A Passion For Pickles

 

 

Everybody needs a pickle patch...

 

 

 

and with a few jugs of vinegar...

a couple of bundles of fresh dill...

 

some good garlic and peppers...

stuff it all into a quart jar,

and you have 

a few hundred mouth-watering

bites of love 

to last another year!

mmmm, pass me the pickles please!!!

What Would Grandma Bertha Say?

Since we began this blog

my sister and I 

refer to each other now

as "Pickles" (that's me)

and "Petunia" (that's her)...

just two very strong constants

in both our lives...

Pickles

and

Petunias

Petunias planted every spring...

Pickles canned every late summer...

 Now that I've canned 300 

quarts of pickles

(all by myself!)

I feel I've earned 

my pet name of "Pickles"

 It's a proud moment...

 

What would Grandma Bertha

have said to me?

 

Something in German I'm sure...

and I would be able to 

hear the pride in her voice.

 and then she and I would sit 

and rest and talk about all that hard work...

OOOFTA!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa

Making Aunt Verola Proud

This was my dad's sister, Verola.

She married a hard-working pig farmer, Roland...

they had one son, Dennis.

My dad always felt a little sorry 

for Verola because she worked so hard 

on their pig farm in Iowa...

I'm guessing she was a happy 

hard-working farm wife

and loved the life she chose!

I don't remember anything about 

visiting their farm (I was too young)

but the stories my siblings tell 

me about chasing Roland's pigs

and tracking in mud on Verola's floors...

I think it would also be a safe bet 

that Verola felt sorry for my dad

and his life of raising 5 wild children!!

~~~~

Like any good farm wife in the 50's

she cooked everything from scratch,

and nothing went to waste!

Here is her recipe for 

Refrigerator Pickles....

Bring to boil:

1 Cup Vinegar

2 Cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Celery Seed

Combine:

7 Cups Thinly Sliced Cucumbers

1 Cup Sliced Onion

1 Cup Green Pepper

Pour the sugar/vinegar brine over

the vegetable mixture and stir.

Cool and place in the refrigerator...

these will keep up to one year!

We are still finding cucumbers on the vines,

but since we aren't picking them everyday,

they are getting too big to pickle in our quart jars!

This is a great way to use those over-sized cukes...

and I love that sweet pickle taste!!

I had plenty of fat cucumbers to spare

so I doubled the recipe to fill this 

gallon size country jar!

I think I'll start charging 

5 cents a slice....

maybe I can save up enough to buy a pig!!

Have a sweet day!

Lisa