all in the family (cucurbitaceae)

technically, cucumbers are in the same family as squash, cucurbitaceae (and are therefore fruits, though i don't know that i'll be turning them into dessert anytime soon). last night, as the zucchini bread baked, i decided it was time to make pickles. yeah, it was an odd mesh of aromas in the kitchen.

like their counterparts in the garden, our cucumbers are taking off and are quite large. the recipe i found called for about two pounds and made a few jars of crunchy bread and butter pickles - my favorite. i was happy to find a recipe that used cider vinegar, because we prefer it over white vinegar - so much more flavor.

an onion or two, some sugar, salt, turmeric, and mustard seeds and then, with just a little time - pickles.

it was amazingly simple, and they tasted so much better than store-bought. we've got two strong cucumber plants going in the garden. a third is quite a bit smaller, but may still produce. i imagine we'll be eating and making more pickles in the near future, adding fresh cucumbers into salads, force-feeding ourselves, and giving some away.