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The shelf was empty.
I peered around boxes and large pots that I stored out in the shed. Nothing.
All of my canning jars were gone.
It’s a mixed blessing to see my canning supply shelf empty. On the one hand, I’ve got dozens of jars filled with the bounty that comes off the farm this time of the summer. On the other, I had 10 pounds of cucumbers that needed to be preserved for winter. An old Army saying that my husband loves to use, popped into my head.
“Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.”
I chuckled to myself. Guilty! I hadn’t planned properly. I should have had several extra boxes of jars ready on the supply shelf. The farm produce was abundant this year. I knew I was going to have a lot of canning and preserving to do, and I just forgot to get the supplies when I was in town.
I didn’t want to be accused of Piss-Poor Performance. How embarrassing. I sat down and thought about what I could do with 10 pounds of cucumbers. I doubted we could eat that much cucumber salad. Panzanella was out too. I hadn’t made any bread for days. I wondered in whose world did bread ever have time to go stale. I had a hard time keeping bread made in the afternoon around until breakfast time. Panzanella did sound good though…
I shook myself. I was veering off topic. Back to the problem at hand.
Thinking it might help me find a solution, I opened and closed cabinet doors and wandered my kitchen, letting my mental wheels turn. A scrap of paper caught my eye. It was a recipe my elderly neighbor gave me days before. I had left it on the counter, too distracted at the time to put it in my recipe box. I picked it up. Freezer Pickles!
I was skeptical, though. How would water-laden cucumbers survive the harshness of the freezer? To me, it seemed that they would come out mushy- their smooth, tender flesh destroyed. My neighbor assured me that they came out crisp and delightful. Bereft of any other ideas, I decided to try it. I had all the ingredients, plenty of time, and a powerful curiosity.
Farmer-Approved Freezer Pickles
10 pounds fresh cucumbers, sliced.
3 pounds onions, sliced.
1 cup salt (Canning & Pickling Salt works best)
1 pint cider vinegar
½ cup local honey
½ cup water
½ cup chopped fresh dill
Combine the cucumbers, onions, dill and salt. Toss thoroughly until the salt is dissolved. Let stand 4-5 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally. After 4-5 hours, drain in a colander. Do not rinse. Add remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Bag in quart freezer bags, lay out flat to freeze and store!
Sometimes these old recipes can be simple and dull, written in spidery pencil, barely legible. Modern generations- myself included- can tend to scoff at vintage knowledge. In this case, however, the recipe was accurate and effective. I changed the amounts and substituted honey for the white refined sugar called for, but for the most part, this is a little bit of Kuyahoora Valley history, stored in your freezer, waiting to amaze you.
I peered around boxes and large pots that I stored out in the shed. Nothing.
All of my canning jars were gone.
It’s a mixed blessing to see my canning supply shelf empty. On the one hand, I’ve got dozens of jars filled with the bounty that comes off the farm this time of the summer. On the other, I had 10 pounds of cucumbers that needed to be preserved for winter. An old Army saying that my husband loves to use, popped into my head.
“Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.”
I chuckled to myself. Guilty! I hadn’t planned properly. I should have had several extra boxes of jars ready on the supply shelf. The farm produce was abundant this year. I knew I was going to have a lot of canning and preserving to do, and I just forgot to get the supplies when I was in town.
I didn’t want to be accused of Piss-Poor Performance. How embarrassing. I sat down and thought about what I could do with 10 pounds of cucumbers. I doubted we could eat that much cucumber salad. Panzanella was out too. I hadn’t made any bread for days. I wondered in whose world did bread ever have time to go stale. I had a hard time keeping bread made in the afternoon around until breakfast time. Panzanella did sound good though…
I shook myself. I was veering off topic. Back to the problem at hand.
Thinking it might help me find a solution, I opened and closed cabinet doors and wandered my kitchen, letting my mental wheels turn. A scrap of paper caught my eye. It was a recipe my elderly neighbor gave me days before. I had left it on the counter, too distracted at the time to put it in my recipe box. I picked it up. Freezer Pickles!
I was skeptical, though. How would water-laden cucumbers survive the harshness of the freezer? To me, it seemed that they would come out mushy- their smooth, tender flesh destroyed. My neighbor assured me that they came out crisp and delightful. Bereft of any other ideas, I decided to try it. I had all the ingredients, plenty of time, and a powerful curiosity.
Farmer-Approved Freezer Pickles
10 pounds fresh cucumbers, sliced.
3 pounds onions, sliced.
1 cup salt (Canning & Pickling Salt works best)
1 pint cider vinegar
½ cup local honey
½ cup water
½ cup chopped fresh dill
Combine the cucumbers, onions, dill and salt. Toss thoroughly until the salt is dissolved. Let stand 4-5 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally. After 4-5 hours, drain in a colander. Do not rinse. Add remaining ingredients and stir to incorporate. Bag in quart freezer bags, lay out flat to freeze and store!
Sometimes these old recipes can be simple and dull, written in spidery pencil, barely legible. Modern generations- myself included- can tend to scoff at vintage knowledge. In this case, however, the recipe was accurate and effective. I changed the amounts and substituted honey for the white refined sugar called for, but for the most part, this is a little bit of Kuyahoora Valley history, stored in your freezer, waiting to amaze you.