Adventures in canning.

So, what do you do with a gabillion cucumbers and hot peppers from the garden? Well, you give some away, you eat some and then you make pickles. And pickles we made. Being new to the process, I let my husband take the lead as he has had some previous canning experience. What you need: jars (preferably Mason), cucumbers, hot peppers (optional), dill, garlic, pickling salt (which we couldn't find so we used Kosher salt), vinegar, water, a few large saucepans and a canning pot (or super large stockpot).

In a nutshell, you sterilize everything, make a brine, stuff the jars and set in a bath of almost boiling water. Then, place them on a kitchen towel and cover with another towel. Once cooled, they should self-seal and then store in a cool, dark place. We are still trying to find out how long they need to sit, our recipe didn't say.

I thought it was going to be a more involved process, but it was really quite easy and fun. I'll let you know how they turn out.