pickled jalapeños.

i thought pretty hard [about three minutes long] about a clever phrase having to do with pickling a peck of peppers for peter.  i got nothin.  i don't even know what a peck is.

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i've never pickled before!  here's my first pickling job.  i sure as hell didn't pickle an actual peck.

 jalapeños! my favorite.

i can't decide if this photo is cute or sad.

other pickling recipes that i saw called for bay leaves or other fancy leaves and herbs.  i just happened to have some new sage growing in my herb planter, so i used these instead.

i didn't remove the seeds from the jalapeños because i like spicy things and because i *thought* the heat would tame after they'd been jarred a few days.  would you believe that they turned out super flaming hot and burn in your belly?!  yeah.  remove at least some seeds if you know what's good for you and your internal organs.

ta da! pickled peños for q & p.

Pickled Jalapeños

Recipe yields one large (4 cup) mason jar

Store in fridge for several weeks

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 10-15 medium jalapeños
• 20 peppercorns, slightly crushed
• 2 1/2 TB salt
• 6 sage leaves (or whatever fresh herbs you'd like to use-- i just had these on hand)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 1/2 TB sugar
• dash of red chili flakes [i'm crazy.  i just thought the mixture needed a pop of color :) ]

Instructions-

Chop the garlic and place in small bowl with the crushed peppercorns and herbs.  Add the vinegar and water to a pot and boil.  Lower heat to a medium simmer and add the salt and sugar.  Whisk & simmer until these dissolve.  Add the garlic, peppercorns, and herbs to the pot.  

Carefully wash and slice the jalapeños.  Remove any or all of the seeds to reduce heat.  Wash your hands and finger nails thoroughly, right this minute!  Don't touch your face, nose, or eyes.

Use the knife or any utensil to scoot the jalapeños off your cutting board into the pot with all the ingredients.  Stir everything together and raise heat to medium for just 2 minutes. 

Remove pot from heat and let cool for 20 minutes.

Pour the entire pot of ingredients into glass jars.  This recipe filled a 4 cup mason jar perfectly!  Add the lid and refrigerate.

I waited until the following day to taste the pickled jalapeños.  They were very spicy, but also delicious.  I was happy with how the whole mixture and balance of vinegar turned out.  Next time, I will probably remove half the seeds.  One happy jalapeño eater said they liked the level of heat.  It just depends on preference and whom you are serving these to.  We've eaten these with the slaw from my

last post

, tacos, and udon noodle soup.  I would love these on top of nachos!

olé!

qp

my kinda slaw.

pete and i have been on a kick of eating this really fresh slaw from

marination ma kai

in our neighborhood lately. we both really dislike slaws that are super mayonnaised out, so discovering this one was such a treat.  i mostly got inspiration for this recipe from the ingredients in marination's slaw, but added some of my own as well.  it's been a hit, and we've eaten it three days in a row in different ways.  it is fresh and crunchy and zingy!

i initially wasn't sure what type of vinegar to use and i thought i was going to use apple cider vinegar.  turns out just regular white vinegar did the trick, but i did add a little bit of apple cider vinegar just to test it out.  i'll try it with rice vinegar next time.

omg coconut la croix.  how do they do it? there's nothing in there! but somehow so much deliciousness!

i didn't have a chance to take a good photo of these shredded chicken sliders with the slaw before we scarfed them down, but here's a mediocre iphone pic for good measure.  

i pickled the jalapeños seen above to add on top of the slaw, too.  zing!  flavor fest.

Supa Fresh Slaw 

Makes one large bowl // 8-10 servings

Refrigerates well for 3-5 days

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head green cabbage
• 1/4 head red cabbage
• 1-2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 inch knob finely chopped or mashed ginger
• 1 TB toasted sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil

Instructions-

Chop or shred both types of cabbage and carrots into thin slices.  Add to medium/large bowl.

[I used the mandoline slicer that my sweet dad bought me for Christmas to shred the cabbage.  I also chopped it into smaller pieces with a knife, keeping in mind the size of the shreds of cabbage for each forkful. Think about when you have a salad with giant leaves that hardly fit in your mouth and it is awkward to eat and you just look like a cow struggling to eat a big leaf. Spare yourself this problem and cut the cabbage up smaller.]

Slice/chop the green onion, cilantro, and ginger.  Toss all these ingredients together in the bowl.

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan or on a baking sheet in the oven at 325 degrees F until slightly browned (optional).  Add sesame seeds to the bowl.

Add the vinegars and sesame oil.  Toss everything together until well incorporated.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for less than a week (it'll get kind of soft and maybe smelly).  Drain any excess liquids from the slaw before use to keep it crunchy.

Use on sliders, tacos, sandwiches, or just on its own as a side!

qp