Happpppy is what ZINNNNNNIA'S make me!!
My zinnias are gnarly and stubby and this drought hasn't been too easy on them, but I still like to cut a few every now and then!
I have some good news for you!
For those of you who have made
SUN DILLS...
You can also make sun dill SLICES with the same recipe that you use for whole sun dills!
The recipe is the same, except, I've found a solution for those of you who do not have grape leaves for this recipe that calls for them, you can substitute powdered alum instead for crispness...
The pickles on the left have cured and been refrigerated and now many have been eaten on hamburgers and with sandwiches. The only difference between sliced sun dills and the whole ones is that the sliced pickles only need a few days to cure in the sunshine.
Also, this is such a great way to use those picklers that got left on the plant a little too long!
I know on those hot days, you can find a giant pickle, where just last night sat a tiny one, they can become large in just twenty four hours!
Sun Dill Pickles
Spears or slices: 2-3 days in the sun to cure
Whole dills: Up to a week in the sun to cure
Two half-gallon jars or a one-gallon jar with screw-on lid
Wash pickles, cut out bad spots and leave whole
Grape leaves: 2-3 for each layer, washed OR see below if you don't have access to grape leaves
Fresh dill, washed (use generously!)
fresh garlic cloves
About forty-fifty pickling cucumbers, or enough to fill a gallon jar, packed tightly
In the bottom of the jar start with a layer of
GRAPE LEAVES, then
Heads of DILL,
1-2 garlic cloves,
Then PICKLES (I use small to medium picklers for this, NEVER large ones.)
Take the pickles halfway up the jar and then start over again with the grape leaves, dill, garlic, and end with the grape leaves on top, under the lid.
Then add this solution to the jar when it's stuffed with the pickles, dill, grape leaves and garlic cloves:
6-1/2 cups water
3-1/4 cups white vinegar
1/2 c. Kosher salt
***IF NO GRAPE LEAVES ARE AVAILABLE, instead you may use
1/8 teaspoon alum
*stir to dissolve salt and pour over and then seal the jar and set out in the sun for a week (or 2-3 days for slices and spears!), turning the jar once daily for even "curing".
Refrigerate when done and ENJOY!
**PLEASE NOTE: the whole garlic cloves turn a blue-ish color in the sun. This is fine, and the garlic is fine to keep in the jar while you use up the pickles. No worries!
Use a canning jar with a screw-on lid, this recipe is for a gallon. I used these half-gallon jars, bought for me by my husband at the hardware store. I like the wide opening at the top, I can get my hand down in there to pack the pickles in very easily.
A half-dozen of these jars are priced under ten dollars. They work out well, because the half-gallon jars fit into our fridge much more easily. I'll just put them back into the cardboard case when I'm done and use them again next summer.
Hope your pickles do well!
Please leave any questions you have in the comments section or EMAIL me at
old centennial farmhouse at g mail dot com.
What are YOU getting from your garden and preserving these days?
2 comments:
Pickles are great with my favorite being of the half sour varieties. Richard
I put up 6 pints of zucchini relish and made zucchini cookies today. I have so much zucchini I don't know what to do with it all. You are right everything grows to fast small one day huge the next. And our weather has not been that warm this summer at all. But the garden is doing well. So let the canning begin.
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