Pickles!

I have to work on my "blog balance". I've been posting away over on my book blog, but I've been neglecting this blog. It could be because I haven't had a moment to do anything crafty.

I'm currently the UFO Challenge Queen over at Stashbuster, so I'm trying to finish the binding on a quilt. Hopefully I'll be able to post about that in the next day or so.

I also like cooking, so I tried to find a simple recipe that has been enticing me. I decided to try pickles. I feel like I've been seeing recipes frequently in the blogosphere. I have a daughter who loves to cook, and I tried to turn it into a Cooking with Kids moment, but pickles didn't excite her. Especially when I suggested pickling carrots. She thinks I'm weird.

I remember my grandmother making these with a bit of a kick. So I found a few recipes and riffed off of those. This was my first time making pickles, and I was rather surprised at how easy it was. I guess mine are considered refrigerator pickles since I didn't do any hot bath. I started with a small amount of brine that was supposed to be for two jars. but it wasn't enough for my big jars, so I had to make more.

Are you supposed to taste the brine? I didn't so I don't feel like I know how they will turn out. The brine smelled good, though. I sliced carrots into sticks, and added onion wedges and sliced red sweet peppers. It was easy and fun, and I think I'll experiment with different combinations of spices and different types of vinegars.

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