Summertime harvest always seems to come in waves, and we find ourselves trying to figure out what to do with all of our veggies.  We love making our own dill pickles, and this recipe couldn't be easier. The best part?  They are ready to eat in 12 short hours. Plus they will last for up to a month - good luck keeping them on hand that long though, they get gobbled up long before then around here!

INGREDIENTS:

-       2 cucumbers 

-      1 1/2 cups of water

-       1 1/2 cups white vinegar

-       2 tablespoons of pickling salt (feel free to sub for sea salt here)

-       1 tablespoon of minced garlic

-       2 tablespoons of whole peppercorn 

-       1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

-       1 tablespoon of dried dill (or 2 sprigs of fresh dill)

-      1 pint sized mason jar with lid 

DIRECTIONS:

Wash your mason jar and lid in hot soapy water, rinse and set aside.  Clean and cut cucumbers to desired size - we love spears and rounds. Pack each mason jar with cucs until half way full. Sprinkle garlic, peppercorn, red pepper flakes and dill and continue filling with cucs, leaving a 1/2" headspace. Boil water, vinegar and salt, stirring until salt is complete dissolved, remove from heat and pour over ingredients in mason jars until cucs are completely submerged (there should be some headspace left). At this point your mason jars should still be warm from being washed. This is important to avoid cracking the jars when you add the hot brine.  Secure the tops and flip them over immediately. Let them stand up side down for 6 hours, or until completely cooled. Once cooled, flip them right side up and refrigerate them.  Wait another 6 hours, and they are ready to eat! Keep in mind that spears may take a little longer to fully absorb all of the flavors. They will keep in the fridge for about a month.

Enjoy!