Week 2: Dill Pickles - Preschool Style!!

When I was a kid, my parents had rows of quart-sized jars lined against the wall of the basement pantry. The pickles inside were the best ever.

I've often asked them to recreate or give me the recipe, but the answer is always the same. "Ann, they are such a hassle!!"

Along comes Pinterest, and I've found a super-simple recipe that our preschoolers can put together! It requires no cooking, steaming or complicated canning equipment. I'm so excited to spend some time with them in a make-shift, classroom kitchen. It will be simple, and hopefully as good as I remember.

10 Minute Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Take a quart jar and add 1 T salt, 1.5 T sugar, 1/4 t black peppercorns (heaping), 1/4 t mustard seed (heaping), 1 T chopped garlic (about 4 cloves), 1/2 cup white vinegar, and "fresh dill to taste" (I used one head of dill and a 3" section of the feathery stuff). 

Note: If you don't grow your own dill, you can usually find it at a farmer's market or stand this time of year. Or ask a gardener friend. She will probably give you some. :)

Add sliced cucumbers. (This was about 4 pickling cucumbers from my garden, each about 4" long. You could also use the English cucumbers from the store, but not the regular larger kind because the skin would be too tough.) (Again, now is a great time to buy these at a farmer's market for dirt cheap!)

Fill the jar with warm water, screw a lid on, and shake until the sugar and salt have dissolved.

Stick the jar in the fridge for about 24 hours, but don't beat yourself up if you can't wait that long.

You're probably going to suffer immediate and intense pickle hoarding tendencies and you may be tempted to tell your kids that they wouldn't like them so you can have more for yourself. Again, we're all only human.

Pickles will keep for up to 3 weeks, but empirical evidence shows that they generally only last about 2.2 days, on average.

The children will love adding the ingredients, shaking the jars and tasting the final product!! 

If anyone has access to fresh dill, please let me know!!

Week 2: No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam

Last spring, my daughter and I planted 5 strawberry plants in a flower bed. 

They produced!! We recently harvested several quarts of fresh berries and froze them for this recipe:

Ball No Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam

1 pkg. Ball No Cook Pectin

11/2 cups of sugar

4 cups crushed strawberries (about 4 lbs or 2 quarts)

~Wash & hull strawberries.

~Use a potato masher to mash up the strawberries for a more chunky jam.  If you prefer less chunks, use a food processor or a hand blender. 

~Add the sugar and pectin and stir.

~Ladle into containers, these can be any type of jar, or plastic containers with lids. (make sure to leave some room at the top for expansion when freezing) 

~Let sit for 30 minutes.  Put into refrigerator or freezer. 

~A jar will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks, and in the freezer for up to a year.

I think the children will really enjoy mashing the berries and mixing the sugar 
and pectin, and pouring into jars. 

The ultimate payoff? Taste testing!!