Lord have mercy, it’s been too long. All I can say is that life is amazing, but busy! I look on with envious green eyes those that have the ability to consistently capture special moments. I am living the dream, but sadly in the buzz of activity, I forget to break out my camera. My head is now spinning with preparations for the new school year: photos for posters, newsletter writing, cooking video, parent meetings, Back to School night, class socials, and now we’ve just signed up for AYSO soccer. Ah, parenthood. Busy Bee aside, this is absolutely the most rewarding time of my life. Jake is blossoming in the most heartening way, and it’s so beautiful to watch.

Here’s a recipe that I adapted for our garden program, “From The Ground Up.”  I switched all of the ingredients to organic, used unbleached sugar instead of white, changed the white vinegar to apple cider vinegar, giving the pickles a yummy, tangy bite, and iodized salt goes the natural way of the sea. But of course, m’ dears! I am also sharing the video for the recipe on this link, because heck, it’s awesome and informative, and I’m super proud of our school. Whoop!  Organic Pickles

Jake and friends

Tangy Dill Pickles

Ingredients:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup unbleached sugar
4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water
handful of fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Brine

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, and dill seeds in a heatproof bowl. Add hot water and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside and cool to room temperature.
2. Slice the cucumbers into thin disks. Chop the garlic and fresh dill. Place the cucumber, dill, and garlic into the pickling jar.
3. Check to make sure that the brine is cool. Using a funnel, slowly pour the brine through the funnel into the jar until it is 3/4 full. Twist the top on tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours.

The pickles will keep for 2 weeks.

Related posts:

• Heirloom Tomato and Bread Salad with Arugula and Avocado Our neighbors Abe and Silver have a wonderfully prolific avocado tree in their garden, bearing fruit even in the wintry month of January. There are so many avocados growing from this tree that Abe drops bags to us each week. I don't know about ...
• Heavenly Hummus with Toasted Pine Nuts and Herbs This moreish, silky, hummus is going to keep you coming back for, well, more. What can you say for a recipe that is so easy, nutritious, and full of flavor? Let's just thank the Food Gods quickly and start munching. Of course we all know that it's ...
• Soulful Red Beans and Rice I've been hankering for a another healthy soul food recipe. Red beans and rice is one of those sacred recipes from the south that is haunted by all things pork: Ham hock, andouille sausage, and bacon fat. It can be a bit of a leap of faith to lea...