Quick Refrigerator Pickles

I promise you, if you realized how easy it was to pickle you'd never buy pickles again. You can pickle anything, from cucumbers to onions and carrots to green tomatoes. Once you get the basics down you can experiment with different pickling flavors such as bread and butter or garlic pickles. 

So here's the big secret... as long as you have equal parts vinegar and water, a little salt and some sugar, the rest is up to you! I aim for 1 teaspoon of dried spices along with 1-2 fresh sprigs of herbs, depending on the flavors I'm aiming for. Like I said, you really can't mess this up. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vinegar, I prefer Bragg's apple cider vinegar, although white vinegar is most traditionally used
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried spices such as mustard seed, coriander seed, black peppercorn
• ​1-2 sprigs fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill, rosemary or fennel fronds, if desired
• Fresh garlic cloves, if desired​
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, optional
• Vegetables of choice: in this photo I used cucumbers and green tomatoes 

Instructions:

• In the bottom of a clean glass jar add in your desired spices, herbs and garlic cloves.
• Wash and cut you veggies and pack them into the jar 
• Bring to a boil the water, vinegar, salt and sugar
• Pour the boiling mixture over the vegetables. Bring to room temperature before securing a lid tightly overtop and storing in fridge
• The vegetables take about 24-48 hours to pickle, so try to hold off until then! Store in the refrigerator for up to a month 
• Serve alongside a charcuterie or cheese board, in summer salads or make a habit of consuming a few pickles prior to eating large meals to support bile production and to help stabilize blood sugars