Summer Pickings

We've had a bumper crop of vegetables this summer, and things are still growing wildly! Lots of green beans, runner beans, yellow wax beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus....Just wonderful. Of course my freezer is getting rather full now, so it might be time to invest in a larger one!

 

Pickled Cucumbers

This is one of those super quick summer recipes which transforms your regular cucumbers into a a fabulous crunchy snack. 

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C water, boiling

1/2 C white vinegar 

1/2 tsp thyme, dried

I tsp pickling spice

24 baby cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

Thoroughly dissolve the sugar in the boiling water and then stir in the white vinegar. Stir in the herbs and pickling spices and set aside for a few minutes when you slice the cucumbers.

Put the cucumbers in a medium sized bowl, and pour over the vinegar and herb mixture. Leave the cucumbers to chill in the fridge for several hours before eating. Just perfect on a hot summer's day!

Cherry Picking

What a wonderful cherry crop we had this summer. It took quite a while to pick them, and of course it takes time to wash and pit them too. I think I need to bake a cherry pie soon, but in the meantime I can relish the wonderful intense colors of these amazing cherries, glowing from within like rubies on fire, dripping down from every branch. Heavenly.