Yum! Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

This recipe came from an old and worn favorite recipe book I bought new when Coop and I first got together. You know the kind. One in which the pages have come loose from the binding and many are stained and worn from repetitive use. It’s been my best loved recipe source for the past twenty eight years.

These pickles are easy to make and require few ingredients. They work wonderfully as a side dish and taste great on a burger as well. They are similar to a bread and butter style pickle. The following recipe will make about 3 pints of pickles. I normally double it and make 3 quarts or put them into a gallon size jar.

Sweet Refrigerator Pickles

7 cup unpeeled cucumbers or young zucchini or a mix of both sliced thin ( Actually usually I make them with young zucchini.)

1 large onion sliced thin

A green or red pepper chopped is optional

1/8 cup salt

Place veggies in large pan or bowl. (I use a dishpan when making a double batch.) Sprinkle salt over sliced veggies and cover with ice water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain.

After placing pickles in jars, make the following syrup and bringing it to a boil. Ladle or pour over the pickles.

1 cup vinegar

2 cup sugar

1 tsp. celery seed

Store in fridge. The recipe says they will keep indefinitely but they won’t really last that long! : )

I have also canned these pickles (shown in photo). The only difference in doing so is that I make the syrup up, bring to a boil and then add the drained pickles to the syrup and return to a boil before putting in jars. If you do can them follow basic canning instructions, (hot jars, hot lids, wipe rims well, etc) be sure to run a small spatula around the inside of jar before sealing to remove air bubbles. Hot water bath them for about 10-15 minutes.

July 2008 Independence Summery

A tad bit late but here's our July Independence summery...

Planting, Harvesting & Preserving – Harvested cherries, raspberries, blackberries. Harvesting garden produce on regular basis for fresh eating.

Preserved 37 jars (1/2 pt) jam (lots of gift giving here!) , 8 pints pie filling, 7 pints pickles, 3 quarts juice, 8 pints beets. Froze 5 quarts cherries, 2 quart blackberries and 9 ½ quarts raspberries. Made 3 quarts refrigerator pickles.

Preparedness & Planning – Added purchased canned goods to reserves.

Managing household & reserves – cleaned freezer of remaining produce from last year to make room for this year’s harvest. Used up the last of 2007’s canned tomatoes by making spaghetti sauce.

Purchased jelly jars on sale, received additional canning jars from friend’s garage sale find, purchased more at auction. I have a surplus of jars at least for now.

Found a good cotton blanket at a garage sale for $1.

Received a supply of candles from our daughter, another garage sale find.

Received an entire wardrobe of clothing from a generous neighbor whose wife had passed away last year. As a result I kept what I could use for myself and gave away the remainder to others who could make good use of them. Sizes were varied so several people benefited nicely.

Keeping it Local – eating from our garden daily, eggs and milk from local Amish. Sharing garden produce with neighbors and family.

Learned New Skill or Tried Something New – made homemade castile soap successfully. Learned to use a pressure canner. Made calendula infused body oil. Now making my own butter. Tried a new zucchini cake recipe.

Misc. & Handcrafting -

Sold a jar of relish and a jar of jam as well as a beaded necklace.

Finished a crocheted shawl and it’s already reserved for purchase!

Crocheted cotton wash cloths.

Tale of Two Tanks conclusion

After learning of the brine spill at the tanks and speaking with the landowner that Saturday, I called the EPA and detailed what I had been made aware of and seen.

I was asked a lot of questions such as dates in question, the name of the company who owned the mineral rights, the tank numbers, etc., which I answered to the best of my ability. I was informed the information would be turned over to the EPA for investigation and f necessary, they would contact me.

Since I am still on dial up I remained off line as much as possible for a couple of days in case they called, but heard nothing from them. On the following Wednesday I noticed the coming and going of several dump truck loads of dirt on our little road as well as a county truck or two. Throughout the day I heard equipment running just up the road in the vicinity of the oil tanks.

That evening when I had time enough I took a stroll up the road to the site again with camera in hand.

This is a "before" photo of the drain off at the back of the tanks and pit.

And below is after.

This is the trench that had been dug for the run off.

And this is after.

Overall the place looked a lot better than how it had the days prior.

It appears everyone did their job and made things right. Let's hope this proves to be the case.

Aside from the actual desecration created by their negligence, the thing that upsets me most is that this company (and how many others?) have done whatever they can get away with to control costs because they are too cheap and/or greedy to do things responsibly. I hope it cost this particular company a lot of money to right their wrongs. I know it did last year when they polluted the well water of a nearby family and had to replace the well. Maybe they'll realize that it would have been cheaper to do things responsibly to begin with.

On my way back to the house I took this photo of the fields to the south and the intensely beautiful sky, thankful that things appeared to have been made right and hoping that this company will realize that environmental responsibility is more cost effective in the long run. In the very least maybe they'll realize that others are watching.

We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap. ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. ~Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before. ~Robert Lynd, The Blue Lion and Other Essays

simple living not simple or for everyone

Everything we do to grow, preserve, and make ends meet comes by way of necessity and conviction. Knowing we are responsible for making sure we get by and that we have enough without being at the mercy of corporate profiteering leads us to learning and doing, taking us further on the path of sustainability. Along with necessity resides a true pleasure derived from creating from one’s hand the ingredients necessary to sustain life. I believe that the greatest gift we are capable of is to be able to provide for ourselves and each other.

It helps a lot that we're not completely new to this lifestyle. I inherited a lot of “can do” attitude and know-how from my parents. I have also learned much on my own out of desire and necessity. We grew up on fresh veggies form the garden and home canned foods. A meal of fresh green beans and potatoes cooked with a little bacon or ham hock was a much welcome treat after the winter months. As long as I can remember I have regularly yearned for the taste of a fresh garden tomato throughout the months prior to their planting and ripening. I guess you could say that living simply and in a back to basics way is in my blood. It just feels right in every way; monetarily, environmentally and spiritually.

There is no great mystery in the ability to raise and preserve ones own food. People have been doing it for centuries. It is simple a matter of whether one feels this responsibility and has the time, space and inclination to do so. In these essential elements I am very fortunate. But in truth it is also necessary that we live this way. If we were dependent on purchasing all our food from the store we would have far less quality to our meals and far less food. Realistically, in order for us to live as well as we do, especially now with increasing costs we must be as self sufficient as possible. It makes no sense to be otherwise and lessen the quality of our lives.

I am aware of those who at times think ours is a life of leisure, one in which we have nothing more pressing to do than to tinker in the garden or craft and putter about, enjoying ourselves in whatever ways we choose. I would like to take the opportunity here to say yes, we have freedom. That freedom is not one away from work and responsibility. It is the freedom to do the work and live the life of our choosing and believe me it involves plenty of hard work. The garden, the ground, the preserves, the full freezer, the meals from scratch, etc., do not happen miraculously by themselves. Our lives are dedicated to making it work. From the dried herbs to the hand cut tomato stakes, from the spaghetti sauce to the fresh fruit, from the laundry soap to the hand made wash cloths and dinner napkins, it comes from time and effort specifically dedicated to making it work. And if I enjoy these things in the process, it doesn’t detract from the fact that it does require the majority of my time and effort. This is the choice I make as opposed to working outside the home for money that would be spent on these very items via someone else’s labor. The fact that I find satisfaction through my efforts and in needing less by way of commercially manufactured goods and food does not mean I work less than anyone else or that my work is less relevant than another’s. It simply means I enjoy it more and don’t consider all of it labor as opposed to other types of work or employment. The truth is I put more hours and energy into this job than I have any other.

We are fully employed here at home on a daily basis. We don’t get the weekends off, and often not the holidays. It is ongoing. Our jobs are our life, a life that many I know would not want to fully participate in. In truth, although it may sound simple and good (and it is), when confronted with the reality of what it takes to really live it, many would likely decline. I know this life is not for everyone. It would not be convenient to some to be self supporting, to not run out to the store when the need arose to pick up this or that. It takes dedication, foresight, planning and plenty of effort to live this simple lifestyle.

A simple life doesn’t mean an easy life. I think it is better described as being a less complicated, richer, more rewarding life. It is one in which we find the greatest pleasure and value in our own creativity and accomplishments. It is a life in which one is not searching outside themselves for satisfaction or meaning. It is a very full and rewarding life, one I hope we can continue living for a long time to come.

all in one catching up post

Just for pretty, the Morning Glories in quite naturally all their morning glory!

I miss coming to my computer and posting on a more daily basis but life has a way of keeping us busy, especially now. The garden is coming along quite beautifully. Cherokee Purple tomatoes as well as the Amish Paste are just beginning to ripen. The Hungarian hot peppers are coming along well and we have been enjoying the zucchini nearly every day as well as giving some away to family and friends. These along with green beans and peas are all part of our daily fare right now. I do love shopping from my garden!

Zucchini, peppers, Amish paste tomatoes and those lovely Cherokee Purple tomatoes take center stage on my kitchen table until I prepare them fro eating. The summer squash are from my daughters garden!

Even the ground cherries are ripening.

Today the laundry has been caught up, the makings of yogurt are under way, the cream turned into butter, spaghetti sauce has been cooked for tonights dinner...
and fresh zucchini sliced and under salt water for pickle making this afternoon.
With the garden producing and vegetables in abundance it' has been days since I have taken any meat from the freezer to include with a meal.


Coop has been working on repairing the side wall to our outside cellar steps. This is an old, old house with a stone wall cellar. The years we were away it was left in neglect for a good part. The outside cellar steps had been unused for the most part and had become overgrown with vegetation. DH cleaned them up and made them usable again. The newly repaired side wall he is constructing with concrete will help keep things out such as vegetation and snakes making me feel a little better about using the stairway when I haul the laundry out to the line. No more hauling heavy wash loads upstairs and through the kitchen, the garage and around back to the clothesline. Yippee! What on earth would I do without that guy? I know I'd work a whole lot harden than I do, that's what!

Last week I made 3 quarts of refrigerator pickles. (I will be sharing that recipe with you very soon.) This has been a tradition with me for a good many years. Although I do canned pickles, also, these are so nice and easy to make and are such a great accompaniment to summer time meals, not to mention a handy and very tasty take along for picnicking. They always get rave reviews and eaten up.

And last of all for those who, like me wash and reuse plastic bags, a simple but effective solution to drying. Mind you, I had been eyeballing those ready made bag drying racks but who wants to spend $12 - $15 on one when a quart jar and few dowel rods work equally as well. Same principal!

Have a great remainder of your week. I will get back with that pickle recipe and a follow up to the tale of two tanks very soon.

Peace, love and homegrown veggies! :)

simplicity - I couldn't have said it any better

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. ~Epicurus

Life is so simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~Confucius

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction. ~E.F. Schumacker

The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple. ~Doris Janzen Longacre

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Maybe a person's time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. ~Frank A. Clark

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness. ~Henry David Thoreau

How many things are there which I do not want. ~Socrates

Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~Lao Tzu

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. ~Thomas More.

People say "I want peace." If you remove I (ego), and your
want (desire), you are left with peace. ~ Satya Sai Baba

Manifest plainness,
Embrace simplicity,
Reduce selfishness,
Have few desires.
~ Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Too many people spend money they haven't earned,
to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. ~Will Rogers

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English
language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and
enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in
having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.
~Elise Boulding

Simplicity is the essence of happiness. ~ Cedric Bledsoe

To know you have enough is to be rich. ~Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day
rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less
so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.
~John Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are

We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,
even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry. ~ E.B. White

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants.
~J. Botherton

You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. ~Eric Hoffer

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. ~Laura IngallsWilder

To live content with small means, to seek elegance rather
than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy,
not respectable, and wealthy, not rich, to study hard, think
quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully,
do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never, in a word to
let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up
through the common, this is to be my symphony.
~William Henry Channing

The simplest things are often the truest. ~Richard Bach

The art of contentment is the recognition that the most satisfying and the most dependably refreshing experiences of life lie not in great things but in little. The rarity of happiness among those who achieved much is evidence that achievement is not in itself the assurance of a happy life. The great, like the humble, may have to find their satisfaction in the same plain things. ~Edgar A. Collard

It all depends on whether you have things, or they have you.
~Robert A. Cook

If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation. ~The Dalai Lama

For fast acting relief; try slowing down. ~Lily Tomlin

Tale of Two Tanks part 1

Less than 1/4 mile from our house stands two oil tanks.


A local energy company owns the mineral rights on this land and has for many, many years although I just heard through the grapevine they have sold to a larger company. I also heard said that with their technology they can drill sideways into the ground and make the wells in this area as productive as they were thirty years ago and in the process making lots of money for the landowners (and I might add, least of all the company).

We seldom travel our road in an easterly direction past those tanks, but on Tuesday afternoon of last week we decided to do just that as we headed over my our niece's house. As we passed the ugly blue tanks Coop and I both noticed that the ground had been freshly dug and piled higher than normal around the pit. This pit exists in case of a spill when draining the tanks and to contain the accidental release of toxic liquids such as brine, oil or a mixture of the two.

Anyhow...we didn't think too terribly much about it and kept on driving. On Saturday we learned from our neighbor M that the energy company employee had definitely had a spill of said brine the week before at the tanks and obviously a pretty hefty spill. M said he had spoken with the employee and threatened to call the EPA about it. The employee urged him not to and reassured they'd get it cleaned up.

On that same Saturday after learning of the situation, out of concern and curiosity I decided to take a walk to the site with camera in hand.

I climbed up on the mound of dirt to get a look at the pit. I knew the liquid in the pit is rain water because we'd had heavy rain just prior and any brine would by now have been absorbed into the ground...somewhere.

I took a walk behind the tanks and saw this nifty little drain tube sticking out of the ground from the pit wall...hmmm

And I saw this. (The area to the far right edge of pic is where that orange drain pipe is.)



This last pic is to give you an overall idea of the distance from the tanks the trench had been dug.

Obviously the spill was substantial or why else would they have stuck that drain tube into the wall of the pit and dug this trench? I estimate the trench was about 100' in length. Fortunately they blocked it at that distance preventing anything traveling further west. Beyond there lay the woods and the creek bed. If poisonous brine was drained out of that pit and had made its way to the creek it would have been disastrous.

I spoke with the land owner that same day and relayed my feelings about the oil company's disregard for the environment and the private property of others. I also told him rather matter of factly that if he didn't want to call the EPA I would. He shook his head affirmatively, letting me know it was literally my call.

to be continued...