Dill Pickles

Pickling cucumbers are different than regular eating cucumbers. The picklers (top cuk in the picture) have "spines", kind of like cactus. The spines are black or white, and are scrubbed off with a vegetable brush. If they don't all come off, that's OK, the pickling brine will dissolve them. The pickling cucumber will stand up to the brining process, but the eating cucumbers (bottom cuk in the picture) may just go to mush (I've not tried it). Pickling cucumbers can be eaten fresh, just make sure the spines are gone!
I find that I need to plant dill two weeks before I plant the pickling cucumbers, so the dill will have the flower heads that are used in the pickles. The picture below is of one head of dill. Each little flower will ripen to make a seed, if left to mature in the garden.
Dill Pickle Recipe:

To each scalded quart jar add:

1/8 teaspoon alum
1 clove of garlic
2 heads of dill
1 hot pepper, optional
sliced pickling cucumbers

For the brine:

1 quart cider vinegar
1 cup pickling or non-iodized salt
(not table salt, it will turn the
brine cloudy)
3 quarts of water

Heat brine to boiling; pour over the
cucumber mix above; seal with
scalded lids, and tighten rings.

Allow 6 weeks for pickling, then eat!!
Here's what they look like. I'm the only one in my home that eats them, so I canned them in pints. They are so good!

Here's a quick little recipe to get you in the mood for growing a fall vegetable garden!

Garden Rice

*1/2 c. white rice
*1 c. chicken broth
*1/4 c. fresh vegetables (corn, peas, broccoli, Bok choy, green onions, etc.)
*fresh or dried basil or any herb that pairs with your vegetable

Mix all together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and cook until rice is done.

What's Growing In My Garden

I have an Amish Melon! It's suppose to be a cantaloupe type melon.








This is a leaf of my Bright Lights Swiss Chard. I thought the colors were incredible!






This shows the red stocks. It's almost too pretty to eat!

Sauteed Chard
Trim the leaves off of the stocks. Slice the chard stocks into small pieces. Chop the leaves as you would chop up lettuce for a salad. Saute the chopped stocks in a little oil. When they are getting tender, add the leaves and stir-fry. Salt and pepper, and that's it! If you have several different colors of chard (there are mixed seeds you can buy), such as the pink, red, yellow, white and color crosses, this dish looks like confetti! Besides that, it tastes good! Even children might want to eat it!

Lettuce Soup

2 c. sliced scallions
2 tbsp. butter
8 c. lettuce, sliced into 1/2" cubes
5 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. uncooked rice
fresh ground pepper

Wilt, but not brown, scallions in butter.
Add the lettuce and cook until wilted.
Add the rest and simmer until the rice is done.

This is a really tasty soup!