There is someone in our household who pretty much has to have a continual supply of pickles.

And that person is NOT me.  Even though I am pregnant.  (I’m craving cherries, but that is for another post.)

Mr. Smackdown adores pickles.

The pickles that we buy are fairly natural.  However, there is one little ingredient that I don’t like.  And they aren’t fermented.  They are in a vinegar solution. 

When we went to the Farmer’s Market this past Saturday my goal was to find my favorite sauerkraut and some pickling cucumbers, since I won’t see a harvest of them from my garden this year.  (We are moving this weekend.)

I only scored on the cucumbers. 

Smackdown washed them.

And measured the filtered water, while I prepared the whey.

Then we combined all of the ingredients.

Voila . . . pickles.

I have no idea if they taste good or not.  We have to wait three days.

Guess what?  You can try this at home, too!

Good For Your Belly Pickles

• 4-5 pickling cucumbers
• 1 tbls mustard seeds
• 2 tbls fresh dill, snipped (We used dried dill.  We were attempting to use an herb from our garden until I realized it was fennel.) 
• 1 tbls sea salt
• 4 tbls whey (or use an extra tbls of sea salt if you don’t have any whey)
• 1 cup of filtered water

Place 4-5 washed cucumbers in a wide mouthed mason jar.  Combine remaining ingredients and bathe your cucumbers in the mixture.  Add more water if your cucumbers are not fully submerged.  You don’t want them treading water.  The liquid should be 1 inch or more below the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and allow the jars to decorate your counter for 3 days.  Should you choose to make sliced pickles, only leave the jar out for 2 days.  Transfer to your refrigerator. 

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