I'm working on a post about our trip to Bengston's pumpkin farm right now, but I was laughing because I just went to prep the boys' milks for the morning and saw a mason jar of cucumbers and liquid sitting in our fridge. I totally should have taken pictures, but Brian had the boys helping him make home-made pickles yesterday. So, I thought I would let you all know how to achieve these same results in your own homes:

Instructions on How to Make Home-Made Pickles

1. Marry Brian Houck
2. Wait for Alton Brown to host an episode of Good Eats featuring pickling
3. Buy a bunch of mason jars for a completely different reason (in this case, infusing vodka with different kinds of candies for a neighborhood get-together)
4. Watch Brian put the following together: cooking hobby + Alton Brown + mason jars = home-made pickles
5. Sit at the kitchen table sewing Halloween costumes while said activity takes place in the kitchen
6. Neglect picture-taking duties
7. Eat pickles (we'll have to wait a few days for this step, but I'm sure they will be delightful...except for the ones in the garage fridge which I was instructed are for daddy's consumption only and most likely contain un-healthy levels of spice...as in jalapenos).

So...I did actually take some pictures of the mason jars being used as a science experiment in vodka (not the same ones currently making pickles...just to be clear). Here is a picture from the bar during our neighborhood get-together this past Friday. Bri bought dry ice and filled beakers, mason jars and other vessels with fun bubbly-smoke, mad-scientist-style (but of course the food and drink had to have a Halloween theme!) The second shot is of Brian mixing-it-up (the vodka that is...into something actually palatable!)