • I bunch of fresh dill
  • • 10 peppercorns
  • • 1 tablespoon chili flakes
  • • 1 tablespoon celery seeds
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Slice cucumbers into wedges. Bring water and vinegar to boil; mix in sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Turn off heat and let cool. Meanwhile, prep the garlic. Peel the garlic cloves and then give them a smash.

To assemble the jars, first, stack in the pickles, and save some room for the other flavors and vinegar mixture. Next, add in dill and garlic. I like to two to three cloves and about four pinches of dill. Add red onion. I like to do four or five halved, single slices per jar. Next, give a pinch or two of the celery seed and crushed pepper. Once the vinegar mixture has cooled, pour it into the jars making sure to cover the top of the cucumbers. Seal jars well. Refrigerate for one week. Pickles will keep four to six weeks.