Pickled Watermelon Rind

I'm so darned thrifty. I just hate to throw anything out that can be used.  Needless to say I was always intrigued with the thought of making something from watermelon rinds. After all, that's a lot of potential good eating going to the compost heap from just one good sized melon. I've looked at recipes for years and most call for large amounts of rind, pickling lime, and about 6 jars going to the canner. That's a lot of food and a lot of work. Not too crazy about that.
My problem is since it is just me and the hubby we usually don't eat a lot of watermelon at one sitting leaving me to think of a million and one ways to use watermelon before it goes bad. I did have a hankering for watermelon salsa and that left enough rind to make a jarful so I started scouring my cookbooks. Unfortunately to recipes I've found call for canning and I am just not in the mood to can. I know how but just don't want to. Besides, I'm only making 1 jar....a lot of work for one jar, so I came up with my own recipe. It's a bit like my Ice Box Pickles with a couple of differences. Here it is:

Pickled Watermelon Rind
You'll need about 2 cups of rind.
2 cups of sugar
1 cup distilled vinegar
1 cinnamon stick
4 or 5 whole cloves

To prepare the rind, cut the pink off leaving only the white...that's the rind. Pare the green off with a potatao peeler then cut the rind in 1 inch by 2 inch pieces. Place the rind in a saucepan and cover with water. Place the saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil. Let the rind cook at a medium boil for about 20 minutes. This step helps soften the rind. Drain the rind and set it aside.

While the rind is cooking, mix the vinegar and sugar; stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add cinnamon and cloves. Add the rind and stir carefully making sure all the rind is covered.
Place the rind in a jar or bowl and refrigerate.

That's it. The rind is refreshing and yummy, a great addition to a summer meal.