CREAMY CUCUMBERS

A friend of mine was raving about these creamy cucumbers she made and shared this recipe with me. She had gotten it from another friend. It is a recipe that some would recognize being made by their mothers or grandmothers and handed down through the generations. The cucumbers will have a tangy and sweet taste and it is a great way to preserve and eat cucumbers especially if you are getting many from the garden. You can store the creamy cucumbers in the fridge for up to six to eight weeks. 

I made half the recipe and used six large size cucumbers and half a large size white onion. I used five jars (500 ml each) which are easier for storage in the fridge and serving.   

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups mayonnaise or miracle whip

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tbsp pickling salt

1 tsp pepper

12 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

2 onions, peeled, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large bowl, mix together the mayo, sugar, vinegar, pickling salt and pepper.  Add the cucumbers and onions. Combine well. 

To make storage and serving easier, place cucumber mixture into jars with lids and store in the fridge up to six to eight weeks.

UPDATE - ICE CREAM PAIL PICKLES

The cucumbers are plentiful in the garden this year.  It helps that the DH waters them, they grow up on a kind of ladder cages and we planted enough to counter any plants that might not survive during the early stages of growing.  A small challenge that is encountered is the DOG.  He likes to pull cucumbers off the plants, chomp on them and leave half eaten cucumbers on the lawn.  So it does require some vigilance at times to ensure he is not sampling the cucumbers.

I decided to tweak the recipe that I posted a few years ago for ice cream pail pickles.  I made the same recipe with a few adjustments.  I put the sliced cucumbers in a large mixing bowl.  I used a mandoline to thinly slice them.  I heated up the sugar, vinegars, salt and spices in a medium size pot to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes to ensure that the sugar had dissolved.  I think dissolving the sugar is important and making a non heated mixture doesn't ensure that the sugar is really dissolved.  I then poured the liquid over the cucumbers sitting in the mixing bowl.  You may think you don't have enough liquid but the cucumbers have their own juices and the volume of liquid does increase.

Instead of putting the cucumbers and liquid into a large ice cream pail and then placing in the fridge, I decided to use large canning jars instead.  I ensured that the jars and lids were clean but I didn't sterilize the jars in the oven.  There was enough made to fill four large jars.  It is easier to store and use the pickles in a jar than a large ice cream pail.  In the past I would be transferring the pickles from the ice cream pail that is kept in a fridge in the basement to a canning jar for storage and use in the kitchen fridge.  Now I cut out one step and made serving the pickles easier.   It will be a few days before I sample the first jar. 

MUSTARD BEAN RELISH/PICKLES

We had a great crop of green and yellow beans this summer.  In deciding what to do with all of the beans, the DH asked if I could make mustard bean pickles which is also like a relish.  His mom had made these pickles years ago and he liked the flavour and taste.  The DH found an old recipe book (The Purity Cookbook) belonging to his mom and it had a recipe for these mustard pickles.  I also found this recipe on an internet site.

The recipe calls for 6 quarts of beans or 15 cups.  I thought that was a lot of beans and was worried that I would have too many beans.  Once I started to mix the mustard sauce with the beans in a large pot, my worries were put to rest.  It is a great recipe and the DH sampled a few spoonfuls and said that it tasted great and was similar to what his mom had made.

Beans placed in a pot to boil. 

Mustard sauce cooking and thickening. 

Beans added to the mustard sauce and well mixed.

Canning jars cooling on the kitchen counter.

Wash and trim ends from a six  quart basket young yellow or green string beans.
Cut into 1" lengths. This amount will measure about 15 cups prepared beans.
Cook in boiling salted (salt is optional) water until just tender.  Drain.

MUSTARD SAUCE
Mix together in a large saucepan or kettle:
2-1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dry mustard
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Blend into the dry ingredients:
1/2 cup vinegar

In a medium size saucepan, heat to boiling point:
2-1/2 cups vinegar
1 tbsp celery seeds

Stir this hot liquid slowly into flour mixture.

Place the saucepan or kettle over moderate heat, stirring until thickened and smooth (about 5 minutes).  Add drained beans; bring mixture to boiling point.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal and let cool. Store in a dark, dry, cool place.  Makes about 9 jars (250 ml).

ICE CREAM PAIL PICKLES

Each year we plant a number of cucumber plants with the anticipation that we will get a fair number of cucumbers to eat. The cucumber plants are each surrounded by a circular trellis to allow the plant to climb up so that they grow up instead of on the ground. I find we need less garden space growing cucumbers this way.

We have been picking and eating cucumbers for the past month. I have been eating a cucumber almost every day. For the past number of summers I have made ice cream pail pickles It is a really easy recipe and you need, depending on their size, about six to eight cucumbers. Once you make the recipe, it takes about five days for the cucumbers sitting in the brine to start to taste like pickles. This recipe in essence makes what some people call bread and butter pickles. The picture I have included here is a batch I made tonight. The cucumbers will sink down over the next day or two and will be covered by the brine. The pickles last all winter in the fridge. After a month or so, I transfer the pickles and brine to large pickling jars as jars are easier to handle and store in the fridge.

Ice Cream Pail Pickles

4 cups sugar

2 tsp pickling salt

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp mustard seed

2 cups vinegar

1 small onion sliced

1 small sweet pepper sliced or chopped

1 large ice cream pail with lid

1. Fill an ice cream pail with thinly sliced cucumbers and layer onions and sweet pepper as you fill the pail with sliced cucumbers. I pack the ice cream pail with sliced cucumbers.
2. To make the brine, mix the sugar, spices and vinegar in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour the brine over the pickles in the pail. As you are pouring the brine, keep stirring it in order to prevent the sugar from settling on the bottom of the mixing bowl.
4. Cover the pail with the lid and place in the fridge. Within a week you have pickles.