pickling

i decided to try my hand at pickling. i'm afraid all this lovely garden bounty may otherwise not get eaten. and i very much hate waste, especially food waste.

i started by filling the cute little canning jars with cracked pepper, jalapenos, garlic and fresh dill (i've been looking for an opportunity to chop into that little plant outside).

i looked at several recipes for pickling brine, but none of them really wowed me so i kind of ad-libbed the rest: about 3 cups apple cider vinegar, 4 cups water, 8 tablespoons sugar, 4 teaspoons salt, cracked pepper, a few teaspoons of fennel, four cloves of garlic, about a tablespoon of mccormick pickling spices (although i think these may have added a bit too much sweet). 

the brine boiled away while i packed my jars with cauliflower and carrots (cut and boiled in salted water for a few minutes) and okra (boiled for about one minute, whole).

ladling the boiling brine into the jars: easy. i thought it'd prove messy and ow-ow-ow hot.

and now, we wait a week. and then we have a bloody mary party!