This year my cucumber plants are thriving. We often eat them quickly with lunch or dinner, but every now and then we get more than we can keep up with.
Incidentally, we also all really love pickles at my house! My great grandmother always canned the most delicious homemade dill pickles, and my husband’s grandmother often made refrigerator pickles (which are pickles made without the lengthy fermentation process). Many refrigerator pickle recipes online have a ton of sugar (2 cups or more per jar), which I don’t especially enjoy as a primarily dill pickle fan, and also use white vinegar for processing, while I prefer the taste and health benefits of apple cider vinegar.
I came across a spicy paleo refrigerator pickle recipe on the blog That Paleo Couple, and then adapted it with ingredients I had handy and also ingredients that I had seen with other recipes. I have a couple banana pepper plants growing this year in my garden as well that we sliced and added alongside the cucumbers, which added a very subtle amount of spice.
The recipe turned out so delicious and will be one we continue to use at our house. And if my plants ever aren’t producing well, I think I will still want make this recipe with organic grocery store cucumbers because it is so darn good. Let me know if you try it! 🥒🧂
Overnight Refrigerator Pickles (10 min to prepare)
Ingredients
3-4 medium organic cucumbers peeled and sliced
3 tsp sea salt
4 small cloves garlic, crushed
3-4 sliced organic banana peppers
1/8 tsp organic whole mustard seed
1/8 tsp organic celery seed
1/4 C Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
2 C cold water
Instructions
1. Thinly peel and slice organic cucumbers and/or organic banana peppers.
2. Combine all other ingredients in a quart size mason jar and stir to combine.
3. Add cucumbers and peppers to the jar until it is full.
4. Place covered jar in the refrigerator overnight. Delicious refrigerator pickles await you when you wake!
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Why DIY?
So why make stuff that is often easier (and sometimes even cheaper) to buy? I like to do homestead and DIY projects because, for me, making stuff is just plain fun – at times it’s even meditative. But equally as important to me is the fact that there are often far fewer chemicals, pesticides, waste and plastics involved with things that are homemade. I also tend to appreciate the things I take time to bring to life by hand more than anything I quickly purchase on impulse.
I believe humans are wired to create. I find it interesting that when I take time to “make”, I am always more deeply satisfied at the end of the day. Additionally I love the bonus of community-building that can occur when I share or trade the things I make with others.
Try making something this week, however simple, and see if it doesn’t enrich your life and health too!
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If you’d like support creating your own rituals, yardsteading and nature connection practices, check out The Handmade Life! There I offer nature-based coaching sessions, share herbal traditions, handcrafted goods, DIY workshops and herbal consultations.