Pickled

The first harvest of cucumbers are now pickled. This quart really only holds about 4 cucumbers cut into spears. It's my first time trying it, so I hope no one dies. We'll try them in a couple of months.

Here is my recipe. I mixed two different recipes and added a couple of ingredients. After the pickles were added, I was left with a cup of the brine.

1 cup white vinegar
3 cups of water
1 table spoon of sea salt
2 teaspoons of mustard seed
1 teaspoon of whole pepper corns
4 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs of dill
1 quart jar
all the seeds from one jalapeno

Keep in mind this is my first time. If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes.

PREP: Soak cucumbers in ice water for an a hour or two. Before placing them in the jar, cut them into spears and leave them in the ice water.

Boil quart jar and lid. Keep them boiling up until you fill the jar with ingredients.

MIX: Bring the vinegar, water and salt to a boil. Take prepared quart jar from boiling water. Place half the garlic cloves and half the dill in the jar. Place the cucumber spears in the jar. Pour in brine until pickles are submerged. Pour in spices, jalapeno seeds and the rest of the garlic and dill. Top off with brine until liquid is within an inch of jar top. Carefully remove any debris from the jar surface and seal the jar. Place back in the boiling water for a minute or two. Remove and place on counter to cool. Jar lid should contract.

Pickles should be ready to eat in a few weeks, or so I hope! I'll come back here and let you know. My hope is it will have a typical dill pickle flavor with a slight peppery taste with mild heat. If they work out, and they do what I hope they do, I'm calling them "Whistlers."