Mango Pickles

Oh, yes!  Mango pickles!  Sweet and spicy deliciousness.  I actually bought these mangoes for my morning smoothies, but since I bought very under ripe ones I was anxious to try pickling them.  I think I might try to pickle anything.  I may need help…

Mango Pickles

2 very under ripe mangoes

4 chilies (Thai would be best, but I used Serrano because I had them!)

¾ c white vinegar

¾ c seju or sake (rice wine of some sort)

¼ c cider vinegar

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Peel and slice the mangoes in to whatever size you want them, but not too thick so they will have a uniform taste.  Slice the chilies.  Place them in your container; I used 2 one pint jars. 

On the stove, put in the remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Bring to just a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt.  Pull the pan off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Pour the brine over the mangoes and chilies, leaving headroom.  Allow to cool completely on the counter before putting the lids on and storing them in the refrigerator.  Let them sit for 1 day to develop flavors and should keep for a couple of weeks.

YUM!

PS: these turned out pretty darned warm, but oh so delicious! If you are only a moderate weenie like me, cut back by a pepper or two.  I find that a good ratio is one and a half Serrano peppers per pint.  If you don't like heat, these aren't for you!

Carrot Stick Pickles

Let the pickling continue!

I made and served these at Christmas a few years ago and they were an amazing success.  I don't think the olives or jarred pickles were touched at all, no one could get enough of the carrots.  I was happy that I had made a large recipe of them as I had to refill their spot on the relish tray twice.

Since then I have made a few additions to the recipe to give it a bit of a kick, but the original recipe is fantastic and I still make it often.  In my toiling, I have made them killer hot, which had to be given away, made them too sweet, and too bland, but this is the version I like best!

I stumbled across the recipe on Smitten Kitchen’s blog, which I am addicted to and make her recipes quite often.  That Christmas was full of her recipes, and everything was great!

Carrot Pickles

Original: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/01/pickled-carrot-sticks/

3 large carrots (I use Italian, which are HUGE)

5 cloves garlic

1 ¼ c water

1 ½ c white vinegar

¼ c sugar

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp dill seed

1 tbsp dill weed

½ tsp red pepper flakes

 

Peel and cut the carrots into sticks, not too thick!  Place them in the heat proof container that you are storing them in, and again even though I used 3 pint canning jars, don’t be fooled in to thinking that I truly canned these, they are refrigerator pickles!  

Peel and slightly crush the garlic cloves.

In a small sauce pan, add the garlic and the rest of the ingredients, heat to a boil, stirring to ensure the sugar and salt dissolve.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes.  If using multiple containers, spoon out and divide the garlic between them.  Pour the brine over the carrots, leaving headroom, and allow to cool completely before keeping them in the refrigerator.  Hands off for at least 3 days. 

Try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Yellow Summer Squash Pickles

 

I am having a love affair with pickles lately.  I pickle almost everything to make them tangy-sweet, spicy, garlicky, dill-y.  Heaven!  I really cannot wait until my vegetable garden is ready to be harvested and, well, pickled.

 

 

When I kept running across various versions of this recipe, I knew I MUST make them!  I decided to tweek it to my tastes.  All of the recipes that I found called for either bell or sweet peppers, but that is for the timid, or those who refuse to head back to the produce market to get them.  As I was making the brine, it was like honey and will nicely complement the heat from the chilies. 

And I wasn't disappointed!  This brine with the Serranos are a winning combo and I pretty much sat down with the jar and a fork and had a very happy snack!

Yellow Summer Squash Pickles

The original recipe is here, but it is for sweet: http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-recipe-pickled-yellow-squash-recipes-from-the-kitchn-175125

4 medium/large yellow summer squash

2 small yellow onions

3 Serrano peppers

¼ c sea salt

1 tray ice cubes (I forewarn on this because inevitably I have no ice when a recipe calls for it!)

1 ½ c cider vinegar

1 c white vinegar

½ c water

1 c sugar

1 tbsp Ground mustard

Peel and thinly slice the squash and onions.  Thinly slice the peppers.  I do this with the slicing blade on my food processor, keeps the tears down and the hot pepper juices off of the fingers.  Put these in a LARGE bowl with the salt and lightly toss.  Dump on the ice cubes, cover the veggies with water and set aside for 30 minutes.

Drain and rinse the veggie, then set aside to fully drain while you make the brine.  In a medium sauce pan combine the vinegars, water, sugar and mustard.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally so the sugar dissolves.  When the brine begins to boil, remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes, allowing it to cool somewhat. 

Place the veggies in a heat proof container that you wish to store them in.  I used 3 pint jars; don’t be afraid to shove them full.  Also, don’t be fooled in to thinking that I truly canned these, they are refrigerator pickles!  Pour the brine over them, leaving headroom, and allow to cool completely before storing them in the fridge.  Pickles take a few days to develop flavor, so try to keep your hands off of them for 3 to 5 days. 

Enjoy!