make it: homemade chop chop dill pickles

look at that!!!  

abbie and i are total pickle peeps.  we can eat them alllll day.  

i got my first chop chop magazine (did you know they publish it in both english and spanish!?) and i couldn't wait to check out the mag's homemade easy dill pickle awesomeness.  

i will be making these over and over and over again.  cucumbers will certainly be added to the tomato garden next spring.

the fresh organic dill and garlic came in my weekly produce box and the organic pickles came from a trip to the farmer's market last friday.

abbie was anxious to swim rather than help make food, but i coerced her to help me.  you can really see her enthusiasm in the face as we start our brine and liquid measuring tutorial.

abs: "pullleeeeeaaaaaaase, can i go out to swim yet?  i'm hot and i wanna go swiiimmmmmmmm!!"

me: "yea yea yea, honey, but first, let me just show you how to get down to eye level with the water line so you know if you measured the right amount... "

abs: sighs big, rolls eyes and gives me her exhausted-with-her-nerd-mom-look.

me:  "oh abbie, i neeeeeeeeed you to help me make the brine!!!!  i can't make them without you!!!!"

abs: "i don't get what you're saying... what IS brine?

me:  "well, brine is what makes the cucumbers magically (waving my jazz hands) turn into pickles.

abs: "oh... well, can i do everything to make the pickles?!"

me: "yes, YES you can."

and so her "i want to die" face magically turned upside down.

5 cups is heavy.

too much...

just right.

measuring 2 T sea salt = the perfect time to chat about TBSP vs TSP vs T vs t.

vinegar time.  abs was so excited she hopped on top of the counter!

abs:  "omg, wow, cool, mom, look at the smoke!!!"

me:  "i know isn't it super cool!?!?"  the vinegar is vaporizing the salt!!!

boiling the brine time.

abs: "what is boiling... and how do i work the stove?"

gulp.

she almost ripped the dial off.

this was abbie's first tutorial on how to use the stove safely.  i caught mac up with "stove basics" this week at dinner too.  they loved learning about how to work the dials and adjust the flame.  now they know what gas smells like!  they are not allowed to use the stove alone yet, but they'll be there someday!

tuck those little nubbins, she almost has it!  must get that thumb behind the pickle... i have a hard time with the thumb anchor too...

simple, homemade, real food loveliness.

we poured the cooled brine over the dill sprigs, garlic, peppercorns and cucumbers.  and then placed a small plate over the top to hold the pickles down.  (chop chop mag walks you through all these steps!)



yesterday, they came out looking like this.  oh yea.

homemade dillies anyone?


xoxo