We made these fermentation vessels from some empty veganaise jars, two airlocks from the beer brewing supply store (.79 each) and some grommets from the hardware store. My husband drilled holes in the jars and put the grommets in place and I made the brine and added the dill, garlic, peppercorn and cucumbers.
Cucumbers are not in season, but this is really just practice to see if it's worth planting pickling cucumbers this spring. The pickles are ready in 1 to 4 weeks and will continue to slowly ferment in the fridge when done. I was concerned that this would be hard and tricky, but the salt prohibits icky growing mold and stuff and all you really need to do is make sure everything stays below the brine's surface. Almost every article I read suggests you put an inverted smaller lid inside the jar to help keep the pickles below the surface. I didn't because everything seems to be packed in tightly enough not to move. I may live to regret this.
To one quart of water I added 3 tablespoons of sea salt and split this brine between the two jars. I put dill, 3 cloves of garlic each and about 10 peppercorns per jar. Shoved in the pickles and poured the brine over it. We tried a pickle 5 days into it and they are well on the way to being delicious homemade pickles!
Joaquin and I are working hard to find a sleep pattern that works. He still wakes a lot at night and I started to doubt our family bed/nurse all night situation. Last night I read some articles by Dr.Sears and they were very reassuring. He says that he thinks that an 8 month old that experiences frequent nightwaking/nursing is the norm and that teething plays a big role. His nightwaking is definitely commiserate with teething, so I feel better.
He is sleeping right now, after all.
Ok, I've come around to Bubbie's. I didn't see their true fermented beauty on first bite! And since reading this blog, I've finished off the whole jar single-handedly.
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