by Amie

Nothing brightens a dish more effectively than a little pickled element. I love adding them to salads, in sandwiches, or serving alongside cheese. This pickle formula can be adapted in any way you like. Want it a little spicy? Add some chili flake. Maybe a few coriander seeds. Mustard seeds, garlic cloves, and dill all work great. You can use any sturdy vegetable you like too! From this week’s box you could do the daikon, romanesco, cauliflower, or apples (trust me). Next week it could be grapes, carrots, or turnips. Change up the vinegar, and you can go in even more directions (rice wine for a pan-asian flavor, cider vinegar if you would like a more middle eastern flavor, or stay with the white vinegar for a more eastern european taste). The point is to have fun, and create something that is unique to the season.

2 firm seedless cucumbers (or radishes, turnips, grapes, apples, etc.)

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar/honey/brown sugar/molasses

1 tsp chili flake (if desired)

1 tsp coriander seeds (if desired)

1 tsp cumin seeds (if desired)

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill 

1 - 2 cups white vinegar (or rice wine, or cider vinegar)

Peel and prepare your vegetable of choice (the thinner the better). 

Pile them into jars, firmly packed. 

Mix salt, spices, and herbs together and divide evenly between jars.

Pour vinegar until vegetables are covered. Place lid on top and give it a shake.

Place jar in the refrigerator near the front, which should remind you to shake it once or twice more over the new few hours. (Or whenever you’re back at the fridge.) 

You can eat them as little as 1 to 2 hours later, but they become ideal at 6 to 8 hours. They’ll keep in the fridge, submerged in their brine, for 3 weeks, though they never last that long around here...