BY PATSY R. BRUMFIELD – THE SOUTHFACIN’ COOK   

Patsy R. Brumfield
The Southfacin’ Cook

Summertime is about fresh vegetables, especially from the garden or farmers’ market.

My daughter loves dill pickles and I love growing cucumbers in my little garden. But for at least a couple of seasons, I couldn’t find a recipe with the right sour/garlic/dill balance that kept the cucumbers crisp. Finally, success!

It’s easy and fun. You also can pickle other veggies like carrots, green tomatoes, green onions, green beans, okra and asparagus. That’s certainly not the only list, so use your imagination. My experience, though, calls for a little extra par-boiling for tough veggies, like green beans and especially the okra to soften up the tough exteriors.

I highly recommend prepping in your kitchen, but taking the pickle process outside onto your patio or porch. Several years ago, I acquired a really neat one-burner, gas stove at the usual big-box store in the camping section. This burner is perfect for boiling up the pickle juice outside, otherwise your house will smell like pickles for a very long time – maybe years. No kidding.

Usually, I double the pickle-juice recipe and then store what’s left over in the fridge until I need to heat it up again or add to another batch.

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