Every morning I grab a big colander and head out to bring in whatever the garden has to offer. For the past week or so, I’ve been getting about a half dozen or so cucumbers each day. There’s also zucchini, summer squash, broccoli, and yesterday, the first handful of green beans, but those are the subject of another post.

The sustained temperatures of 100+ this week have slowed some plants down, but not the cucumbers. It’s at times like this I pull out Mom’s recipe for Refrigerator Pickles. They’re tasty. They’re easy. And you don’t need to know anything about canning.  If that sounds good to you, here’s the recipe.

Refrigerator Pickles

7 cups thinly sliced, unpeeled cucumbers (I like cucumbers that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Not too big)
1 green pepper sliced thin (I like the color, so I use half a green pepper and half a red pepper)
1 onion sliced thin

Mix to dissolve and pour over pickles cold:
2 c sugar
1 c water
1 c white vinegar
1 tsp pickling salt
1 T celery seed
1 T mustard seed

Soak overnight in syrup. Then pack in containers for the refrigerator. They will keep in the refrigerator for a year.

I use pint jars because they fit on any refrigerator shelf and tuck into corners. Put lids on tight but they don’t have to be canned or sealed. It’s more to keep the syrup in if the jar tips over for some reason. I usually let the jars sit for a couple of weeks just to give the pickles a chance to marinate in the syrup.

Mom had pickles on the table for dinner and supper most days. Dad liked a little sour taste with most meals. We don’t eat pickles nearly so often, but these satisfy the need and I don’t have to get into heavy canning.