We've mastered the art of making pierogis.  We've triumphed over a pot of pickle soup.  We've celebrated the yumminess of bigos.  We've shared with the world a secret family stuffed cabbage recipe.

We are busy cooking with a toddler and trying to make Polish cuisine posh, one blog post at a time.  Let's back up a little and start with a staple in any Polish kitchen.  The pickle. Perfect with your St. Patty's day corned beef, yo.

The ingredients:

(Measurements depend on the size of your jar/container. You can use a standard jar and make this a mini recipe or make a huge batch like me.  I used a 5L clay pot handmade in Poland.)

Handful of very very very hard cucumbers.  (1/2 a bag full for 5L)

Fresh dill. (2 bunches for 5L)

A bunch of salt. (4 tablespoons for 5L)

Garlic cloves. (4 garlic cloves for 5L)

Water.  (1/2 a pitcher full for 5L)

1.  Wash

My mother swears that this is the most important step of the recipe.  You have to wash the cucumber making sure all the sliminess is gone.  This is a good time to weed out all the soft cucumbers and only save the hard ones.  Heh.  I really want my daughters to have an online cooking book of Polish foods when they've left my house, so PG it is.

2.  Bed of Dill

Take a handful of dill, stems and all, and line the bottom of your container with a healthy dose of weeds.

3.  Place cucumbers

On top of the bed of dill, you should place one row of cucumbers.  Make sure they are tightly fitted, next to each other - like the planks of a hardwood floor.

4.  Garlic

Drop one garlic clove on top of the cucumbers.

5.  Layer

Continue layering (like lasagna).  Dill.  Cucumbers.  One garlic clove.  Dill.  Cucumbers.  One garlic glove.  Until you reach the top of your container - where you smother with the left over dill.

6.  Salt the water

Keep adding salt to the water until it's really salty.  Mix until completely diluted.  I used half that pitcher and half a rock's glass full of salt.  The water should be cloudy.  Dilute.

7.  Fill pickle container w/salt water

Keep filling the container with salt water until the water level reaches the top of your container.

Add a pinch of salt for good luck.

Admire your work.  For you just made your own pickles and can boast about them at your next lavish shindig.  Nothing starts a conversation like, "I've jarred my own half-sour pickles, yo."  People will be drawn to you and your remarkable talents.  Wait.  That's just me.  Trying to prove my domestic abilities.  Heh.  Carry on...

8.  Wait

Half-sour pickles are ready once they have been in an air-tight container for three days.  The longer they stay - the more sour they taste.  The waiting is the hardest part.  And the most important part.  They should remain closed until the third day.

If you start pickling today, right this minute, you will have some amazing pickles this weekend to accompany your corned beef.  It really is that easy and when people taste your homemade half-sour jarred pickles they will wonder how you did it.  Just don't tell them that it's really this easy.  Let's just keep it a secret between you and me.  Okay?