Boy, it's been busy around Ezekiel's Garden!  But, here I am, back again, and ready to share my tip for Shannon's "Works for me Wednesday" meme.

My tip revolves around garden produce, since I can't seem to keep up with the cucumbers lately.  The giant 10-12" cucumbers with very few large seeds even at 1.5" diameter!  One tip, since a family can only eat so many cucumbers before declaring mutiny, is to give them away.  Well, that doesn't work so well when one has a dearth of garden-fresh cucumber-loving neighbors.  Enter plan B.  Pickles.  What?  Those messy, time-consuming, stinky things?  Nope.  Kosher dills.  Seriously.  They're simple, not too stinky, and don't take forever either (we're talking an afternoon vs. 2 weeks).  I found my recipe by scrounging around Google until I found one that looked delicious and easy.  I think it is the Heinz Recipe.

Here it is:

Kosher Dill 

4 lbs pickling cukes (around 12 of mine)
14 cloves garlic, peeled & split
1/4 cup canning salt
3 cups distilled or apple cider vinegar 5% acidity
3 cups water
12-14 sprigs fresh dill weed
28 peppercorns

Wash cucumbers; cut in half lengthwise (due to cucumber size, I cut some into 1/2" chunks and some into 1/8" crinkle slices). Combine garlic and next 3 ingredients; heat to boiling. Remove garlic and place 4 halves into each clean jar, then pack cucumbers, adding 2 sprigs of dill and 4 peppercorns. Pour hot vinegar solution over cucumbers to within 1/2 inch of top. Immediately adjust covers as jar manufacturer directs. Process 10 minutes in BWB. Makes 6-7 pints.

Another tip is to keep some brine on hand in case the cucumber ever slows down enough that you can't make a full batch but can't possibly give them away either.  It keeps in the fridge for quite a while (not that I've had occasion to find this out)

I will admit that until this summer, I've probably eaten a total of 1 jar of pickles in 10 years.  I don't normally like pickles.  Well, until these babies, that is.  I have probably eaten 2 jars all by myself.  I'm not going to tell you how many pints I have on my pantry shelf.  All right, I will, but I'm not telling how many I've gone through already.  *sigh*  Anyway, 30 pints of dill slices or chunks.  And, we've eaten at least 3 pints of slices and 4 of the chunks, not counting the 3 or 4 pints we've given away to friends.  Should I tell how my kids beg to eat them at every meal?  Naw.  That'll be for another post - wierd food habits at the Garden.

That's all.  Just my tip on how to prevent cucumber waste, and possibly an idea for Christmas gifts... ;)