Friday, July 1, 2011

Tomatoes are just around the corner!

I have hated tomatoes for most of my life. It wasn't till about 4 or 5 years ago that I had my first fresh of the vine tomato and I was shocked at just how amazing it was. So, tomatoes have become one of the fruits that I look forward to popping up in my garden and eating fresh off the vine. This week has been a bit of a pre-tasting with a small number of tomatoes ripening in my various gardens. I have to saw if you are just starting out tomatoes are an essential to every garden. Whether flower or veggie you must have tomatoes. They can be used in a billion ways and there is nothing as tasty as a fresh of the vine tomato. Basil is a great companion plant and you are halfway to an amazing Italian meal!

I have been snacking on fresh peas for the past month but the sun has finally reached the point of frying them all along with a lot of my lettuces. however a few have survived and we are still enjoying fresh salad. We also just received a good batch of pickle cucumbers from the farm I work at so we will be making pickles real soon.

Basic Dill Pickles

8lbs. 3-4" pickling cukes
4 cp white vinegar
12 cp water
2/3 cp pickling salt
16 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
8 sprigs fresh dill
8 heads fresh dill

Wash cucumbers, and place in a bowl of ice water. Soak for about 2 hours. Refresh ice as needed. Sterilize 8  1qt. canning jars.
In a large pot over med-high heat, combine vinegar, water, and pickling salt. Bring brine to boil.
Put 2 cloves of garlic , 1 head of dill, and enough cukes to fill in each jar. Add 2 more garlic halves and 1 dill sprig. Fill jars with hot brine. Clean jar rims and seal.
Process for 15min.
Store for at least 8 weeks before enjoying! Refrigerate after opening.