One of the more interesting challenges of moving has been what to do with all of the preserved goods from last year. I dutifully packed three large boxes worth of pickles, marinara sauce, and jams, and then realized once we were in our new place just how small the kitchen is and just how little kitchen storage we have. For now, it’s cool in the garage, so that’s where the boxes are hanging out. I had the presence of mind to pack six jars of marinara separately so we could easily make spaghetti and meatballs in our first month in our new place. I also packed two small jars of marmalade and jam, as I couldn’t stand the thought of not having a few tablespoons of homemade jam in my yogurt in the mornings.
In the meantime, farms keep producing and it’s already farmer’s market season in the PNW. I couldn’t resist going to the new market this past weekend and came home with the most lovely radishes. I think you’ll soon see a blog post from me just about radishes – that’s how much I love this vegetable. I’d just as soon eat radishes as a snack with salt, but decided I wanted to also include some quick picked radishes on my bagel sandwiches this week. We had some carrots leftover from some quick chopped salads we made last weekend. I’d also packed rice vinegar.
An aside – I had a strange sense of what was essential during this move: honey, rice vinegar, bread flour, marinara, one bag of pasta, and salt and pepper. However, I managed to leave our half open bottle of olive oil behind and still can’t find my unopened bottle of red wine vinegar. Since I didn’t bring sugar with us, nor remembered to buy it at the last run we did to the grocery store, I used a little bit of honey for this recipe. I also had juniper berries on hand, but these aren’t essential to the recipe.
Quick Pickled Spring Vegetables
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced mixed spring vegetables (I used radishes and carrots – I think this would be a great recipe with spring peas, red onions, celery, etc.)
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Combine the rice vinegar, water, spices, honey and salt in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over the vegetables. Let cool and then store in the refrigerator. These will keep for about a week.
