In a pickle at the Tyler Memorial Library: A no-cook, no-sink-required pickling recipe

By TINKY WEISBLAT

For the Recorder

Published: 10-07-2024 3:27 PM

A couple weeks ago, I attended a quick-pickling workshop at the Tyler Memorial Library in Charlemont. The library serves both Hawley and Charlemont. Librarian Kim Gabert arranges about one workshop a month.

Somehow, I hadn’t managed to get to any of Kim’s workshops before. They vary in topic. Some are crafting workshops put on by an adept friend of the library, Mary Ann Adams.

This particular workshop was offered by Kate Donovan of Blackstone Valley Veggie Gardens in Blackstone.

Kate brought zucchini and summer squash from her own garden so that each participant could slice squash and pop it into a jar with pickling spices and brine to make refrigerator pickles. My jar is almost ready to eat as I write this.

I asked Kim how she came up with the idea for the workshop.

“I have wanted to do a hands-on food related program at the library since I arrived here three years ago,” she replied.

“I considered working with Hawlemont to use their kitchen, but discovered that Kate from Blackstone Valley Veggies offered a no-cook, no-sink-required pickling program and decided to try it out. I tried using someone more local, but they were too busy.”

By the way, Kim, I would never be too busy for you. Nevertheless, Kate was an excellent choice. She was matter-of-fact and funny, and she inspired us all to feel confident as we chopped, stuffed and poured.

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As some readers know, you can’t really mess up refrigerator pickles.

Some of us didn’t remember to put the spices at the bottom of the jar before popping in our slices of squash. When we added the brine, it washed the spices down anyway.

Kate grew up in a gardening family. Her grandfather tended a victory garden during World War II. She has gardened in Blackstone for a quarter of a century.

When she retired from her tech job in 2023, she had already begun a business as a gardening consultant. It picked up in her retirement.

“I had been working in technology since the 1970s,” said Kate. “I was thoroughly bored with it, so I took the skills I learned around communications, documentation, and training, and started teaching others how to become more sustainable food growers.”

Kate offers a variety of services, classes and workshops.

“We have 27 different options for lectures and workshops that we do with garden clubs, senior centers, and libraries,” she told me.

“I also install raised beds, drip irrigation, [and] garden fences for private customers and commercial clients as well. I also provide seeds and plants that I start in my own greenhouse.

“I also maintain pollinator gardens for some institutions, and I have senior-center gardens that produce a great deal of food due, in part, to my coaching and teaching.”

Her own garden has 16 raised beds, several of which are devoted to experimentation with different plants, growing media, and pest-control methods.

I asked her to identify her favorite vegetable to grow.

“As a parent of more than one child, I could never pick a favorite. As one who loves art, I could never choose a favorite color,” she replied.

“With that said, I like to grow anything I have failed at growing in the past. It took me three years to learn to grow corn and four years for carrots. I just grew my first successful season of watermelon and cantaloupe after 15 years of trying.

“Growing celery from seed is also a challenge. I am still playing with sweet potatoes, trying to perfect this crop, as it typically loves warmer climates.”

Kate loves cooking her vegetables but has a special place in her heart for the subject of the workshop she taught in Charlemont: pickles.

She believes that pickling vegetables not only preserves them but also adds flavor to them, thanks to the vinegar, salt, and spices in the pickle jars.

“I serve my dill pickle slices as a condiment with my cold-cut platters at my Christmas parties,” she enthused. “I make pickle relish for my sandwiches and burgers. Green beans, beets, and carrots all taste better pickled.”

As I noted above, the pickles Kate helped us make couldn’t have been easier.

I had made refrigerator pickles in the past with cucumbers and asparagus, but I had never tried zucchini and summer squash. The colors in our jars cheered us all.

And I know I’ll enjoy eating the pickles and sharing them with neighbors.

Blackstone Veggies Refrigerator Pickles

Ingredients:

1½ pounds zucchini and/or summer squash (3 to 4 medium-size gourds)

3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1½ teaspoons black peppercorns

1½ teaspoons mustard seed

¾ teaspoon dill seed or celery seed

6 sprigs fresh dill

2½ cups water

1 cup distilled white or apple-cider vinegar

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt (not iodized salt)

Instructions:

Wash the squash, and trim and discard the ends. Slice them into chips or spears as desired. (We did chips in our workshop.) Set aside.

Divide the garlic, peppercorns, mustard seed, and dill or celery seed among three clean pint jars with lids. Do the same with the squash and the dill sprigs.

Combine the water, the vinegar, the sugar, and the salt in a medium saucepan. Place it over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, let it rest for a minute or two, and then carefully pour the hot brine into the jars. Fill the jars almost to the top, leaving about ½ inch of head space.

Tightly secure the lids on the jars. Let the pickles cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes; then place them in the refrigerator. They may be eaten within a day or two but are best in three days to a week. These pickles keep well for at least 2 to 3 weeks.

Makes 3 pints.

Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.