Pickled

No. Not me. Though with the reno stress, it's very tempting. Very. Did I mention our missing hood? It has somehow wandered away somewhere between California and here.

In this case, I'm talking about cucumbers. We've had an abundance of cucumbers this summer. More than we can eat fresh. So, of course, I decide this is a good time to try pickling them. Cuz smack in the midst of renovation chaos is the very best time to learn how to pickle!

Refrigerator Pickles

1 small sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui), thinly sliced
2 pounds medium pickling cucumbers, scrubbed, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 large bunch dill, coarsely chopped (stems included)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons dill seeds

Divide sliced onion between two 1-quart wide-mouth glass jars. Pack cucumber slices horizontally in jars. Top each jar with dill.

Using mortar and pestle or resealable plastic bag and mallet, crush mustard seeds and peppercorns together. Place crushed spices in medium saucepan. Add vinegar, 1 cup water, sugar, coarse salt, and dill seeds. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Ladle mixture evenly over cucumbers. Refrigerate jars uncovered for 24 hours. After that time, cover glass pickle jars tightly with lids. Refrigerate.

Note: If you have very large cucumbers, make more brine. The cucumbers will not pack down well in the jars and will require extra liquid.