Dill-icious Pickles.

When I was a child, I liked pickles. A lot. Spears, chips, and even an occasional huge, whole pickle topped my list of great veggies to eat.

Actually, I don't think I knew that they belonged to the veggie portion of the food pyramid. If someone told me that a pickle began its journey as a vegetable, I'm sure I wouldn't have tried it.

As the last child of the family, my parents forced few vegetables on me. My veggie repertoire consisted of iceberg lettuce and sweet corn, which barely register as vegetables. And, unknowingly, I ate cucumbers...but only pickled cucumbers.

Let's be clear—my pickles were dill. Only dill. No deviation. To me, there was nothing worse than biting into a pickle...and finding it was sweet.

Blagh.

Oddly, as I grew older, I usually ignored pickles. I'm not sure why. I like them. I do. I just didn't think much about them.

And then we had Mikey.

Mikey is our pickle boy.

Whenever we eat out and pickles accompany the meal, we all donate the spears to Mikey.

It's not unusual to find three pickles lined up on his plate.

Unlike me, though, Mikey knows how pickles originate. He's seen the vines in the garden and helped me harvest the cucumbers. Plus, he actually likes cucumbers.--straight up, fresh-from-the-vine cucumbers. It's one of the few foods he'll eat.

This summer, when our cucumbers piled high in the refrigerator, and we wondered what to do with them all, I told him we'd try to make pickles.

But then life happened, and our pickle project was forgotten.

Now, as our summer garden is winding down and the cucumbers are slowing, I realized I never made pickles for Mikey.

In fact, I've never attempted to make pickles.

Tonight, armed with my handy Ball Blue Book of Preserving, I magically turned late season cucumbers into pickles.

Honestly, it was ridiculously easy. Why have I feared canning all of these years?

For Day 4 of “31 Days of Garden Delights,” I'm sharing a recipe adapted from Ball Blue Book of Preserving:

Dill Pickles

(Yields about 7 pints or 3 quarts)

Ingredients:

8 pounds of cucumbers, sliced crosswise into ¼ inch segments

¾ cup sugar

½ cup canning salt

1 quart vinegar

1 quart water

3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices

Green or dry dill (1 head per jar)

Wash cucumbers. In a large saucepan, combine sugar, salt, vinegar, and water. Tie spices in a spice bag and add to vinegar mixture. (Note: I didn't have a spice bag. I added the spices directly into the liquid, then removed them with a sieve when done heating.) Simmer for 15 minutes.

Pack cucumbers into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Put one head of dill in each jar. Ladle hot mixture over cucumbers, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece lid and screw onto jars. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

It's so simple. Remind me—why was I so paranoid about canning?

The jars are cooling on the counter, and my little pickle eater is asleep.

When we have our pickle tasting, I'll let you know the reaction of our pickle connoisseur.

He is, after all, named Mikey.

And like the famous Mikey of years' past, he might not eat it, because he (usually) hates everything.

But maybe he'll like it.

Hey, Mikey!

Hope you enjoy your Garden Delights!

XO ~

Julie

Invasion of the Giant Cucumbers.

July in the South Carolina vegetable garden—particularly if you've been traveling for two weeks—is not the happiest place. Although our son's girlfriend diligently fed the animals and watered the gardens, some tasks—like weeding and cutting out dead foliage—had to wait until I returned.

After petting the pups and checking on the chickens, the first place I headed when we arrived home was to the large veggie garden to check on its progress.

Big mistake.

Tomato vines sporting nasty black spots.

Lettuce, underplanted in the tomato beds, now bolting and leggy.

Beans trellising up neighboring raspberry bushes.

And cucumber vines spilling over their bed, oblivious to the trellises, sprawling throughout the garden and blanketing the herb beds, the kids' raised bed, and the path through the garden.

I searched desperately for my inner Zen.

When that didn't work, Peter turned me around, and we headed back toward the house. After all, attacking an unruly garden while in the throes of jet lag isn't a smart strategy.

(Honestly, my tired brain screamed, “Rip it all out!” I'm glad I waited a bit.)

Truly, though, even with the ugliness of the garden, the harvest is pretty amazing.

Especially the cucumbers.

We arrived home to a produce-drawer full of cucumbers harvested by our house-sitter.

Exciting! Honestly, last year, our cucumbers flopped.

The next day, I harvested these:

And yesterday, as I cut back vines and attempted to whip the garden back into shape, I found these:

Holy cucumbers.

I love cucumbers. The kids actually eat cucumbers without complaint, too, which is miraculous. And I especially adore the fact that my calorie counter shows that a cup of cucumbers equals 16 calories. 

I could eat 75 cups of cucumbers to reach my daily calorie intake!

That's a LOT of cucumbers.

Hoping to add a little variety to my diet, I enlisted my friends over at the Garden Delights Facebook page for recipe ideas.

“Pickles,” of course, topped the list of recommendations.

I've promised Mikey that we'd attempt to make pickles, since he is a pickle fiend. I've never canned, but 2012 will be the year I learn to can.

Thankfully, our local farmers' market received a grant this year to teach canning. I'm planning to head there Saturday for my introduction to canning.

I'm ridiculously excited!

Until then, though, my friend Janet at The Queen of Seaford sent me the following recipe that I'm excited to try. Shrimp and cucumbers? How can you go wrong? What a perfect, light, cool summer dish. I believe this will be lunch today...

Cucumber and Shrimp Salad

One can (4.5 oz) shrimp, drained

2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/4 vinegar (can substitute rice or white wine vinegar)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds  (Heat sesame seed in ungreased skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes until golden.)

Place shrimp and cucumbers in a bowl. Mix vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and salt.... pour over cucumbers and shrimp. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Remove to a lettuce lined bowl with slotted spoon. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Tonight, though, I'm planning a family-favorite: chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce. It's so simple—and everyone likes it. (Well, the kids at least like the chicken. They'll have to eat their quota of cucumbers sliced instead of in the sauce.)

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. sea salt

1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

In a large bowl, combine olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary. Add chicken and toss to thoroughly coat. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

For tzatziki sauce:

½ large cucumber, seeded and diced.

½ cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. salt

1 garlic clove, minced

Prepare tzatziki sauce while chicken is marinating. Combine cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, salt, and garlic, stirring well. Set aside.

Place marinated chicken cubes on skewers, grill for approximately 5 minutes per side or until thoroughly cooked. Serve with the tzatziki sauce and pita bread.

And wine. The wine gives you strength to face the tasks in the garden.

I'm a little afraid to go back into the garden today for fear that I'll add to the cucumber collection—although I do plan to call our local food back to see if they can use some surplus cucumbers. (Do you know about ampleharvest.org? It's a great tool to help you find a local organization that can benefit from your surplus garden goodies.)

Do you have any favorite cucumber recipes? If you do...PLEASE share!

Otherwise, I might start a national “sneak-a-cucumber-on-your-neighbors'-porch day,” much like National Zucchini Day.

I think it's a good tradition, don't you?

Happy harvesting!

XO ~

Julie

Squashing Squash Vine Borers.

Yesterday, I harvested our first perfect, adorable yellow crookneck squash. 

Isn't it the cutest thing ever? 

While I'm thrilled to think about the deliciousness of lightly sauteéd squash with a hint of Parmesan melted on top, I'm also a bit nervous. Last year, our first good harvest of squash was also our last harvest. 

(Photo from R. Bessin, http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef314.asp)

Squash vine borers invaded the garden. 

This season, a gardening friend of mine already reported that he's lost a zucchini vine to the evil beasts. They're rampant, invasive, highly destructive. One day, you're harvesting lovely squash for a delicious ratatouille--the next, your vines are wilting. You think your forgot to water the bed--but no. Instead, your perfectly tended vines are being eaten from the inside out. 

It's like a horror movie. 

The larva of the squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) tunnel into stems of the squash plants, feeding on the basal portion of vine--which kills the plant. Sometimes, the borers venture to the fruit. 

Beastly brutes.

 (Photo from R. Bessin, http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef314.asp)

Squash vine borers mature into a moth known as a "clear wing," due to the lack of scales on the hind wings. The moths are often mistaken for wasps, as they fly during the day, laying eggs on the leaves of cucurbits. The larvae are white, thick, and more than an inch in length when fully grown. 

The biggest challenge for those of us in warm climates is that these nasty borers emerge early. The insects overwinter in the soil in the form of a larva or pupa, emerge in early summer, and lay eggs on the stems of the plants--typically in late May. The larvae hatch, bore into the vines, and complete their development in about four weeks. After they wreck havoc on our crooknecks and zucchini, they crawl into the soil, spin a cocoon, and transform into a pupa. 

Have I mentioned how much I hate these nasty borers? 

A friend of mine who is a fairly new gardener but a talented, crafty kind of girl tried to grow pumpkins with her kids last year. She thought it would be a great experience for the family to grow their own pumpkins, harvest them, and then carve them for Halloween. 

Guess what? 

Squash vine borers. 

The killers not only of vines--but of gardening dreams. 

When she asked what she could do to save the vines--I didn't have any answers. 

But now, I've done my homework. 

This year, before planting the raised beds, I researched every type of companion plant to help the garden flourish. Interestingly, I found that icicle radishes, planted in the same mounds as cucurbits and allowed to flower, are used as a trap crop for squash vine borers. Now, planted among all of the squash, zucchini, and cucumbers, the leaves of icicle radishes peek through. 

I'm crossing my fingers that it works. 

As a preventative, crop rotation is important to avoid the nasty borers. Because the larvae overwinter in the soil, avoid planting any members of the cucurbit family in the same location each year. (Cucumber, squash, and melon comprise the cucurbit family.) Also, destroy any vines killed by the borers to break the life cycle. 

Additionally, you can help prevent infestations by installing row covers over the crops--but then you'll need to hand pollinate your vines. 

But what can you do to save your crop now if you suspect a borer attack? According to Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, you can slit the infested vine lengthwise and remove the borers with a long needle. (Kind of disgusting, but still--you have dinner plans for that yummy squash, right?) After you've removed and destroyed the invaders, heap soil over the slit stem to encourage rooting. 

And cross your fingers. 

We will win the battle against these beasts. Who's with me?! 

XO ~ 

Julie