Summer Garlic Dill Pickles

Technically this is my second pickle post. There was no recipe last time though.

The first time I bought pickling cucumbers this summer I lost most of them to "the slime". The second time I caught them just in time. Why don't any pickle recipes warn that pickling cucumbers in a plastic bag in the bottom of your fridge really only last a couple days max? I don't know but there, this one does!

Next, the basics of pickles:

To make the pickles extra crunchy soak your cucumbers in ice water 2-12 hours before pickling them (i skipped this step)

Juice:
1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon salt per cup of mix (e.g. 1 cup vinegar + 1 cup water = 1 Tablespoon salt)

Other Ingredients:
Dill- plenty
Garlic- even more
Carrot stick- for garnish, if you like (I forgot)
Tumeric- for a bit of color if you want (haven't tried it yet)
Other spices- I'm sure you could experiment but I didn't
Pickling cucumbers (this is a special type of cucumber, crunchier than your average cucumber and can be a bit tricky to find in the city- farmers markets often have them but even then I sort of feel like I just have to buy them when they find me)

Directions
1. Sterilize your jars (though both vinegar and salt are preservatives so if you're lazy and skip this step I doubt a roof will fall on your head, or your crack your pickle jars...) by placing in 200 f oven for 10 minutes

2. Place dill stems, leaves and chopped garlic in bottom of glass jars

3. Sliced, quartered or whole- add pickles to your jars

4. Boil "juice" (vinegar-water-salt)

5. Add hot "juice" to jars

6. Screw on lids

7. Let sit for a week or more. They should keep indefinitely, or at least until "the big quake ".

One last note on jars. You can go out and spend a small fortune on brand new pickling jars. You can also often find them at thrift stores or just use glass jars from just about any food (provided they have a lid that pops when pressed on and are clean).