Daily Notes- July 22nd

Refrigerator Pickles.

Simply white vinegar (1 cup), pickling salt (1.5 T), water (3 cups) and sugar (3 or 4T).

Sliced pickling cucumbers, lots of dill, a grape leaf (has natural alum to crisp the pickle but not necessary) 

and a fat clove of garlic.  You boil the liquid, add to jar which you have packed with halved pickling cucumbers, dill, etc., let sit, drain back into saucepan (keeping cucumbers etc in the jar) and boil again and then add to the jar a second time.  Let cool completely and cap (I use reusable plastic lids from Ball) and then into the fridge.  Makes 2 quarts jars.  Divide by two for one quart jar.

I just figure you all know stuff but I can see someone boiling the cucumbers etc in the saucepan- 

NO!! I REPEAT_ NO!!!

You are adding boiling liquid to a jar packed with dill and pickling cucumbers.

I actually taste the liquid to see if it is needing more salt, more vinegar, sugar

or more water if too salty or too vinegary.  I tinker with it.  Which is fine.

You cannot tinker with canning but you can tinker with refrigerator pickles.

My mother made these pickles every Summer and they were served with every supper.  

Later in the Summer there were always sliced garden tomatoes and sweet corn.

She also made really exceptional breaded pork chops and cold German potato salad.

That was the food we took on any picnic we ever went on- or when we went fishing.

My mother hurried us through supper to get to dessert. She loved dessert.

My brother asked about dessert before he asked what was for supper on his visit.

Two loads of washing done and three loads folded.  One in the dryer all week-how does that happen??

I should pay bills today- write checks etc.  I most likely will do that.

I got a call from a real person yesterday for some sort of Medicare "intake" something.  

I asked him to stop calling as we have another plan that takes care of all things Medicare 

and we do not deal with Medicare directly.  Ever.

Hung up. He called back in seconds to swear at me for quite awhile (very picturesque language).  

I hung up.  He called back.  More swearing says he is trying to "help me".  

I stayed quiet and waited- he finally got tired and hung up. 

And if he is reading this- No, Frank, I do NOT have my head stuck up my ass.

Thank you for asking.