Quick Spicy Garden Mix Pickles (Refrigerator Method)

I just love this. It is so much better than what they sell at the market. Nice and crisp, too. Be sure to mix this in a bowl that can take some heat, such as stainless steel. Yummy! TNT

• Ready In: 168 hrs 25 mins
• Yields: 2 quarts

Ingredients

• 8  kirby cucumbers, sliced thick
• 2  cups cauliflower florets
• 1  cup  fresh jalapenos or 1  cup  pickled jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 1 1⁄2 onions, sliced
• 2  carrots, sliced
• 2  celery ribs, sliced
• 3 1⁄2 cups pickle juice, from dill pickles
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup  jalapeno juice, from pickled jalapenos
• 8 -10  dried hot red chili peppers
• 5  garlic cloves, peeled
• 1  teaspoon celery seed
• 1  teaspoon mustard seeds

Directions

1. Place cucumbers, cauliflower, and jalapenos (if using pickled ones) in a mixing bowl.
2. If using fresh jalapenos, place them in a large saucepan with the onions, carrots, celery, pickle juice, sugar, jalapeno brine, chile peppers, garlic, celery seeds, and mustard seed and bring to a boil.
3. Mix hot brine mixture with cucumbers in the mixing bowl, stirring to blend.
4. Pack mixture into a large container or jars and refrigerate for 1-2 weeks, stirring daily, until cucumbers are pickled but still crisp.
5. Pickles not suitable for canning or freezing. Store unused pickles in the refrigerator.