Kool-aid Pickles
Our friend Nick is an interesting person who is always coming up with crazy ideas. When he sent Seth an e-mail about Kool-aid pickles, I thought it was a joke until Seth insisted that I make them. 
Apparently Nick’s dad saw an article about the pickles in the newspaper. Kool-aid pickles, or candied pickles, started at a food mart in a small town in Mississippi. They have become hugely popular in the South, especially among kids. The pickles can be made with any flavor Kool -aid, although cherry and tropical punch seem to be favorites. They can also be made with any type of dill pickle - whole, halves, quarters, or slices. Nick, being the crazy guy he is, thought they were a great idea. Seth, of course, would never disagree with Nick and that is how I found myself making a jar of Kool-aid pickles. >>
To make the pickles, I drained a half gallon jar of whole dill pickles. In the empty pickle jar, I mixed together a pack of tropical punch Kool-aid, a pound of sugar, and about 4 cups of water. I think I was only supposed to add a 1/2 pound of sugar, but I just dumped the whole box in. After the Kool-aid and sugar dissolved, I cut all the pickles in half and put them back in the jar. I added a little more water to cover the pickles, put the lid on, and put the jar in the refrigerator.
After a week, the pickles has just started to take on the Kool-aid flavor. The edges were light pink and they tasted like a funky sweet pickle. I didn’t like them at all at that point, but Seth said he didn’t think they had absorbed enough of the Kool-aid and we needed to let them sit longer. I suggest shaking the jar once a week or so since the liquid at the bottom was a lot more intense than at the top.
The pickles have now been marinating for three weeks, and I tried one this morning. I have to admit, I thought it was really good! I don’t like pickles that much, but this didn’t taste like a pickle at all. It was 
crunchy, sweet and tasted just like tropical punch. The outside of the pickle was bright red, but when I cut it in half, it was still green on the inside. I’m assuming the sugar soaked through the entire pickle though, because even though it wasn’t red, it was still super sweet. I know that not everyone will love candied pickles, but I was really surprised how good they were. And if nothing else, they will provide a great conversation piece at our next picnic.