This cheese board was easy to assemble with a variety of pickled things from my pantry (see recipes below), fresh heirloom tomatoes and blackberries from the garden, and a mix of cheese, crackers, and meats that I had on hand.

My pickle obsession originated with my grandmother's homemade dill pickles. Over the years, my dad and I have tried to replicate her recipe (she never measured so it was a test and learn process). From there, I have tried pickling other items with a variety of different recipes and then made my own tweaks - Here are a few of my favorites!

Cajun Style Bread & Butter Pickles

• Fresh sliced pickling cucumbers
• Yellow onion (or white will also do!)
• Garlic cloves
• Mustard seed
• Red pepper flake
• Turmeric
• White sugar
• Pickling salt

For the liquid that will go in the jars, the volume will vary depending on how many pickles you are planning on canning. I go by a 50/50 ratio of water to vinegar and then about 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/4 cup salt and 1 cup of sugar per every 3 cups of liquid (you can do more of less sugar depending on your preference - add half of the cup of sugar and take a spoon to taste a little before adding the rest or more). Bring water, vinegar,  salt, sugar, and turmeric to a boil then turn it down to low until you are ready to fill your jars. Stuff your sterilized jars (see link below for sterilizing) with your cucumber slices and remaining ingredients - I put about 3 garlic cloves per jar, a couple onion slices, about 5-10 mustard seeds per jar, and a couple shakes of red pepper flake. Use a funnel if you have one and ladle the liquid into the stuffed jars, leaving 1/4 and inch space from the top. Close the jars and process in a water bath to seal the lids (see link below for processing).

Spicy Dill Pickles

• Fresh unsliced pickling cucumbers
• White onion (or yellow will do!)
• Garlic cloves
• Red pepper flake
• Fresh dill (or dill seed, but note that dill seeds can be a tad bitter sometimes)
• Pickling salt
• White sugar
• White vinegar
• Water

For the liquid that will go in the jars, the volume will vary depending on how many pickles you are planning on canning. I go by a 50/50 ratio of water to vinegar and then about 1/4 cup salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar per every 3 cups of liquid. Bring water, vinegar,  salt, and sugar to a boil then turn it down to low until you are ready to fill your jars. Stuff your sterilized jars (see link below on how to sterilize) with your beans and remaining ingredients - I put about 3 garlic cloves per jar, a couple onion slices, a couple shakes of red pepper flake, and a several fresh dill sprigs. Use a funnel if you have one and ladle the liquid into the stuffed jars, leaving 1/4 and inch space from the top. Close the jars and process in a water bath to seal the lids (see link below on how to process).

Red Wine Vinegar Pickled Onions

• Fresh sliced red onions
• Allspice berries
• Pickling salt
• Red wine vinegar
• Water

For the liquid that will go in the jars, the volume will vary depending on how many onions you are planning on canning. I do a 1:2 ratio of water and red wine vinegar and then about 1/4 cup salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar per every 3 cups of liquid. Bring water, vinegar,  salt, and sugar to a boil then turn it down to low until you are ready to fill your jars. Stuff your sterilized jars (see link below on how to sterilize) with your onion slices and about 5-10 allspice berries per jar. Use a funnel if you have one and ladle the liquid into your stuffed jars, leaving 1/4 an inch space from the top. Close the jars and process in a water bath to seal the lids (see link below on how to process).

Pickled Green Beans

• Fresh green beans
• White onion (or yellow or red will do too!)
• Garlic cloves
• Coriander seeds
• Red pepper flake
• Fresh dill (or dill seed, but note that dill seeds can be a tad bitter sometimes)
• Pickling salt
• White sugar
• White vinegar
• Water

For the liquid that will go in the jars, the volume will vary depending on how many beans you are planning on canning. I go by a 50/50 ratio of water to vinegar and then about 1/4 cup salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar per every 3 cups of liquid. Bring water, vinegar,  salt, and sugar to a boil then turn it down to low until you are ready to fill your jars. Stuff your sterilized jars (see link below on how to sterilize) with your beans and remaining ingredients - I put about 3 garlic cloves per jar, a couple onion slices, a small handful of coriander seeds, a couple shakes of red pepper flake, and a few fresh dill sprigs. Use a funnel if you have one and ladle in your liquid into your stuffed jars, leaving 1/4 and inch space from the top. close the jars and process in a water bath to seal the lids (see link below on how to process).

Sterilizing your canning jars and lids:

http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/canning-101-jar-prep-12152012  - This is a helpful page I found with a few different options. I use the oven method, but I leave them in for 30 minutes instead of 20 just to be on the safe side.

Processing (sealing) your filled jars:

https://www.freshpreserving.com/canning-101-getting-started.html

A few additional notes:

• Processing times may vary depending on altitude. Check out this link if you live at high altitude https://www.freshpreserving.com/altitude-adjusting.html
• You can always use fresh hot peppers instead of red pepper flake! I have just found that you can pack more of what you are canning in if you use flakes, but I love using fresh peppers as well. It is also harder to control the spice level with fresh peppers as their heat can vary. For more info on peppers visit https://www.cayennediane.com/big-list-of-hot-peppers/
• Always use safety precautions! Here is a blog I found with important things to know when canning http://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-kitchen/12-lifesaving-canning-rules/
• If you don't have time or don't want to can, but you want some fun varieties of pickled things....check out your local farmers markets! Many will sell canned and pickled goodies!