Making pickles

I have never made pickles before, but have always had a bit of a desire to do so. I think it stems from the memory of my dad making pickles at home. Although, when I've mentioned this memory to my mom she has responded, "He may have made pickles...." Maybe I'm remembering someone else's family.
Anyway, the idea of making pickles intrigued my daughter, as well, when we bought some pickle cucumbers at our neighborhood farmers' market and she learned the option exists. Next time at the market we made a point to buy the cucumbers shaped for better pickle making. We also bought a large bunch of dill.
I decided to use this recipe as it sounded beginner friendly and quick. I'm not so interested in canning for long term use, rather, I wanted to try it out and see if we could make good pickles to eat now.
I didn't see the point in making your own pickles with a store bought pickle seasoning mix as the recipe suggests, so we used the alternate version where you make your own. The recipe does indicate the home mix is prone to problems, but wasn't clear what type of problems. Hmm. Ours did end up sort of cloudy, which may be because the coating in my pot is roughing up at the bottom (vinegar reacts with metal). Also, the pickling mix ends up way more chunky with those home-chopped veggies and herbs. I suppose I won't really know if there's a problem until we break them open at the end of the week.
I'll post our taste test results when we do.

Pictures: Top, most of the ingredients for making your own pickles and pickling mix (garlic and sugar missing). Middle, sliced cukes, bringing the mix to a simmer and sterilizing the jars. Bottom, jar of pickles (we only had enough to fill one large jar) and jar of leftover pickling mix.