Refrigerator Pickles

Since I still had plenty of cucumbers even after giving some away, I decided to make refrigerator pickles.  I used a recipe from MyRecipes.com and I gotta say, the pickles taste pretty darn good!  I put some on a grilled hotdog and the combination was fabulous.  The recipe I used has a little more kick than my grandma's recipe for refrigerator pickles (which are more of a bread and butter pickle), thanks to the red pepper and the garlic.  I reduced the garlic by half and diced it fine, but I still think these pickles will be a little too spicy for one member of the household.  Since it looks like the cucumbers will be producing for a while, we'll have enough to make a batch of grandma's pickles next.

Have a great weekend!

Speaking of Cucumbers...

I found this bad boy in the garden yesterday.  He should have been picked a couple of days ago (at least!) but he was hiding right in the middle of the patch under heavy foliage.

At almost 10 inches in length and seven and a half inches in circumference, I know he'll be full of big seeds.  I won't let him go to waste, however.  I'll just slice him lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, turning him into a cucumber canoe.

Have a great day!

2013 Art Calendar Challenge - August

Our little garden is currently producing cucumbers like crazy, so I decided to make them the theme of my August art calendar.  I am so pleased with my watercolor cucumbers!  I drew them with pencil (I had a "live" model...hee hee), then colored them using Derwent watercolor pencils and a water brush.  A sepia-colored artist pen was used to simulate the little bumps and ridges on the cukes.

The first layer of these pages consisted of a plaid pattern created with painters tape and spray mists, but I had forgotten to prime the pages with gesso first.  Once I scraped on some white gesso and added some strips of washi tape and rubber stamping, the plaid design was mostly obliterated.  You can still see some of the chartreuse spray mist, especially around the edges.  But the stars of these pages are most definitely the cucumbers.

To see more August art calendars for Kate Crane's challenge, please visit her website The Kathryn Wheel.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Strathmore Visual Journal with 140 lb watercolor paper; blue painters' tape; Heidi Swapp spray mist (chartreuse); Ranger Perfect Pearl Mists (turquoise); white gesso; washi tape; punchinella; distress inks: mustard seed, peeled paint, scattered straw, vintage photo and tumbled glass; Stazon olive green ink; flourish stamps by Inque Boutique; Heidi Swapp polka dot spray stencil; Derwent watercolor pencils; Niji water brush; Pitt sepia artist pen; Pitt black artist pen; large alpha and number stamps by Wordsworth; small alpha stamps by Hero Arts; date stamper; Derwent tinted charcoal pencil (forest pine); matte gel medium.

Is that a Banana in Your Pocket?

Or are you just happy to see me?  (grin)  Actually, it's a cucumber in the garden, and we are THRILLED to see it.

I hadn't nosed around in the cucumber patch this weekend due to rain, so I was kind of surprised to find this monster out there today.  Just a couple of days ago it was only half as big.  It's about eight inches long now and ready to harvest.  The Master Gardener will be home later this afternoon; I'll give him the pleasure of plucking this baby off the vine.

ETA:  Five cucumbers have been picked!  The Master Gardener was more excited than a kid opening his presents on Christmas morning.  Guess what we're having for dinner? 

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.  Thanks for dropping by!