My Son's Refrigerator Pickles

My space saver cucumber plant has turned into a prolific monster. Yesterday we were excited to pick our first homegrown cucumber off its vine.Wanting to do something special with it and also having an overabundance of dill growing in the garden, I pulled out my recipe for refrigerator pickles. I have fond memories of Mom making these easy pickles when I was a kid. She also canned dill and bread and butter pickles when she had a larger batch of cucumbers to use up, but refrigerator pickles always remind me of carefree summers and her big beautiful gardens.

While I was cooking dinner last night, my 12 year old took charge of the pickle making. Little brother "helped" too by pouring the measured vinegar and water into the pan. The slicing, boiling the vinegar mixture, preparing the garlic and dill were all taken care of by Thomas. The only part I had in making the pickles was pouring the hot liquid into the jar and photographing the finished product. I love moments like that where we are all working in our tiny kitchen together. And I love that my boys are learning life lessons that will take them beyond the kitchen and into the big wide world as adults.

Refrigerator Pickles

(makes one jar)

1 large cucumber

3/4 cups water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

several sprigs fresh dill

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 tsp peppercorns

Add water, vinegar, and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Wash and slice the cucumber. Fill a jar with garlic, peppercorns, fresh dill, and cucumber slices. Pour vinegar solution into jar, filling up to about 1/4 inch from the top. Place lid on jar, cool, then refrigerate for at least 24 hours.