Too Hot to Cook

With temperatures hitting triple digits and no air conditioning in the kitchen, we're avoiding the stove at all costs. Luckily, this week's share included a nice basket of cucumbers, perfect for pickling! Unfortunately, Susan HATES pickles-fortunately, I love 'em! Let the pickling adventure begin!
A search for "ice-box pickles" turned up hundreds of similar recipes. Dill vs. bread and butter? Spears vs. slices? How to decide? What to pick? After mulling it over, I decided I wanted to try bread and butter slices. The key element I was looking for was a recipe that was truly "no cook." The last thing I wanted to do on a 105 degree day was put a pot of water on the stove, heat it up and have the resulting evaporation add to our general discomfort! So, I found a recipe that called for salt, sugar, vinegar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed and NO stove!

I used two bell peppers from our recent shares, a sweet onion, cut into generous wedges, and the basket of pickling cukes cut into chunky slices. All that was left to do then was throw the veggies in a gallon container, pour the pickling spice mixture over them, and refrigerate. That's it!

After letting them sit for about twenty-four hours, I thought they could use a little more time. They taste really good--a nice, crispy snap and delicious spice mix, but they will taste even better with a little more time in the fridge! [Susan's note: I may join them.]