Pickles!

This is an adaptation of Alton Brown's bread-and-butter pickles recipe which Sylvia and I made last week. After not even 24 hours, they were delicious -- and have only been getting better. Note: these are refrigerator pickles, meaning not the kind that you can store at room temperature forever.

• 2 medium-large cucumbers
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (I used white sugar, but will try light brown next time)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp pickling spice (I got mine at the hardware store, of all places)
• Pinch of Kosher salt
  

This will make two quart-jars worth.

Slice up the cucumbers into very thin rounds, and pack into the jars. Boil all of the other ingredients for about five minutes, and then pour over the cucumbers. Cap them with the screw-on lids, let cool slightly and put in the fridge.

This was incredibly easy, and resulted in some of the best pickles I've had in ages. Total cost per batch is probably about a dollar a jar, and I don't think I'll ever buy store-bought pickles again.