Pickles and Green Chili

All of the sudden my pickling cucumbers and green chili have gone crazy. One day I had nothing, the next tons of veggies. So far I have made 4 pint jars and 4 quart jars of pickles. I still have pickling cucumbers sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be used. Probably enough for another couple quart jars. I have made 3 different dill pickle recipes, soon I will make my fourth using my grandmothers recipe (just have to find it first). One I got off pinterest, one out of a canning magazine and the other was the Ball dill pickle mix. I have also made Thai chili pickles and bread and butter pickles. I also want to make my own Ghost Pepper Pickles.  Here are some pictures of the pickle process using the Ball mix.

Pretty simple. Sterilize jars, lids bands, boil water vinegar and dill mix. Quarter cucumbers and stuff into jars. Pour hot liquid into jars leaving a 1/2" head space. Put on lids and place in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. The worst part is letting them sit for 4-6 weeks.

I also fire roasted and froze my green chili. Super easy and a little messy. I did it on the stove top. Next time I am so doing it on the grill. Just turn the fire up to high and blacken every bit of the chili. It won't burn, but the more you blacken the skin the easier it is to peel off. After the chili is roasted toss it in a bowl with a heavy towel over it and let the chili steam for about 10 minutes. Then just gently tug the skin off and toss in a freezer bag. Or you can dry it in a dehydrator, which is my next goal. Here are a few pictures of the process.

I picked some regular cucumbers and some more green chili today. I just can't keep up with the garden.

 I know I am going to lose lots of sleep the moment the tomatoes decide to ripen. Some of my corn has silks on them so hopefully soon I will see the ears developing. My two watermelon vines are out of control. But I am super excited about them anyway. Just have to keep the vines from taking over the garden.