Homemade Dill Pickles

Bet you were expecting something a little more exciting than a homemade pickle recipe after the long weekend, right? Welp, you were wrong. But that's okay! These pickles are well-worth your while. Not a big pickle person? Neither was Will, until he made these. And then all of a sudden, pickles became more appealing. They're great by themselves but are equally as awesome in tuna or chickpea salads! Enough about pickles, though. We went camping this past weekend for the Labor Day holiday and damn if it wasn't cold! We have never been that cold over Labor Day, much less in September. Helllllooooo Washington, we have left the Southeast. Overnight temps in the 30s/40s on Sept. 5-7? Say what? But despite the freezing temps (combined with not being allowed to build campfires in our campground), we still had a great time. We spent Saturday piddling around our campsite at Indian Creek in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and exploring the lake we were staying at, which was being drained into a dam for the season. Therefore, we could walk out to the island in the middle of the lake and do some exploring, which was cool. Saturday was by far the coldest day, but we prevailed with hope the weekend would warm up!



We were in luck, as Sunday brought some slightly warmer, albeit damper weather, and we went to hike one of the many trails in our Mt. Rainier hiking book. We started off in the National Forest on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for a few miles, before tapering off into Mt. Rainier National Park, to complete our loop. It was a beautiful hike, even though we saw none of the views we were supposed to, due to the mist and clouds! But we saw some beautiful lakes and generally just enjoyed the Washington scenery and particularly, the evergreens. After our hike, we popped into Mt. Rainier National Park to visit Grove of the Patriarchs, which is an 1,000+ y.o. ancient forest that has been protected. The trees were sooooo tall. Super duper tall. Some of the trees had survived earthquakes, fires, you-name-it. It was absolutely incredible to be in a place with such rich history! After our visit to the Grove, we headed back to camp, whipped up a delicious dinner (more on that in another post) and went to bed!

On Sunday morning, we sprung out of our beds (or ambled, in the still-frigid temps), to pack up our things and head out for our last hike on Burroughs Mountain, at the Sunrise part of Mt. Rainier National Park. Catching Mt. Rainier in all its glory on our drive in, by the time we reached the peak of our hike on Burroughs, the mist and clouds had overtaken everything and we completely lost of view of the majestic mountain. However, we did meet another W&M alum, saw snow on the ground, and saw the largest glacier in the contiguous 48 states, so it could be worse. The hike took us through arctic tundra, evergreens, and lush meadows, all in 5 miles! We thoroughly enjoyed that hike (except for the cliffside rocky trails...) and definitely plan to return to Sunrise to do more hiking, since they have tons of trails. Sadly though, Mt. Rainier is mostly closed up after this weekend because winter is coming :( But we hope to return to snowshoe and then will be ready for more hiking next spring! All and all, a great weekend out in the wild despite being chilly and a bit damp!

Notes: Will chose to use the proportions from the original recipe, despite having a lesser amount of cucumbers. We also have no idea what types of cucumber he used, since he got them for free from someone at work.

Homemade Dill Pickles (adapted from The Kitchn; makes 1 pint)*
2-3 small cucumbers
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 tsp dill seed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp salt

Wash and dry the jar you plan to use - a pint-sized Mason jar is recommended, though you could use any size combination of Mason jars. Wash and dry the cucumbers, then trim away the ends. Cut your cucumbers into spears.

Smash the garlic, then place in your jar. Add the dill seed and red pepper flakes to the jar next. Pack the cucumbers into the jar, packing them as tightly as you can without squishing anything. Combine the vinegar, water and salt in a small sauce pan over high heat, bringing to a rolling boil. Allow to sit for a few seconds after reaching a boil, then pour over the pickles in the jar, up to 1/2-inch from the top. Gently tap the jars against the counter a few times to remove all the air bubbles, then top off with more pickling brine (water/vinegar combo) as needed. Place the lids over the jars and screw until tight. Let the jar come to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator. Wait at least 48 hours before opening, preferably allowing one week before consuming. Enjoy!

*This recipe is intended to make dill pickles that will be ready for immediate consumption in the first couple weeks. If you are wanting to can for a longer period of time, visit the full link below.

Recipe: The Kitchn: How to Make Dill Pickles