Bread & Butter Pickles

My cucumbers have been doing fantastic—that’s about the only thing doing extremely well in my garden this year. We’ve had so much rain in our part of the world, it’s giving everyone fits with their gardens.
I’ve had an abundance of cucumbers. An “abundance” for me, maybe not for anyone else. Actually, I don’t even get enough at one time for a full batch of pickles, but I didn’t let that stop me from making some pickles. My sweet Jacob loves bread and butter pickles, but they must be homemade—none of that store-bought stuff for him. I was able to make two separate half batches from our garden and thought I’d share the recipe. Thankfully, batches of pickles (unlike jellies and jams) can be halved, doubled, or tripled and still have great results.
We have always used Southern Living's recipe. Bread and butters almost always turn out crunchy and they are super easy to make. Dill pickles can be so finicky and you don’t always get consistent results. I think the moon has to be just right and the proper stars aligned for dill pickles. (No, I’m not bitter at all.) Not so with bread and butters! The recipe on the SL website is for a smaller batch than the recipe in the cookbooks my mom and I have. Below is the recipe I used. I took pictures of most of the process, but with a two year old and a crawling 5.5 month old helping me, I missed a few steps.

My kitchen smells like HEAVEN while the pickles are getting mixed up and while they chill. The smell almost runs my husband out of the house but it smells divine to me, which is funny because I don’t care for bread and butter pickles at all.
Also, I’m assuming you know the basics of canning. If not, please visit here before starting.
Bread & Butter Pickles (Half Batch makes 5-6 pints)
3 lbs cucumbers, washed and sliced
2-3 medium onions, sliced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/6 c. salt (original recipe calls for pickling salt, but we have always used regular salt and had great results)
Ice—crushed is best, but I’m still old school and have ice trays.
~~~~~
2 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. white vinegar
1 T. yellow mustard seeds
3/4 t. turmeric
3/4 t. celery seeds
~Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large dutch oven or pot. (I use my 11 quart soup pot. I’ve also just used a large Tupperware container, it just needs to be able to fit in your fridge.) Stir well, then add the salt and stir again.
Add ice and stir well to make sure the ice is distributed evenly throughout the pickle mixture.

Let chill in the fridge for 3 hours and drain. It’s ok if there is a little ice left, just so long as you get all of the water out. Set dutch oven on stove.
Mix together in a bowl remaining ingredients.

Pour over cucumber mixture and mix to coat.
Heat mixture til just boiling. Don’t let it boil for very long at all or you may end up with mushy pickles. Everything will turn a lovely mustard yellow color.

Immediately pack into hot jars (be sure and check the rims for nicks and make sure the rims are clean), put lids on and tighten rings finger tight. Place in a hot water bath canner, cover jars with water 2-3 inches above lids and process 10 minutes (let the jars boil for 10 minutes –set a timer) then remove with a jar lifter. Let jars set for at least 12 hours before moving them. Enjoying the happy popping sounds of the jars sealing!

A word about hot water baths: it’s a commitment. The recipe makes it sound so quick and simple. But it’s not. It takes FOREVER and a day for that massive pot of water to come to a boil. I think it took around an hour. And I started with warm water. Just warning you.

Snappin’ beans

Thanks to Mama, we have garden-fresh green beans! I can’t wait to cook them and taste the country in them ;)

Spring, spring, spring!

In the area of Texas that I live, we don’t usually have a very long spring. What most of the world would consider to be “spring weather” we normally get in February and early March. Now it is the end of March and it already feels like summer. The temperature has already reached the 80’s and most of us are ready to jump into a swimming pool.
   This is my second spring in the city. To me there isn’t much distinction between spring and summer in the city especially since we have such a short spring. The lack of wildflowers and migrating birds to mark the season is disappointing, but I'm growing used to it.
  Growing up spring was one of my most favorite times of the year. My mother encouraged a love for the outdoors and flora and fauna in me during my school years that has never gone away. I believe it was my seventh grade year when she gave me a blank journal and some field guides and  told me draw and describe what I found. I learned so much that year about plant life and the different plants local to our area.
With spring comes the itch to garden. It jumped on me last year and I tried to curb it with sacrificial potted plants. It is spring again and the itch is back. My dear husband actually has faith in me to buy me a few more plants, even though so many died at my hand last year.

I have high hopes for my plants this year. I am determined not to kill them. So far the “garden” is only some petunias and a hopeful tomato plant. When these are doing well and I’ve proved to myself (and Jacob!) that I can keep plants alive I’ll get more.

Pot Plants--aka "Victims"

Sunflowers in my cousin's yard

This morning I woke up in the mood to work in my flowerbeds....but wait, I don't have any flower beds here. Sometimes I wake and forget momentarily that I'm in an apartment in a large city.
 Still I've been suffering from the desire to get my hands in some good dirt and plant things. The smell of the fresh turned dirt, the warmth of the sun, and the aroma of herbs--I can almost taste it! This was only aggravated and made worse by my spending five days at my parent's home for July 4th. This little country mouse was in her element....
I'm not much of a gardener, I'll admit.  I do best with plants that thrive on neglect and are not in pots. My herbs that I grew at my parents house are still there and thriving. However, if you give me a pot plant, you've pretty much signed its death warrant.
However, since it looks like we will be here for a little while, I must simply get over my pot plant inabilities and do better. Apartment porches look lonely and uninviting if there are no plants on them. I want our little home to be as cozy and inviting as possible, so conquer pot plants I must.
 Any and all suggestions/comments/advice are welcome :)

My front porch view

 My 2011 "garden" :) Miraculously my peppermint made a comeback and put out new growth. 

 It rained on Thursday, at long last after weeks of no rain. I celebrated by making a cup of hot tea and enjoying it on the front porch, listening to the rain on the bushes. I could close my eyes and almost imagine that I was back in the country, but then some city noise would break my reverie and I'd remember where I was.
 I love porches--I mean literally love them. No matter how many times I've redesigned my dream house, all of the plans and revisions have one thing in common: a huge front and back porch, or maybe one that wraps all the way around the house. They do so much to help a little house feel larger, and they are the best places to have coffee or tea (hot or iced) in the evening. I can't imagine what it would be like not to have a porch to escape to :)
 One of my favorite porches to visit belongs to a neighbor that lives across the highway from my parents. She and her husband were married for 61 years before he passed away and my some of my earliest memories are of visiting Dock and Mrs. Davey and drinking Koolaid on their back porch. It had a wooden floor and a porch swing at the south end, rocking chairs in the middle, and wicker chairs on the north end. There was always a breeze blowing through and combined with the shade from the massive live oak trees, it was the best place to sit if you were outside on hot days.
  Another great thing about porches is their functionally. What better place to have a crawfish boil, or shuck corn or shell peas?
Right now my front porch is only about 4x6.5 feet, but I love it and am thankful for it, and it will do until I get a bigger one. Til then, I'm quite content, but I'll  still dream :)