I feel like an idiot....

I was slicing my cucumbers for Lime Pickles last night. Made up my water and dissolved the pickling lime in the water and dumped it in the pickles to cover. (I had to use two large bowls as I don't have a huge pickling crock). So now I have two large bowls on top of the freezer in the basement filled to the brim with cucumber slices and lime water to cover. The bowls are topped with large plates to cover them.

Didn't think about it....well, I didn't know. I just stuck the glass measuring cup with the dissolved lime in the dishwasher. Ran a cycle of dishes like I normally do.

DH got up this morning and fed the cats. While they were eating, he opened the dishwasher and started removing the dishes. And there was a white coating over everything. A white lime coating.

I didn't know it would do that...I've never used lime before. Mom didn't say anything about it. Evidently, when the water hit the glass, it sprayed the lime all over the inside of the dishwasher and on everything inside as well. Ick. And when lime dries (like in a hot drying cycle), it's really hard. Really, really hard. We have a stainless steel dishwasher and the inside is also stainless. DH was not amused. It was not pretty.

Next time? I'm doing it all outside and I'll clean everything well with the garden hose first before bringing it all inside. And I'll wash it by hand. What a mess!

I just talked to my mom and she said a good soaking in really hot water, followed by a good washing will get rid of the stuff on the dishes and such. And since we're going for a few groceries tonight, we'll buy some dishwasher cleaning and try that. Failing that, yes, there's always a good vinegar rub (and I happen to have two gallons of vinegar on hand right now).

And Mom said that I really should work outside for some of this stuff. I have their old camping stove....it's a regular 4-burner gas stove top that my dad switched over to propane. When they camped, that's how my mother cooked. Dad set it on one end of the picnic table with the propane tank on the ground right below the table. We used that for years. When they quit camping, Dad asked me if I wanted it, so it's in the basement. And I have a couple of those great big metal tubs, too. So it is an idea.

Oh crap. Yes, galvanized. Didn't even think of that. I don't know where my mind is lately! Thanks for the heads-up.

I'm a klutz; if anything is going to happen, it's going to happen to me. It's a natural order of things or something.

I did ask my mother about using plastic and she told me not to. I have a five-gallon plastic "turkey" bucket....so called b/c I use that bucket for nothing but brining our Thanksgiving turkey. That's it. I asked Mom if I could use that for the pickles and she said no. That's what I'm using large bowls.

Anyway, between DH and I, we did clean up the kitchen. And the dishwasher is no worse for wear, thank goodness. Got that cleaned up, too.

So last night.....I drained the pickles from the lime mixture around 6:00 or so. Rinse them off well and put them in cold water. At 10:00, I rinsed them again and put them in cold water again. And then this morning, I rinsed them yet again and put them in cold water. I'll rinse them one more time when I get home from work and put them in cold water until 6:00 or so, then they're ready.

Now, I have a question. My recipe for Lime Pickles says: "Add the Hot Syrup to the pickles. Let stand 24 hours. Cook one hour in the Syrup. Pack in jars and seal." Does this mean that I cook the syrup tonight and then put the pickles in the hot syrup and then let them stand for 24 hours? And then tomorrow (Wed) cook them for an hour in the syrup? That seems a little weird to me to pour hot syrup on pickles and then let them stand for a whole day. Am I making sense? Can you help me? I tried to ask my mother, but she can't remember.

Thank you! I drained the cucumbers well, rinsed them off one last time and drained again. I cooked the syrup, well, brought it to boiling, then poured it over the cucumbers.

I tasted just a wee bit of the syrup and I was instantly in Grandma's kitchen! I'm serious! I remember that taste!

The pickles and syrup are on top of the freezer again, waiting to be cooked tomorrow night.

I talked to my mom last night and she said that she did cook her syrup and then let the pickles set for 24 hours; then she cooked everything for one hour, packed the jars and let them seal. I also talked to one of her caregivers, Evelyn, who's a Mennonite and she and I had a long discussion about pickling and canning. The next time Mollipop and I visit my mom and Evelyn is there, she and I are going to have quite the conversation, I'm sure. She also told me that anytime I want to help her can, I'm more than welcome to help. She would appreciate the help and she knows lots of tips and hints that she's sure I can use. I think I'm going to take her up on that because I like the idea of helping and learning.

Evelyn was telling me that she makes 7-Day Pickles. The sliced cucumbers set for seven days and every day she has to cook a syrup for the pickles. She told me how good they are, but boy, that seems like a lot of work!

I just find the whole thing interesting.