Green and Yellow Pickles

My two year old has developed a passion for pickles. If unattended for a few moments, he is likely to be found in the kitchen, having yanked open the refrigerator door with a burst of superhuman, obstreperous strength, and dangling a jar of pickles precariously in his hand. With the lovely cucumber offerings from Lonesome Whistle Farm and SLO Farm, I decided to indulge him with some homemade pickles. I adapted a recipe from Cooking Light for Easy Refrigerator Pickles.

I chopped up a couple cucumbers, one green and one yellow, and layered them with sliced onion. I usually make slices, but this time I made spears, because they showed off the different colored skins better, and I thought they were a good shape for a toddler to grab.

Then I prepared the brine: cider vinegar with sliced garlic, sugar, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, tumeric, and salt, heated together until the sugar dissolves, and poured over the cucumbers. After a day of stewing in the refrigerator, with an occasional stir, they tasted delicious, and they will keep getting more intensely flavored with time.

Refrigerator Pickles

2 large cucumbers, sliced or cut into spears

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2/3 cup cider vinegar

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp salt

1. Layer cucumber and onion in a non-reactive container that you can easily seal and store in the refrigerator.

2. Heat vinegar, garlic, sugar, and spices in a sauce pan until the sugar dissolves. Pour over cucumbers and stir. Refrigerate. Stir occasionally over the next day. Enjoy for the next four weeks, or as long as they last.