Adventures in Pickling

I’d love to tell you that I’ve been up to some really cool things, but the truth is that it’s just TOO. HOT.

This past weekend Tyler and I decided to go out on an adventure. We were going to start driving and stop when we saw something interesting (and still baby-friendly). And then it was 100 degrees. Literally.

We stopped at Target, spent too much time at Target, and then went home for the rest of the weekend. This would have been a total fail if we didn’t find some really awesome things to take home, but we did and I managed to remember to pick up some supplies to start pickling.

Oh, you guys! I forgot to mention one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever gotten came from Tyler this year. I had mentioned how I was interested in learning how to pickle and can and he listened in a big way. He bought a wooden crate and stained it, added a personalized sign, filled it with all the supplies and ingredients (except fresh) that I could possibly need, and added two recipe books (Canning for a New Generation and The Joy of Pickling) to help me fine tune my tastes.

So on Saturday night we made some spicy pickles and Indian-inspired cauliflower. The latter still has some time to go, but we tried the pickles tonight and I’m DYING over them. I ate almost the entire jar. Oops!

The Canning for a New Generation book separates the recipes by season, so I’ve been combing through to try my hand at a few more recipes that revolve around pickling.

I’m eyeballing the Spiced Seckel Pears with Red Wine, Red Onion Marmalade, and the Spiced Apple Butter for fall.

And for winter I’m loving the idea of making a bunch of these recipes to package in beautiful jars with crafty labels and give as hostess gifts. Perhaps the Champagne Jelly or Meyer Lemon and Rose Petal Marmalade?

Do you have any experience canning and pickling? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!