I’m new to pickling. I’m new to most things related to the garden. I’m already harvesting my pickling cucumbers, beans, ground cherries, and Serrano peppers. I’m not someone who gets excited about canning, but I am beginning my journey with refrigerator pickling–or quick pickles as some people call them.
I like spicy things, so bring on the red pepper flakes, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring on the peppers! Dilly beans! Spicy cucumber spices! Even my dad’s Dilled Green Tomatoes which come with a kick!
(This morning, my friend says that refrigerator pickles are a “gateway drug,” and soon I’ll be canning everything. We shall see).
But aside from canning, I did harvest some Sweet Basil and Thai Basil. Instead of making pesto to freeze in cubes, I washed and dried the leaves to freeze on their own to use on pizza and in my Italian recipes.
I love how my pickles are a way to think ahead, to imagine a beautiful future in which I go to the refrigerator on some lonely night, filled with hunger for something I cannot describe, only to discover the pickles right there, ready for us all, that will satisfy us as only pickles can.