It’s that marvelous time of year where we find ourselves with an abundance of late summer fruits and vegetables. A colorful array of tomatoes, peaches, okra, squash, and fresh herbs seem to be coming out of the woodwork (with no complaints from me!); whether from our own gardens, our meal kit deliveries, or even our beloved CSA boxes.

One of my favorites to have ‘too much’ of is cucumbers. Doesn’t matter if it is a hot house, American, Kirby, or even the smaller cocktail variety of cucumber that is on hand, they are all a welcomed addition to a simple summer salad, tasty tabbouleh, or my favorite, a simple jar of quick pickles. My Mom always made pickles this way during the summer when I was growing up. Just a quick slice into a mason jar, seasoned with salt or celery salt, and topped off with white distilled vinegar. No recipe to follow here, just experiment with a teaspoon or so of salt to begin with, and you can always add more. Some other additions that I tend to gravitate towards in my quick pickles are fresh herbs like dill, basil or tarragon, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, and a touch of crushed red pepper flakes. Let the pickling begin. (Oh, and by the way, this quick pickling method also works well with yellow squash and zucchini…)

Tagged: cucumbers, pickles, pickling, quick pickles, summer produce