Accompaniments: Pickled Serrano Chili Peppers

Usually, when I am making a dish that requires a hot pepper I only need one or two at a time.  But then there I am at the supermarket and all I see are packages of hot peppers.  There just isn't a way that I will use up 20 serrano peppers this week.  But I can pickle them to use later!  I always have a jar of pickled hot peppers in my fridge and I use them in place of the fresh ones in any recipe that calls for one.  They tend to be less hot but still very flavorful. 

Pickled Serrano Peppers

• 1 lime cut in eighths
• 1 clove of garlic sliced or quartered
• as many chili peppers as you can fit in a jar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 3 tablspoons salt
• white vinegar

Add lime, peppers, garlic, spices adn salt to a 16oz sterilized mason jar.  (To sterilize a jar and lid, place them in a pot of boiing water for 10 minutes.  Add vinegar until it rises above one fourth of the jar.  Fill the rest of the jar up to the lip with water so no air gets in.  They are ready to go after about 2 days.

Accompaniments: Pickled Cipollini Onions

Okay, so I probably put too much thyme.  One sprig was more than sufficient, but look how pretty it looks in the jar.  Its like a little a plant with vines growing around smooth stones.  I love pickles and, truthfully, I love making them too.  Somehow it makes me feel both crafty and economical.  It appeals to my "no-waste" philosophy of living.  However, I so wanted to make these that I bought the onions for this purpose rather than them being leftover onions I decided to pickle.

Unlike most of the pickles I have made in the past, these are a short life pickle.  According to the original recipe I found the shelf life is about two to three weeks. I usually use a white vinegar diluted with water when pickling with a generous amount of salt as well.  In the few recipes I found for pickles that have a shorter shelf life, the vinegar of choice is a white wine vinegar, with less salt but more generous amounts of sugar (something I always leave out of my pickle recipes entirely) and a touch of oil.  Note: no water.
As you might expect, the result was a milder, less acidic taste with just a hint of sweetness.

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking Issue February - March 2011

• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic ( I used 2 small) peeled 
• 1 hot chili pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• as many cipollini onions as you can fit in a 1pint jar (peeled)
• 1 sprig of thyme

Cram the thyme and onions in your sterilized glass jar until you can't fit any more. Put all other ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Pour the liquid over he onions in the jar.  Tuck in your chili pepper, bay leaf and garlic cloves.  Open in two days.