"Several quarts of dill seeds? That will make a LOT of pickles. " It sure does :-). In my garden, the one weed that causes the most problems is dill - thousands of the things pop up everywhere. In a couple of days of hot weather, the little fellas seem to grow a couple of feet, and suddenly, its not just a few cute little plants but a forest. Yesterday I must have cut down half a bushel of green dill which was shading the other plants. Plenty more to supply seeds. My cucumbers and beans are just starting to vine, so I'm 5-6 weeks away from pickling.

For spears, the wait time for consuming can be down to 3 weeks after canning. If its whole cukes, it will take longer. Adding some Pickle Crisp (Calcium Chloride) will improve crispness. A 50:50 ratio of water to vinegar is marginal, so you may want to consider using a bit more vinegar and a bit less water. There is also a dill pickle that calls for a few whole peppercorns per jar. I don't care for that, but others might. Fresh dill weed is OK, but you can also add fress dill seed heads (swelld green stage) if you like a more powerful dill taste. I like lots of dill taste and use a Mrs. Wages dill pickle mix as the basis, instead of the pickling salt. I also like using all vinegar and no water most of the time. Another option is slices like the 'stackers' from Vlassic, where they slice lengthwise for sandwiches. Keep in mind that any cuts of whole cukes will get soft a bit faster after they are canned, hence, the need for the Calcium Cloride (available from Bulk Foods).

Made this for dinner last night for the first time. What a delightful surprise this meal was, simple, easy, can be served hot or cold. Not only was it a wonderful meal, but on a hot summer's night wiht the AC not working, it didn't heat up the kitchen either. POACHED HADDOCK WITH DILL SAUCE SERVES 4 From Try foods intl. inc., America's favorite recipes INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt 3 tablespoons low fat mayonnaise 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped 4 haddock fillets 3 cups water 1/2 cup white wine In a bowl, mix yogurt, mayonnsaise, cucumber, and dill. Season with pepper and salt if you desire. Chill for aat least 1 hour. T0 COOK FISH In a large skillet, bring 3 cups water and the wine to a boil. Add fish; simmer until fish flakes easily with a fork; about 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Haddock may be served hot or chilled with the sauce spooned over the fish. My changes. Added only pepper to the sauce and doubled the sauce recipe. Simmered the fish by spooning the liquid over the fish for about 5 minutes and then covered skillet for about 5 minutes. Served fish hot with sauce on top, with a side of steamed baby carrots and a salad of romaine lettuce, very thin sliced cucumbers and a small amount of the sauce as a salad dressing on the salad.

Glenda- stuffed bell peppers was frequently made when I was growing up. They're comfort food. They're quite easy to make, but I don't bake mine, which is how they are traditionally made. I make my ground turkey mix, cut off the tops of the peppers, stuff them with the meat and simmer them in tomato sauce for about an hour. The meat turns out very juicy and it's the way my Mom has always made them. I just end up with little red tomato dots all over. I ended up making meatloaf though. Lol