What do you do when you have just too many cucumbers, all ripening fast on a vine? The answer should be obvious…pickle them!
When I was a kid, my family would travel to my grandparent’s house in Grand Rapids, MI…my dad’s boyhood home actually. My grandmother, Nana, was an expert cook…we looked forward to checking out what cookies she’d made for us and were waiting to be discovered in her pantry. She also made the best pickles I’ve ever eaten, and I do like pickles! Her bread and butter pickles were the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.
A few years ago, my brother Bryan, and his wife Julie, resurrected the recipe and gave it a try. Julie, an accomplished chef, has since published it in Sauce magazine, after naming it Mother-in-Law pickles, since Julie got the recipe from my mother (her mother-in-law), who got it from her mother-in-law (my grandmother).
My brother was in town recently, and we decided to make these pickles together, with the help of any of my kids who were up for the task.
I really wish I’d had the problem of too many cukes, ripening too quickly on the vine, but I’m afraid all I’ve grown this summer has been basil. We went shopping to find just the right cucumbers, peppers, spices, etc, and set to work….ending up with several pint jars of these great pickles! Thanks Bryan, for suggesting this activity. I had a great time!!
The picture featured in the magazine isn’t of these pickles however. I decided to try some food photography, and make an image that shows the beauty of the home-canned pickles, late summer variety. You love pickles? Try these! Let me know what you think!