Andrew Acomb

Saturday, Jennifer and  I went to the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast near Port Townsend, Washington to learn how to pickle cucumbers. This is just one of the classes that Linda teaches at the farm.

When we arrived, Linda already had everything in the kitchen that we needed to start pickling. She had grape leaves, garlic, dill, and about 20 pounds of cucumbers all grown right there on her farm.

As soon as we walked into the house, Jennifer and I both could smell the fresh  dill!

I learned so much from Linda. She took the time to answer all of our questions. Here she explained to us what to look for when choosing dill for pickling. Getting dill in a supermarket is definitely not the same as growing your own.

First Jennifer washed the cucumbers and I chopped them up. I was surprised they let me handle the sharp knife! I was a little slow on the chopping, so Jennifer ending up helping me with that. Someone had to take all the photos and videos!

In each jar we put a grape leaf, a clove of garlic and a clump of dill. Then we packed it full of “thousands” of tasty cucumbers.

Next we filled the jar up with the warm brine, put the lid on, and tightened the band down. The jars sat until cool.

The whole process was much easier than I thought. Of course Linda was a great teacher and made it seem so simple! She also gave us her recipe for brine, but you’ll have to take her class to get that!

There is one really bad part to the whole process though. I have to wait for at least two weeks for those cucumbers to become delicious pickles!

If your in the area, definitely give the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast a call to see what classes might be coming up. Linda is such a wonderful teacher. I think she needs her own show on the Food Network!