pickles!

I apologize for being MIA lately, but I've been working like crazy -- even at home -- and then Tim was in town for a week and, well, we were so busy I don't think we even really had a chance to relax. We saw UF's amazing series sweep of perennial SEC-dominating Vanderbilt (oh, and UF's win against Tim's eventual PhD alma mater USF), traveled down the Ichetucknee River with friends, celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday, and did a lot of canning. Yes, canning.

I found a great refrigerator pickle recipe several years ago that I used as my entry into the world of preserving veggies and fruits. But since I crave these pickles long after their refrigerator life is over, I decided to try canning them properly this time. If you've ever thought about making your own pickles, I highly recommend trying this recipe -- it's really worth it!


It starts with the cucumbers. You need to use pickling cucumbers that don't have wax on them (that goes for any fruit or veggie you preserve.) We made the annual pilgrimage to Roger's Farm (off of SR 121 on the way to Raiford) to get cucumbers. I use about 2-3 per jar, so I bought 24 cucumbers at 70 cents a pound! (If you're local, you can always get them at Ward's but not nearly as cheap.) I am growing cucumbers in the garden this year, but with the drought and all, they are far from ready. We also picked some strawberries for jam, but more on that in a later post.


I buy about two heads of garlic, since I like to use 3-4 cloves per jar, and a medium dill plant so I can keep making these all summer. You have to cut off the ends of the cucumbers so they'll fit in the jars, and I like to cut them into wedges so they're easier to eat right away.


This recipe makes about 7 pint-sized jars of pickles. The jars are reusable, as are the rings, but the lids must be replaced with every batch. For refrigerator pickles, you can sterilize the jars in hot water in the sink. If you plan on canning them, sterilize them in boiling water in the canner for 10 minutes before laying them on a towel to cool briefly before filling them.

pen loves paper's Garlic Dill Pickles

2 heads of garlic, about 3-4 cloves per jar, broken into cloves and peeled
1 bunch fresh dill, about 4-5 sprigs per jar
21 pickling cucumbers, washed with the ends cut off and sliced lengthwise into spears
2 1/3 cup water
3 2/3 cup white-wine vinegar (look for large bottles at specialty food stores like Fresh Market)
1/3 cup sea salt
2 teasp pickling spices
1 teasp dill seeds
1 teasp whole black peppercorns

Combine the water, vinegar, salt, and other spices in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil on high for 3 minutes. Leave to cool. Begin to sterilize the jars.

Pack the cucumbers 2/3 full in each jar. Add the fresh dill sprigs and garlic throughout each jar, then wedge in as many cucumbers as possible until it's full. Don't let the spears go above the lower lip of the jar.

Pour the cooled mixture over the cucumbers to cover by 1/2 inch. Seal the jars and label. Store in the refrigerator for 3 weeks before eating. Use in 2-3 months. Alternatively, seal the jars and process in the canner for 10 minutes. Rest the jars on a towel to cool to room temperature. Label and store in a cool place from 3 weeks to up to one year.

oh my!

The gas light in my car turned on as I was driving home from work today. I turned into my neighborhood gas station when I saw something that shocked me:


I said something that as a school board employee I shouldn't repeat on my public blog, so use your imagination.

Wow. Just wow. *sigh* And my bike broke Tuesday as I rode it to the library. Guess I'll have to really jump on getting that fixed.

sneak peak

A quick look at some of the material for my latest project. What could I be making this time?

garden update

We have green beans!! Madeleine is one happy beagle. I'm sort of concerned she'll figure out they're within easy reach, but I honestly don't know if she's that aware.


I planted one Big Boy tomato plant along with the plum tomatoes, and it already has small fruit growing.


Outside the vegetable garden, the flowers are blooming rapidly.


My gardenia bush has exploded with blooms. They smell so wonderful -- not quite as yummy as orange blossoms, but good none the less.


Almost all the hibiscus have finally started to pop up. If you remember, I fretted for months about whether or not my favorite plants would come back after that winter freeze. I lost two of the six oleander for sure, and one hibiscus that I transplanted toward the end of last summer still has yet to show any new growth. On the positive side however, there's one hibiscus with a bloom almost ready to pop open. It's the first official sign of summer, and I can't wait to see it!

oh my goodness

Blueberries. In the first week of May. Wow!

These fresh, organic, giant berries were delivered to my doorstep courtesy of my parents, who went picking at South Moon Farm in Cross Creek Saturday morning. These berries are so big and still super tart. Really, I cannot get over the size of these things. I am eating them like candy. We've been going to South Moon for over a decade and they've never been this big before. And it's early for blueberries, even here. It's normally a June crop.

This means I need to step up the kitchen activity now that the season has started -- there are yummy no-bake blueberry pies to whip up, blueberry muffins galore to bake, and jam to cook and can for holiday gifts. You know, I haven't even put up my garlic-dill pickles yet because I thought I had more time. I guess I'd better get started!

performance vs. cost

I found this amazing graph today which analyzes MLB teams' performance relative to the money they spend on salaries. I love visual representations, and this graph charts day-to-day performance so you can see the rise and fall of teams throughout the season. The website also has data for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons.

Both Florida teams are doing quite well this season according to this analysis, especially considering they are the bottom two teams in amount of money spent (to even put that into perspective, the Marlins have spent less than half the amount of money as the Rays and have the same record!) Secretly though, my favorite part is visual proof that the Yankees waste ridiculous amounts of money -- 10 times more than the Marlins -- and have one less win (and three more losses) to show for it! Tee hee.