garden jewels and freezer pickles

I could look at these beauties all day long.

And I sort of did, yesterday. Was playing catch-up from three weeks of out-of-town travel (surprise!) including two weddings, two work trips and a family road trip. Between the garden and the farmer's market, I had a lot of veggies to tend to. It's going to be a delicious week of roasted, sauteed, juiced and pickled veggies.

Center stage: the easiest way to preserve cucumbers (in this case, lemon cucumbers) without dipping a single canning jar into a single vat of boiling water.

Freezer Pickles

Per batch:

4 cups thinly sliced cucumbers

1 thinly sliced onion

2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp celery seeds

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp dry mustard

1. Combine the cucumbers, onion and salt in a colander. Let stand and drain for at least 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the turmeric, celery seeds, pepper and mustard. Let cool to room temperature.

3. Pack the cucumbers into freezer containers (many small, or one large), leaving at least 1 inch of headspace. Pour in the brine (equal proportions in each container). The brine might not cover the cucumbers - this is alright. Mix well, then freeze.

4. Defrost in the refrigerator at least 8 hours before serving.