Dace, did you soak them in an ice water bath first?
I'm not a big fan of those packages either - my first good batch of bread and butter pickles I used that mix, and they're kinda mushy too.
Do you have a lot of help? Or is it just you doing all the work?
(asking this because I'm the person doing most of the gardening at my home, and I have to do just one bed at a time or I get too overwhelmed. Though I am preparing the soil for my large veggie garden I'm planning in the spring)
So glad you enjoyed enjoyed it Bee and Punkin - I read it for the first time when I was 12-13 (a LONG time ago!) and it resonated with me.
It's time to put up some watermelon pickle now that I know how to can! :)
Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle
Received from a friend called Felicity:
During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnuts
(Hollowed out
Fitted with straws
Crammed with tobacco
Stolen from...
So last night, at family dinner, we opened a jar of the dill pickles that I made a few weeks back! :woot They are wonderful - slightly crunchy and very good - my son and my DH finished a whole pint together before dinner (fortunately they didn't spoil their appetites!)
I used the dill...
As a newbie canner, I idiotically started off doing pickles - had the darnedest time packing them the first two times, but the third time, I just jammed them in there and they turned out pretty good. I also cut some in half or quarters to squeeze more in, vertically AND horizontally.
This is...
yep that's one of the main reasons I loved "The Omnivore's Dilemma" - I'm so excited because he's coming to speak at the college in the town where I live! :rose