Dill Pickles

I put up three jars of dill pickles today. My mom made the best dill pickles ever (I love dill pickles), and this is the first time I've ever made them. It was so easy and fun!

1. Sterilize your jars and tops in boiling water.
2. Wash and slice 8 small cucumbers, or cut them in spears, or leave them whole. I sliced them.
3. Bring a mixture of 2 cups apple cider vinegar, 1 cup distilled white vinegar, 3 cups water, and 1/4 cup kosher salt to a boil.
4. Stuff the sterilized jars with cucumber slices, fresh or dried dill, peeled garlic cloves, crushed red pepper flakes, and a few black peppercorns.
5. Spoon the hot vinegar mixture into the jars with a ladle until they are full to within 1/2 inch of the top.
6. Twist the jar tops on. Let cool.
7. Store in a dark place for two weeks before eating.

I learned how to do this from a wonderful book I got for my birthday from Allie - it's called The Homemade Pantry, and it has some pretty good-looking things in it (like homemade catsup and mustard and marshmallows). This speaks to me, I love to make this kind of stuff from scratch. I'm pretty proud of my pickles.

So after the two weeks are up, I'll let you know how the pickles taste. Hope they're yummy!