Recipe: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

I'm still fairly new to the pickle world. For the past 18 years or so I have had a strong distaste for pickles but I recently rediscovered my love for dill pickles!

I made a few changes to the original recipe. It called for kirby cucumbers. I just used two random cucumbers from my in-laws' garden. I have no idea what they were. Also, I forgot to stir them at all and they did fine.

All in all, a super easy recipe that makes fantastic sour pickles!


Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3/4 teaspoon dill seeds
2 cups hot water

2 large cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Put the first seven ingredients in a glass bowl and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Slice cucumbers, chop dill and garlic, and place in a large bowl.

Pour brine over top and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight/twelvish hours.

In the morning, put in mason jars. Store up to two weeks (if they last that long!).

Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 quarts.




Source: One Perfect Bite

 

Goodwill: July 2012

Just a small bag for goodwill this month. I forgot to take a photo before I tied it up but this bag is:
two tablecloths,
a tiny folding stool,
a coke glass,
a christmas scarf,
and a bandeau from Victoria's Secret.

(Getting rid of this last item gave me great pain but it NEVER fit right, and I only ever wore it twice in a year or two. Sad day indeed.)

Pennsylvania Holiday

I spent the second week of July out in Pennsylvania at my Grandma's house with my family and had a blast! David and I had a busy little trip. We were gone five days total, and two of those were spent driving! In those three days we made it to the lake, the Corning Glass Museum and down the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. As you can see, my Grandma lives in a beautiful part of the country!

And the third week of July was spent recovering and settling in to our new routine. Second shift is quite the adjustment but I'm loving all the time I have to write.

We did it:

We bit the bullet and bought the tickets!!!

This is a long held dream for both of us and has been a long time coming. We're excited to begin the researching and planning process, and plan the trip we've both been dreaming of!

To my love:

Central Park, NYC, May 2012

Happy third anniversary, darling! You're the best husband a girl could ask for and I'm so grateful that I get to spend the rest of my life with you. There's not a day that goes by when I'm not struck by how lucky I am that you picked me. I love you!

What I've been watching July 2012 Edition

First, and foremost, we're still working our way through NCIS. We began watching Season 1 shortly after we got married three years ago (today!). This past weekend we finished Season 7. Season 9 finished airing in May and is due to come out on DVD this fall. So we are making definite progress! I'm still loving this show and am always eager to see what happens next. I don't want it to ever end (although I know all shows must eventually) and I'm excited that they are at least making a Season 10!

Secondly, in the spring we began watching Doctor Who Season 1 on Amazon streaming. We're now halfway through Season 2 and I'm really enjoying this show. I have to admit that it does frequently creep me out/scare me. Certain species of the aliens and bad guys in this show just really do me in (can anyone say weeping angels?) so I have to be careful about when I watch it but I still love it.

And thirdly, I've been watching Frontier House on YouTube this week. Frontier House is a PBS show that follows three families from 2001 as they attempt to live and survive on a 1883 homestead in Montana, and it is absolutely fascinating. The drama and bickering between the families is a little much at times but watching them build houses and do chores in a beautiful Montana valley is addicting. It's both a blessing and a curse that the show only contained six episodes. I could have watched and enjoyed many more episodes but I have plenty to do without watching hours of semi reality tv. Luckily for me PBS did several more shows like this. Coal House, 1900 House, 1940 House, Colonial House and Manor House. Now I just have to find them online!

I have a couple of shows I'd like to watch soon. Season 2 of Downton Abbey and Stargate SG1 to begin with. Any suggestions of shows I should add to my cue?

On why I am no longer job hunting

Today I went crazy. I walked into a second interview for a job, received an offer, and turned it down. Now, this wasn't just any job. It was a good job, a fantastic job.  Good pay, great hours, wonderful environment, and amazing people. The best kind of people actually. The kind you want to just sit and talk to all day because they're just that awesome. And yet, when it came down to it, I just couldn't commit. As much as I would have loved that job (and I definitely would have. Can anyone say natural, integrative, medical practice?!), accepting that job would have been a sacrifice.

You see, Justin and I, we have a bargain of sorts. It's never been explicitly stated but it's there. He works outside of the home and I work inside the home. He makes money and I try my darnedest to save money. Some might call that patriarchal and old-fashioned. And, really, it kind of is. But you know what? I really like it that way. Yes, I know we're extremely lucky and have a very unique situation. Many people around the country aren't in a position to be able to live on one income. But we are and want to take advantage of it. So I did the unthinkable and turned down an amazing job today. Because ultimately I know that I can't do everything. I can't work 30 hours a week and still do everything that I need want to do. We have plans and goals, and, unfortunately, this job, or almost any job in fact, wasn't compatible with them. We have races to train for and classes to take. We're starting house hunting and trying to plan a vacation. Someday we'd love to get down to one car and plant a large garden. How are we going to do all this, and more, if every evening and weekend is filled with housework and grocery shopping? How can we stop being dependent on two cars if everyday I commute 5.5 miles in one direction and he commutes 6 miles in another?

Over the weekend, we discussed all these things. Around and around we went, wrestling with the all these facts, trying to decide what was best for us, both individually and as a couple. Because frankly, I wanted this job. I wanted it a lot. To be able to spend my days with this group of people that I admire and respect, to be in an environment that supports the things that I believe in, would have been fantastic. It was the perfect job. But there were still those nagging thoughts and questions. What parts of our lifestyle will we be giving up just to have a little more money? In the end, Justin left the decision to me and I turned it down because, ultimately, we would have lost more than we gained. Do I regret my decision? No, I don't think I do. Do I wish I could have made both work? You betcha.