We Like Making Our Own Stuff

Another summer has come and almost gone here in central Wisconsin.  The night temperatures are now regularly dipping into the 40's, signaling the impending arrival of fall.  This summer has proved to be challenging, mainly because we've hardly gotten any rainfall!  Thankfully, our area is only considered to be "Abnormally Dry," so it could have been much worse. However, we were still forced to water quite a bit this year, and many of our garden plants did not do as well as we had hoped--most notably the squashy plants, like the pumpkins, butternut, zucchini, and crookneck.  These plants are finally setting fruit, but I have my doubts as to whether or not they will reach maturity before it gets frosty. But what may have saved the rest of the garden was our wash water and other gray water saved from the house.  My husband has rigged the washer machine discharge hose up to some large barrels outside; the water is then pumped through a hose and into the garden....

To me, pickles taste like summer--a time when the cucumbers in our garden are going crazy, and we are harvesting them by the dozen.  They're great on grilled hamburgers, sandwiches, and on relish trays and family barbecues. There are so many different recipes out there for pickles of all kinds, but I'd have to say my favorite type of pickles are sweet pickles.  I knew that I'd be making them this year, because I've been craving them badly (pregnant women really do like pickles), but I had yet to find a recipe that I liked (translation:  an easy recipe). Often times, when I am stumped on a recipe, I turn to an unusual cookbook: As you can see, this cookbook has seen better days!  The cover is gone, the pages are tattered, the binding is coming off...but still, I love this cookbook.  It is a compilation of recipes put together by a local church.  Honestly, I don't remember how I ended up with it--I don't go to this church, nor do I know anyo...