Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
While it was Mother Goose* that first officially asked the question
back in the mid 1700s,
this same question is still brought up today
-especially this time of year-
in the mid-west.
How’s your garden growing?
After planning, planting, weeding, and caring for all of those precious plants,
we are now reaping a harvest and enjoying incredibly tasty food
-just one of the benefits of having a garden **
(followed closely by improving your physical & mental health
and reducing your environmental footprint).
Are you finding plenty of ways to enjoy the vegetables
that you’re getting from your plot?
My family’s been eating a lot of zucchini sauté lately.
{You can find the scrumptious recipe we use HERE.}
And soon we’re hoping to put up some refrigerator cucumbers.
Here comes an easy recipe for that.
And, pssst!, once they’re made, you’ll be able to enjoy them for several weeks.
Now THAT’S what I call a good recipe!
Here it is:
Refrigerator Cucumbers
- Get a one-gallon glass jar.
- Slice a whole passel of cucumbers (but don’t peel them).
- Slice 4-5 small onions.
- Layer the cucumbers and onions in your one-gallon glass jar until it is ¾ of the way full.
- Add 2 cups of sugar, ¼ c. canning salt, 1 T. mustard seed, 1 T. celery seed, and 1 T. turmeric. Pour it over the cucumber and onion layers.
- Finish filling the jar with cucumbers, pushing down to pack it well.
- Now add 3 cups of white vinegar.
- Shake it and then leave it set on the counter.
- After a few hours, push down the veggies again and add more cucumbers.
- Now that it’s packed to the brim, refrigerate it, shaking it once a day for 5 days.
- After five days, they’re ready to eat! Open the jar and enjoy. Snack on them throughout the day; set them out at your next barbeque. When you’ve had your fill, recap the jar and place it back in the fridge. You’ll be able to savor those cucs for the rest of the summer!
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When company stops by unexpectedly, you won’t find yourself in a pickle.
No. You’ll open the fridge, pull out the refrigerator cucumbers, and serve up a tasty treat.
You’re so cool.
Cool as a cucumber!
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*Just WHO was Mother Goose? Answer: Many different writers from many different times (some female and others male). Hundreds of children’s stories, songs, chants and games have been attributed to Mother Goose, although her(?) exact identity and origin is still unknown!
**For a list of eight benefits of backyard gardening, check out http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1275.
