I posted this recipe last year. I'm doing it again.
There's a reason for this. Suzen and I have a certain disease. Perhaps you do too. Can't-get-to-the-next-page-in-the-cookbook is a disease, well maybe a syndrome, that affects many of us cookbook lovers. We have the Joy of Pickling and it's filled with things we promise ourselves we will try. We promise. We break the promise. This recipe has two stickies attached, is marked with a big star in ink, and get's made several times a year. We love to munch on them. Our staff craves them. We are having a dinner party this Saturday and here is one of the appetizers. Suzen has a tradition of always taking a present to someone when we come for dinner. She always brings bread. And to that we may add wine or maybe some of these carrots.
Our local farmers market is stocked with some vendors into heritage things: tomatoes, corn, apples, and these lovely carrots.
It's an hour's job, from start to end, to create these carrots. These are refrigerated pickles, so we don't need to go through the we-could-just-as-well-be-doing-heart-surgery sterilization routine. We do run the jars through our dishwasher on the high-heat [pots and pans] cycle before using.
The wonderful thing about pickling is the ability to "play" with your food. Adding additional spices, some onion, or another veggie is all at your control. Just be prepared for your jars of carrots to quickly disappear from your shelves. That's whether or not you have rabbits.
Pickled Baby Carrots with Dill
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients:
- 1 pound 4-inch carrots, scrubbed and trimmed
- ¼ minced dill leaves or 2 whole dill sprigs
- 3 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 to 2 red jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced [green will do!]
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns, crushed
- 1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
Preparation:
Blanch the carrots in boiling water, or steam them, for 2 minutes or until they are barely tender. Immerse them in cold water until they are cool.
Pack the carrots and dill into a quart jar. In a saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Cover the carrots with the liquid. Cap the jar and let it cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate the jar for 2 days or longer before eating the carrots. Refrigerated, they will keep for at least 2 months.
Source: The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 18-55mm Macro Lens, F/5.0, 1/12th second at ISO 3200 and 1/64th second at ISO 2500 respectively
