'Fridge bread and butter pickles

When you have lemons, you make lemonade, but when you have too many cucumbers, what do you do?

I have generous neighbours. Neighbours who have large backyard vegetable patches. Last weekend, I was offered a bag full of cucumbers, freshly picked that morning. They had had their fill, and now it was my turn.

My daughters eat cucumbers constantly. It's an easy snack, refreshing and crunchy. They also love pickles and could probably sit with the jar and eat until empty!

Pickling is a long process. I shudder at how long it would take me, not to mention I don't have the tools in my pantry. It's not something I was ever comfortable trying.

Enter large number of cucumbers....and a nicely written recipe for 'fridge bread and butter pickles'!
Thank you, kind neighbour.

As it turns out, refrigerator pickles are remarkably easy and quick to prepare, and in a week, you can enjoy sweet, tangy and crunchy bread and butter pickles.

Two large quart jars, washed and dried, then filled with boiling water from the kettle, are set aside while the brining liquid is prepared.

The brine is quite simple. In a large saucepan, I added 4 tablespoons of salt, 2 teaspoons each of celery seed, tumeric, mustard seed, 3 cups white vinegar, 3 cups boiling water, and 3 1/3 cups of sugar. This gets boiled until the sugar and salt is dissolved.

While the brine is smelling wonderful and cooling a little, you can slice about nine medium cucumbers, and one onion, into 1/4 inch slices. Empty the water out of the jars, then pack the jars tightly, almost to the top, with the sliced cukes and onion rings. Carefully ladle the brine into the jars, covering the veg. but not to the top. If you seal the jars right away, then the vacuum takes place. Leave them to cool, and shake after a couple of hours, so the top of the jar touches the brine. Once cooled, the jars can go into the refrigerator, where they will stay for about a week, so the pickles soak up all the flavours. They last for at least six months. Once the pickles are all eaten, you can add more fresh cucumbers!

This is by far the most uncomplicated pickle.