Pickles, pickles and … Kool Aid pickles

So you want to preserve some of those cucumbers for later…here are some goodies. Take care and I’ll be seeing you around…Agnes

Sweet Cucumber Pickle

Soak 7 pounds of small washed and sliced cucumbers in a mixture of 1-gallon water with 2 cups slaked lime dissolved in it. Soak for 24 hours. Then wash cucumbers in cold water every hour for 4 hours, drain. Boil 2 quarts vinegar and 5 pounds of sugar with a spice bag (1 tablespoon each cinnamon, whole cloves, salt, and whole allspice) and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bag and pour over cucumbers and let stand overnight. The next day, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Put in jars and cover with syrup. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Bread ‘n Butter Pickle

20 pounds medium cucumbers (better if cucumbers are about 1 ½ inch in diameter and under)

2 ½ pounds medium size onions

5 pounds sugar

½ gallon cider vinegar

2 ½ ounces mustard seeds

Canning salt

Wash cucumbers and rub off nubs. Slice cucumbers and onions and quarter onion slices. Cover onions and cucumbers with about 1 cup of salt, toss to coat all and let set for 3 hours. Drain. While the vegetables are draining, put the sugar, vinegar and mustard seed in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add onion and cucumbers. When bubbles appear put in hot pint jars, wipe tops and seal. Put in boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and put in a jar box or newspapers to cool. Let cure for about 4-6 weeks to develop a good flavor. (Makes about 20 pints)

24-Hour Dill Pickle Slices

3 cups vinegar (5 percent white)

3 cups water

1 and ½ cups white sugar

½ cup canning salt

Pinch of hot red pepper powder (if desired)

6 quarts sliced cucumbers

4 medium Vidalia onions, sliced

Fresh or dry dill weed (If using dry, use 4 tablespoons or more)

Choose a container that has a lid and one that you can fit with a heavy weight. Make sure that it is sterile. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt and red pepper, if desired. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, prepare cucumbers and onions and put them in layers in the container in this order: Cucumbers, onions and dill. You should have 4 layers of each. Pour the cooled liquid over the vegetables and herb, cover with a plate or non-metal lid that will fit down in the container and weight it down. Cover top with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. Remove weight and plate or lid and add the container lid. Pickles are ready to eat. Must be kept refrigerated.

Freezer Pickles

(I have never made these…Agnes)

7 cups sliced cucumbers

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green peppers

1cup vinegar

2 cups sugar

1 and ½ teaspoon salt

1 and ½ tablespoon celery seed

Mix and let set in refrigerator overnight. The next day, put in freezer containers and place in freezer. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and let thaw completely. If not in a glass jar with a lid, put in one and keep stored in the refrigerator.

KOOL-AID(R) Pickles

(This came from the mid-West via Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.)

1 (32 ounce) jar dill pickles

2 (0.13 ounce) packages unsweetened red Cherry KOOL-AID(R)

1/2 cup white sugar

Open pickle jar, and pour off the liquid from the jar into a bowl. Add KOOL-AID(R) and sugar to the pickle liquid, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour mixture back into the pickle jar, making sure that pickles are completely covered and there are no air spaces. Cover jar tightly and shake well. Refrigerate the pickles for at least one week before serving.

Food for thought:

The definition of the word conundrum is something that is puzzling or confusing. Examples:

Free people are not equal. Equal people are not free. (Think this one over and over.)

“A gun is like a parachute. If you need one, and don’t have one, you’ll probably never need one again.”

Here are six conundrums of socialism in the U.S. of A:

1. America is capitalist and greedy – yet half of the population is subsidized.

2. Half of the population is subsidized – yet they think they are victims.

3. They think they are victims – yet their representatives run the government.

4. Their representatives run the government – yet the poor keep getting poorer.

5. The poor keep getting poorer – yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about – yet they want America to be more like those other countries. Think about it! And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the USA in the 21st century. Makes you wonder who is doing the math.

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