If you watch Portlandia, I’m sure you recognize the title of this post. I’ve pickled a few things lately, with mixed results.

My attempt at pickling radishes was ok, but not good enough for this blog. They looked pretty, but the flavor was too sharp.

My bread and butter pickles were another story – so addictive-ly sweet and crunchy. I doubled this Alton Brown recipe and cut back on the sugar a bit.

These are refrigerator pickles, so they don’t last forever. Use your best judgement, but you should probably eat them within two weeks. That wasn’t a problem for us.

The recipe is simple. Boil the vinegar, sugar and spices. Meanwhile, slice up your pickling cucumbers and onions and put them into a clean jar. Pour boiling mixture into the jar. It’s better to do this in the sink. The Turmeric can stain your countertops.

Allow the jar of pickles to cool and then store them in the refrigerator. They shrink a lot as they sit in the pickling juice. After a few days, the flavors really develop and they are ready to eat.

Here’s what I made:

• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced

• 2 cup water
• 2 cup cider vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon each mustard seeds, turmeric, celery seeds and pickling spice

1. Bring all pickling juice ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, fill a clean jar (or jars) with sliced cucumbers and onions.
3. Pour boiling pickle mixture into jar.
4. Let cool, then store in the fridge. Eat within two weeks.

See all my vegan recipes →