Homemade Dill Pickles

Here’s a fun fact for my readers out there… my first baby word (besides Mama and Dada) was pickle.  No joke!  What’s even more amazing is that my sister’s first “word” was Tom Brokaw, Roger Mudd.  Apparently, since I was not even conceptualized yet, my grandmother was sitting on the couch with my sister watching the nightly news and my sister busted out two of the news anchors’ names.  Ok, so pickle isn’t that great compared to my sister’s first 4 words, but it’s pretty cool right?  Anyways, I do love pickles and depending on what mood I’m in, will go for either dill spears, bread and butter chips, or baby gherkins.  After our trip to the farmer’s market last weekend, you may recall that the hubs and I did not end up buying the cheese bread, but bought some goat cheese and some pickle cucumbers instead.  I decided I was going to make some dill pickles.  It was my first time making pickles, so I looked at quite a few different recipes to get an idea of what I wanted.  I definitely love onions and garlic, so I knew I wanted to add some of those babies to the mix.  I also found some pickling spice at the grocery store which saved me time and money from having to buy all those spices separately.

What about you… do you like pickles?  If so, what kinds?  Have you ever made your own before?  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 quart-sized mason jars and lids
• 8-10 pickle cucumbers (depending on the size)
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly in rings
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 3 tbsp sea salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp pickling spice
• 2 tsp dill seeds

Directions:

1. Boil mason jars and lids in water and allow to air dry.
2. Clean and cut cucumbers into quarters and divide between mason jars.
3. Scatter onion rings and garlic over cucumbers.
4. In a large stock pot, combine water, vinegar, salt, sugar, pickling spice, and dill seed and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and fill each mason jar with vinegar mixture.
5. Allow jars to cool for 15 minutes before placing tops on and sealing.
6. If refrigerating, allow jars to cool completely before placing in refrigerator.  If canning jars for future use, boil jars in a hot water bath for at least 20 minutes until the top of the seal is pressed down securely.  Allow jars to cool completely before storing in a dark, cool place.

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