In a Pickle

     I'm always eager to try a new recipe, as long as it does not contain some obscure or arcane ingredients.  It's fun to peruse the food magazines that arrive in the mailbox to see if they contain a recipe that I think will be a "keeper."  So when the most recent issue of Food Network Magazine was delivered I paged through it to discover if, as the cover proudly announced, there really were 119 easy recipes.  I didn't actually count them all, but there was one that caught my eye.  It was entitled simply enough, "Refrigerator Pickles."
     I have never attempted to pickle anything in my life, so I considered this particular recipe both a challenge and an adventure.  Having just been to the Green Dragon earlier that day I already had in my possession many of the ingredients the recipe called for: things like spring onions, carrots, broccoli, and of course, cucumbers.  One interesting note about the recipe was that it allowed for a cook's choice as to what to put in the quart jars.  There was a side note that gave permission to add "absolutely anything with this recipe--in spring, try green garlic, spring onions and asparagus."  Wow!  A recipe with latitude, not attitude...now that's for me.
     The process wasn't complicated.  First, cook up a brine of white vinegar and kosher salt with water and add some whole garlic cloves.  Then add whatever veggies you desire into two 1 quart jars, along with some spices and herbs.  Once that was completed just add the brine solution to the jars up to the tippy top and tightly fasten a lid on each and chill in the refrigerator overnight.  Here's my finished result: