"We can pickle that!"

If I wasn't blogging about quilts (and sometimes cats) I'd probably blog about food. Portland is a foodie paradise. We get the most wonderful fresh produce here, and I think it has something to do with the popularity of pickling. It's one of the ways to handle an overabundance of perishables. Portlandia recently poked fun at Portland's prolific picklers.

I'd never made pickled carrots, but it seemed like a good idea because I had a bunch of carrots to use up, and no other ideas about what to do with them. So I found a recipe online, tried it out, and will get to sample the results this weekend.

It was really easy. I just cut up the carrots, made sure they'd fit in a jar with the lid on, blanched and cold shocked them, and put them in a jar with hot pickling liquid. The liquid was basically a cup of cider vinegar, 1 & 1/4 cups of water, some sugar, dash of salt, and some seasonings, heated in a saucepan. I didn't have the exact ingredients called for by the recipe, such as dill seed, so I used what I had. Many combinations of spices will work.

This weekend I'll enjoy some of the carrots, alongside a sandwich, or maybe with a glass of wine and other goodies for Happy Hour. They'll keep for a few weeks refrigerated, but I'd be surprised if there were any left by the end of the weekend. I'm sure they'll be delicious, and they will be a great new addition to my pickle repertoire. So far, I've pickled cucumbers, beets, green beans, red onions and cherry tomatoes. Do you pickle? If so, what's your favorite recipe?