Making your own pickles - tips please

Last batch of bread & butter pickles was good (but must remember to increase the cuke:onion ratio).

I stick with relishes and recipes involving sliced cukes. The processes involved in making whole/spear cukes crisp are too much hassle, and without them I have seedy mush. Other than that, it's super easy. A bunch of vegetable prep, cook it while sterilizing jars, fill jars, process jars if necessary, sit back and listen to the jars go pop-pop-pop, v. satisfying.

any suggestions for leftover pickle juice from a jar? i dont think i can use to pickle other veggies, can i?

You could probably make some kind of drink with it.

haha i dont really like tomato juice if thats what youre suggesting

Some parts of the internet say baseball pitchers use it to toughen their hands and prevent blisters; other parts of the internet debunk this.

http://tv.gawker.com/#!5593050

You can pickle other stuff in it, yeah. Some of the expensive small-batch pickles these days will actually point this out on the label (I think Rick's was the most recent one I noticed doing this).

i want to try this recipe.
i got a mandolin for my birthday (4 months ago) and keep meaning to get it out and try this, but i still haven't gotten around to it!

any suggestions for leftover pickle juice from a jar? i dont think i can use to pickle other veggies, can i?

Sure, and also good for pickled eggs. Put a couple peeled hard-boiled eggs in the liquid and leave in the fridge for a week before trying one. Similar with sliced zucchini or cukes or sweet onion.