For the past two years I've been staring at this amazing picture of a jar of pickles in one of our Sara Foster's cook books. Every time I see it I say to myself, damn I have to make those soon. Well this weekend I finally gave it a shot, and they are the perfect summer pickle. Crisp, refreshing, not too sweet, and pack a little (tiny) kick. Here's what you need:

That picture shows white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, cloves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, dill seed, white onion, and kirby pickles. Kirby pickles. I've never had them before, and the first thing that comes to mind when I see their name is Kirby Puckett. Baseball. Summer. Makes sense. Anyway, SF recommends using them because of their ability to stay crisp and I can't complain about the results. I peeled some strips pf skin off, and sliced to between an eigth and a quarter inch thick. I used 3 kirbies. (Kirbies! Needs to be a brand name). I also sliced some white onion as thinly as i could: 

You mix all the ingredients aside from the pickles and onion into a quart jar and shake it up. Then simply layer in Kirbies (really, needs to be brand name) and white onion. Pack 'em in as tight as you can. This was my final jar:

You throw that in the fridge, and let it soak for at least 4hrs, though i did mine overnight i think. GREAT pickles. And incredibly easy. Please try them.... here are the measurements if you want to take it for a spin: 

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
• 1 teaspoon dill seed
• 4 to 5 small kirby (pickling) cucumbers, peeled in stripes and sliced into 1/8 inch thick rounds
• 1 small white onion, thinly sliced into rounds