Weekend

Nelli’s is closed on Saturday and Sunday so Nelli can go horseback riding on Saturday and to church on Sunday. We have a few things to clean up out of the garden before the hard freeze. Here’s some good pickles to make from those cucumbers that got too big for anything else:

Red Hot Candy Pickles: Peel, seed and cut 2 gallons of cucumbers into sticks about 4-5 inches long and ½ inch wide. Mix 1 cup pickling lime with 8 quarts water and pour over pickle sticks in a non-reactive container. Let stand 24 hours. Drain and rinse. Let stand in cold water a few hours. Combine 1 cup cider vinegar, 1 tblsp alum, 1 bottle red food coloring, and enough water to cover pickle sticks in a pot. Simmer 2 hours and drain. Combine 3 cups cider vinegar, 11 cups sugar, 1 bag red hot candies, 3 cups water and ¼ tsp oil of cinnamon. Bring this mixture to boil and pour over sticks. Let stand 24 hours. Reheat brine and pour over sticks. Do this 3 days in a row. On day 3, pack pickle sticks into hot jars, cover with hot brine, secure lids and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. Makes about 10 pints.

Sunday evening: Start tomorrow’s Pickled Slaw: Mix 1 head cabbage, shredded with 1 finely chopped onion. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over mixture. DO NOT STIR.
Bring 1 cup cider vinegar, ¾ cup oil, 1 tsp dry mustard and 1 tsp celery seed to boil. Pour over cabbage and sugar, but DO NOT STIR. Refrigerate overnight. Stir just before serving. Keeps a long time.