-Chard
-Summer squash
-Fennel
-Cucumbers
-Basil
-Beans
-Weekly eggs

Small share that week–but those little cucumbers, in addition to the pile of them I’d gotten the week before, prodded me into trying a recipe I’d seen on the farm’s recipe page, for refrigerator pickles.

Fridge Pickles
Adapted from Stone Soup Farm
Brine (amounts are for 3 largish cucumbers)
* ½ head garlic, peeled and sliced (doesn’t have to be perfect)
* ½ bunch dill, cut through a few times
* 2 cups water
* 1 cup white vinegar
* 3 TBS salt

Note: I made half again this much, and ended up adding a bit of extra water after a few days when the pickles seemed too harsh.

Slice up your cucumbers into whatever shapes you prefer—I made a mixture of spears, sandwich slices and rounds, since I like pickles in a variety of contexts!

Combine the brine ingredients in a jar. I started with a quart jar but it was too small and I moved up to a larger one that I had been using to store beans and rice and things. (PSA: I nearly dropped it the first time I put it back into the fridge after taking pickles out—be careful with big glass jars covered in condensation!)

Add in the liquids and give a good stir or shake to get the salt dissolving, then add in the cucumbers. Cover up the jar, pop it in the fridge, and wait a few days for the brine to do its magic.

According to the recipe, “The vinegar and salt preserve this somewhat, and these will keep fine in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, possibly more.” I started munching on the spears after about a week, and the pickles taste great. We used some rounds on burgers the other night, with great success.

Yesterday I got a few more cucumbers in the CSA share, and I added them into the brine. You can see the effect of pickling here: The pickles that have been in brine for two weeks are the duller olive color on the left; the new additions are on the right, bright green.

I know refrigerator pickles like this aren’t rocket science, but that’s exactly why I was so pleased. I doubted that something this simple would stand up to good store bought pickles, but they are great, super easy, and incredibly cheap to make. I go for really garlicky dill pickles, and I liked being able to tweak the brine to my taste as the pickles sat in the fridge. Definitely worth a try!