Fastest pickles in the west. Or anywhere for that matter.

Um, are your cucumbers suddenly all, "HI! We're here! And we brought all of our friends!"?

Because ours are. BOY HOWDY are they.

But, since we've long run out of pickles from last year's crop of cucumbers, we're OK with it. In the sense that we're totally thrilled.

You can't tell from this photo, but we're doing handstands and cheers and stuff.

And since we haven't had homemade pickles since some time over the winter when our cupboard ran empty, we want this year's pickles NOW.

But canning pickles takes sooooooooooooooo long, right? Then they have to sit in the cupboard and cure for a while before they're really good.

Thankfully, there's the mighty refrigerator pickle.

Oh, refrigerator pickles - they are our spring time savior. Just when we can't wait any longer for the first crunch of pickle season, refrigerator pickles fill the bill like total pros. And you don't even have to have that many cucumbers to fill this recipe. Seriously, all it takes is about 3-4 cucumbers and a pint jar and you're good to go.

Or 12. We're not picky.

And - hey if you happen to have lemons coming in this time of year and a bit of dill growing in your garden somewhere, you're about to be pretty pleased with this recipe.

Indie Farms' Favorite Fridge Pickles 

Makes 1 pint
Ingredients
3-4 smallish pickling cucumbers (we like National Pickling, Homemade Pickles, Solly Beiler and Boothby's Blonds a lot for this)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 lemon, sliced horizontally
1 sprig of fresh dill
3/4 cup vinegar (white vinegar is fine, apple cider vinegar is good, too)
3/4 cup water
1 T whole peppercorns
2 t kosher or sea salt (just don't use table salt)

To make

1. Wash those cucumbers and slice off the tips (this keeps them from bittering up - ew)
2. Boil some water in a small pot and give those cukes a quick dunk (10 seconds is plenty). This will improve the flavor of your pickles. Promise.
3. Combine vinegar, water and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil
4. Add a couple of the lemon slices, the peppercorns and the garlic to the jar. Then pack in your cucumbers and dill sprig and top with another lemon slice.
5. Pour the brine over the cucumbers and fill the jar to 1/4" from the rim 
6. Screw on the lid and put your pickles in the fridge for a day
7. 24 hours later - EAT PICKLES WOO!

See, wasn't that easy? It was. And in a day you're going to be crunching your face off with pickle glory. So, you know, enjoy that.