Freezer Pickles

We used to belong to a big city CSA, back when our neighbor commuted and brought us the veggies on her way home.  Now she lives in the city full time and we bum produce from our friends with gardens.  Luckily, the CSA posts all of their newsletters online.  I searched all the way back to 2008 to find my favorite refrigerator/freezer pickle recipe.  Here it is for you to enjoy and for me never to lose again.

"Fresh Cucumber Pickles:  Cut 3-4 cucumbers and a medium onion into a large bowl.
In a sauce pan place 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of water, 2 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp dried dill weed.  Heat until the mixture comes to a boil stirring often.  Pour over cucumbers and onions.  When cooled I place in a large 1 ½ quart jar and place in the frig.  Will keep for about 2 weeks.  We eat ours quick.  After you finish the first batch you can still use the liquid for another time."--Kretschmann Farms


Edit:  Here's their fresh dill spears recipe, too.  "Fresh Dill Pickle Spears:  Slice 1 or 2 cucumbers into spears and place in a glass quart jar with a few sprigs of fresh dill, or dill seed.   Then heat 1/8 c salt, 1/4 c vinegar, and 2 c water to boiling with a cut-up clove of garlic.  Pour this over the cukes and when it cools, refrigerate."

Ever hear of...

...origami?*

This girl has.  I love her.



*Random 80s TV commercial reference:

Midsummer update

Dairy-free goodness:

Chocolate Moon Pies are dairy free (don't know about vanilla or banana flavors).  This. is. EPIC.

Frozen cherry-berry/lemonade drinks at McDonald's are dairy free, and the smoothies can be made dairy free. A very nice employee showed us how the machine works without our asking.  Each flavor has its own tube.   The yogurt is piped in from its own tube into the cups, so there is no worry of cross contamination.  Just ask for a smoothie with no yogurt and extra ice.

When the kids cashed in their summer reading tickets at Taco Bell, the young woman behind the counter lectured another employee on the severity of food allergies and how the dairy-free order we placed must be handled with extra care.  
I am LOVING all of these young people (because I am old) in the work force who understand food allergies.  I predict even more understanding as the years go by.

Checked off of summer to-do list:

library summer reading program

two weeks of VBS

blueberry picking--twice

wild blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry picking

swimming in the neighbors' new pool

swim lessons
cleaning out stuff and making over $200 at a yard sale

amusement park

reading
reading
reading
lots of origami and crafting

replaced twenty year-old leaking fridge

cookouts

fireworks

fourteen-year wedding anniversary

Looking forward to more of the same, plus:

vacation

family wedding

turning in our Barnes and Noble reading lists

putting bunk beds in the boys' room

getting AC installed!

summer birthdays

county fair

getting my computer back from the clutches of my children