Teresa & Mike CHS - Our journal

[Mike CHS]

I'm wanting to get some seeds in the ground for the fall garden and that bed is the melon bed that is overgrown with weeds. JMike called and wanted to work an hour or two this afternoon so I took advantage of his desire to make some $ and saved my back in the process.

Teresa is putting up pickles and it looks like she will wind up with a dozen quarts.

 

[Bruce]

What is your (or maybe it's Teresa's) pickle recipe and is it pressure canned, water bath or refrigerator? My Suyo cukes have started producing. I have no canning equipment.

 

[Mike CHS]

Our method isn't an approved method so I don't list it. We just used dill weed, dill seed and chopped garlic added to the jars before adding the brine which is salt and sugar. We still have sweet pickles left from last summer so we just did dill pickles this time.

 

[Baymule]

What is your (or maybe it's Teresa's) pickle recipe and is it pressure canned, water bath or refrigerator? My Suyo cukes have started producing. I have no canning equipment.

You love Mamma Wall's Eggnog, want her pickle recipe?

 

[Mike CHS]

You love Mamma Wall's Eggnog, want her pickle recipe?

I'll take that one.

 

[Baymule]

Mamma Wall's Spicy Sweet Pickles

My spicy sweet pickle recipe came from my great grandmother to my grandmother to me.

Start this process early in the morning so you will have time the next day to process the pickles.

5 gallon bucket of sliced cucumbers about 1/4" thick
cover with water, add 2 cups pickling lime
I put a plate over them to weigh the cukes down in the lime water
Soak for 24 hours, drain, then wash all lime off. ( I put the lime water on the compost pile)
Put cukes back in the bucket, cover with cold water with 4 cups of vinegar added.
Soak for 2 hours. Then drain.
You need 2 large pots with lids.
In each pot, add 8 cups apple cider vinegar and 10 cups sugar

In each pot, add 1 box or bottle of pickling spices. I use McCormicks-1.5 oz bottles in the spice section at the grocery store. (you can put them in a bag so the spices don't get on the cucumbers, but I never do because I like the spices in the jars of pickles)

Bring the ACV, sugar and spices to a simmering boil, add sliced cucumbers.

Simmer on medium-low heat until the cucumbers are translucent.

Pack in hot sterile jars, cover with syrup and seal.

The lime makes them crisp. They are so good, makes the best deviled eggs! I can eat 1/2 a jar by myself.

Using this recipe, I got 20 pints and 4 quarts.

@Bruce, I don't pressure these or water bath them. I fill the jars with boiling water, dump it out, fill with pickles, cover with HOT syrup, wipe rim of jar and seal. As they cool, the lids will ping. Any that don't seal go in the refrigerator to be eaten first.

 

[Baymule]

Let's see if I can reach in the back of my feeble mind to resurrect the fabled "Mock Spiced Apple Rings" recipe from my Grandmother. I haven't made them for several years, so ya'll bear with me.

First off, you use the cucumbers that hid under the leaves and got really big. Yeah, those, the ones that got away, they are big and seedy. You peel them, cut in chunks and then hollow them out. Scrape out all the seeds, then slice into 1/4" pieces.

Now I am trying to remember how many cucumbers to use in the recipe........ For some reason a gallon of sliced cukes is coming to mind.

Ok, now we have a gallon of peeled, cored, sliced cucumbers. Cover them with water and pour in one cup of pickling lime. Let them set 24 hours. Put a plate or something on top to weigh them down so all the slices are under the water/lime mix.

Pour off the lime water and rinse the cucumbers thoroughly. Soak for 2 hours in cold water and one cup of apple cider vinegar.

While the cucumbers are soaking, make a syrup of 5 cups apple cider vinegar, 6 cups sugar and one pound of red hots cinnamon candy. Add one small bottle of red food color and a half dozen cinnamon sticks. Rinse the cucumbers and add to the syrup. Simmer the cucumbers on low heat until they are translucent. Take out the cinnamon sticks and ladle the pickles into hot sterile jars. Pour the hot syrup over the pickles and seal the jars.

Put a jar in the refrigerator and pace the floor until they are cooled down. Eat the whole danged jar!

 

[Mike CHS]

@Bruce, I don't pressure these or water bath them. I fill the jars with boiling water, dump it out, fill with pickles, cover with HOT syrup, wipe rim of jar and seal. As they cool, the lids will ping. Any that don't seal go in the refrigerator to be eaten first.

That's about it

 

[Mike CHS]

For the first time this week I don't have grass to cut. I should be working on the tree line but I've only got two days of feed left and we won't be here tomorrow so it's a good day to run down to the feed store in Alabama. It's only 35 miles but their cost is $4.50 a bag cheaper than what it is here locally so it is worth driving there. The only sheep still getting feed are the ram lambs and they aren't getting much since they were getting fat. The cows and Max get feed so I've switched over to All Stock for them.

 

[RollingAcres]

Hope the weather is nice there, it will make for a nice road trip - to get feed.