In a Pickle...For Reals!

My posse of one and I did our best today to celebrate Labor Day....the economic and social contributions of workers.  How, may you ask???  Inquiring minds want to know, I suspect??  By spending money and working..I think next year we will just go on vacation.  Is there that guy out there who wants to hop on a plane to Belize...I know you're out there...please?!?!?!?!  winkety-wink...  Work is way overrated, IMHO...  I had a list..a big to-do list today, one of epic proportions, one might say.  At least E.V. was kind enough to wake me at 5am, so we had the entire day to complete said tasks.  She's thoughtful in that respect...gotta give a gal credit where credit is due...

"Relax...Mama...We have ALL day...."

To begin things, I canned pickles.  Jeff called this morning and had 25lbs of cucumbers.  I had previously purchased 5lbs yesterday at the Farmer's market.  We canned until I ran out of dill.  While we were at the market, I also purchased some gorgeous Maitake Mushrooms.  Those were my two special finds.  Exquisite!!!

Fresh Dill!!  It smelled equally as good as it appeared...  Perhaps even better...

I love, love, love these mushrooms..for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, they are scrumptious.  Secondly, they are not chanterelles.  Nor did I have to suit up, grab my gear and trek through the Tillamook Forest in a torrential downpour to pick these mushrooms, only to come home and clean them..for the rest of my life...no orange fingers THIS year, my friends.  That calls for a little finger clap, fo' sho'!

I was quietly canning my pickles in the apartment, and things were moving along without incident..

There are my cucumbers in the rough...and it was rough carrying them up from the garage...Thank heavens for elevators!!  That one flight of stairs....brutal...I'm a wuss..shhhhh...that's a secret!

Here are the ingredients required to make dill pickles....

Fresh Dill, Dill Seed, Peppercorns, Salt (minus iodine), Vinegar, Garlic, Cucumbers, and H20.  Iodine causes pickles to become brown...I am unfamiliar with the chemical specifics, however I did read it on the world wide web..that place is a plethora of  information..who knew...it's like the You Tube!  Wonders cease to amaze me...

You first need to clean the cucumbers...

Bath Time!!  For pickles...anyway....and anyone else willing to join???  We've got room! ;-)

Once they're all clean, allow the slicing to commence...

Action shot straight from the kitchen...They're getting closer to becoming a pickle.  It was their destiny....They fear nothing....They have met with counselors and have prepared themselves for what is to come...

Here is the brine which assists cucumbers in becoming a pickle..It's an unexplained miracle.  We'll leave it at that...it's much more fascinating to view it from that perspective...Trust me...I don't kid!  I know my stuff!!  hahahahaha...

There are four steps to the process......here they are...in a particular order.  Hahahaha.  I should have put them out of order and had you guess...like a test.  I hate tests...I'm not that cruel...I may require dogs to sign NDA's, however I would never subject any of you to a test....well, I might...but it would be multiple choice, of course...those you CAN pass without studying...yes, it's true...Again, I speak from experience....teehee..

Step 1:  (The jars need to be sterilized in the dishwasher...key...)  Peppercorns, garlic, dill, dill seed on the bottom.

Step 2: Fill jar with as many cucmber slices as possible.

Step 3: Top with another round of Peppercorns, Garlic, Dill and Dill Seed.

Step 4: Fill to the brim with brine.  I kinda, maybe, sorta could see some sort of joke at this point...hmmmm...maybe not so much.  I'll move along.  I have lots to cover this evening...I'll save my lame jokes for a more slow evening...lucky for you!!

Well, folks.  That, my friends...is how you make a pickle.  Here are all of the pickles I finished today...

The Pickles go Marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!...hahahahahah JUST like ants!!  Only they taste WAY better!!  And they're GREEN!!!  Shall we call these Green Day Pickles...if I were to take this route, we'd be here ALL evening...I'll move along...

Here was pickle central earlier in the day...total chaos...and my apartment smelled funny, but in a good way.  I don't know that I would purchase a dill scented candle, but it still smells clean and homey...Reminded me of this scratch-n-sniff book I had as a child...Peter Rabbit, I believe...he was in a pickle patch or something...

I'll be canning these for the next 35 days...I ran out of dill and jars...Good thing my posse and I have no plans.  hahahahahahaha...maybe some booty shaking and stuff...but nothing concrete...

If it weren't for the holiday, we would have never had the time to cook.  I did manage make food...and it was so super-duper yummy!

I paid homage, of sorts, to the Keystone State...  I had pickles on the brain.....deep fried pickles.  I hadn't had them since I was home to visit last fall.  Thank you, Franco's.  Along with ranch dressing.  Ummmmm...So I decided to make a cheese steak with the leftover tenderloin from the other evening.

Steak, Onions, Mushrooms..I totally forgot to place the cheese in this though.  I was going to take a separate shot, however, I've already played the 'cheese stands alone' joke...I didn't want to wear it out....in the event I'd need it in the future...it was too soon..

Here it the cheese steak on the stove...all mixed together...including provolone...mmmmmm

It's a bird....It's a plane.....It's......THE SKILLET OF JUSTICE!!!!  Big finger clap, my friends...for the S.O.J.  Crimefighter extraordinaire...Never lets you down..sort of like chainsaw jugglers...they have that sort of affect on things...

Shall we move along to the deep fried pickles...here they are in all their deliciousness and glory...

Coated with a mixture of flour, water, oil and baking powder.  Fried in olive oil.  Serve with homemade ranch dressing...which I made the other day.  No regrets...none...  I kid you not.

After this super-duper long day...we finally ate and it was absolutely delicious......

This was the bee's knees...

Even E.V. assisted this evening in clean-up...specifically with recycling...she does what she can....she's a WIP...just like her Mama....

"Mama, you were sooo right-on...Mayo rocks!!!"

Our work here is done...I told you I had some surprises.  I'm a woman of my word!  We are off  to bed.  I'll be here....for quite some time, I'd imagine.  I dropped my garage door opener earlier this evening and it's broken, so my 4runner is locked in the garage.  Oops... We couldn't leave if we wanted to...Ah, well...I have my Skillet of Justice and a chainsaw juggler to keep my mind occupied.  Thanks for joining us...we'll be here tomorrow.