Can It: Shut-Your-Mouth-They're-So-Good Spicy Dills!

Quick! 

Before your local Farmer's Market stops loading the tables with those lovely little cukes!

Out of the box Garlic-Dill Sun Pickles

What you need:

At least a 32 oz  Mason  Jar

Small Cucumbers

Fresh Dill

Fresh Garlic

 Vinegar

Water

Kosher Salt

Peppercorns

Mustard Seeds

From Out of the box...

Ingredients:

• whole Kirby cucumbers  (or other pickling cucumbers)
• 2 cups distilled vinegar
• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 10 cloves garlic (more or less to your tastes)
• 2-4 jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp whole peppercorns

Directions:

• Wash cucumbers well and set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, mix vinegar, salt and water together.
• Fill large glass jar with cucumbers, layering in dill, peppers and garlic.  Add peppercorns and mustard seeds.
• Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers.
• Seal jar with lid, shake and place in the sun.
• Leave pickle jar outdoors in a sunny spot for 4-6 days.  Shake jar each day.
• Refrigerate finished pickles.

Adjustments I made

I could only fit 6 cucumbers and about 1 1/2 jalepenos. 

I took a short cut and used the pre-chopped fresh garlic that comes in a little sealed square packet and it was plenty.  I filled the jar with a mixture of the vinegar & water but didn't use anywhere near 7 cups so just play with it.  With all the spices being infused you won't notice if it's not exact.

So pretty right?!

It doesn't stay this way long.

The liquid gets super murky but don't let that throw you off.

If you read my I Mad, Crazy, Stupid, Love Meyer Lemons So Why Not Preserve Them? Genius! post then you know that food that sits on my counter looking delicious while I can't eat it is pure torture!

This got pretty bad folks.  I didn't realize how much I craved pickles until they were staring me in the face day after day.  It's especially hard when you need to handle them on a daily basis!  But shaking them up is important so stay strong. 

As shocking as it is that I continue to do this

I pulled one of my scanning the recipe rather than reading it faux pas...

About a month after sealing these beauties I lost it and went tearing through my recipe binder (more like wad of folded recipes clipped together and squeezed into every inch of my cookbook shelf).  Turns out they were supposed to pickle for 4 -6 days, NOT 4-6 WEEKS!  I immediately opened them not caring that it was only 9 in the morning.  

They were so spicy that my lips buzzed for several minutes but it was so worth it!  It's the kind of burn that as soon as it's gone you want more.  I am really glad I accidentally gave it the extra time to absorb the maximum amount of flavor.  

These are incredible on pulled pork sandwiches and bloody marys!

After the pickles are gone you can use the brine to pickle anything you want; sliced carrots & green beans, just make sure it's a hearty vegetable.

Pickles to the people!

Lemon & Blackberry (opposite of trifling) Trifle.

tri·fling  /ˈtrīf(ə)liNG/ 

Adjective: Unimportant or trivial.

Synonyms: trivial - petty - insignificant - piddling - paltry

This trifle is anything but trifling.  It's first to arrive, last to leave, life of the party trifle! It was one of my nearest and dearests' celebration of birth and she deserved something spectacular so I selected a dessert with a touch of elegance to it.  Like most epic events with our group of friends dessert was to follow a huge feast and massive amounts of wine so something light fit the bill. That very morning I had found this sparkling cut crystal salad serving set at Anna's Attic and knew it would be just right.  After a few minutes of soaping and polishing them up they were ready to be filled. It even came with a smaller bowl for extra berries and pretty little serving spoons! Initially I was going to use this incredibly lemony bunt cake I had just made the evening before but everything I read said the Frozen Sarah Lee Pound Cake was the way to go so I quickly ran to the nearest market, thankfully everywhere seems to carry these. Plus I didn't really want to give up that ring of gold glowing on my cake plate.  In hind sight chances are it would've been a soggy mess. I'm probably just telling myself that. You need to let it thaw for a bit, but by the time you've made the pudding and whipped the preserves it should be ready.  Here's what you need Sarah Lee frozen pound cake 2 packets of pudding A tub of cool whip A can of whipped cream Fresh berries A jar of seedless preserves A sprig of mint First cube this lady up into bite sized pieces. Line the bottom of your fancy bowl with the cake cubes and berries allowing room for the pudding and preserves to get through.  You want to make sure each scoop you serve has all the goodies but it doesn't need to be a work of art since it will soon be covered with the next layer. I mixed one packet of lemon pudding  with one packet of vanilla pudding, it was a really nice balance of sweet and tangy. Then spread on a layer of cool whip. Followed by a layer of seedless Blackberry preserves whipped into a sauce. Add more cake, sprinkle in fresh blackberries and just keep repeating the layers until you almost reach the top. Slide it in the fridge to let everything chill and meld together. Before serving you'll want to spruce it up. I topped this one with some whipped cream, berries and a fresh sprig of mint.  Chocolate curls would be nice if you created a chocolate raspberry trifle.  This served a pretty large group of heavily buzzed trifle eaters but I think next time I will make personal trifles with all the lovely, unique glassware I've accumulated over the years. Be fancy and have fun doing it!