Quick Pickled Vegetables

One of our favorite meals to make is spring rolls with pickled vegetables, very similar to Bahn Mi and other Vietnamese meals. I immediately thought of the coming spring weather and this healthy meal when presented with Aprils Food in Jars Mastery Challenge - Quick Pickles. This very easy one jar wonder makes a wonderful crispy pickle for any dish.

Ingredients
A variety of veggies (I used a carrot, a cucumber, a celery stalk, a piece of pepper)
one wide mouth 1/2 quart mason jar
For pickling juice: 
1 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. coriander seed
1 tsp. peppercorns
1 bay leaf
lemon zest

Process
1. Prepare your vegetables and cut to roughly the height of the jar.

2. Using one of my favorite kitchen utensils, cut the vegetables into tiny strips. If not julienne them. 

3. Pack them into the jar in alternating layers of color.

4. Reserve what ever scraps you have for vegetable stock and store in the freezer.

5. In a small sauce pan, prepare the pickling juice.

6. Bring pickling juice to a boil over high heat and allow continue heating for a minute or so.

7. Pour hot pickling juice over vegetables in the Mason jar.

8. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.

HERE IT IS HANGING OUT WITH ITS FRIENDS

My quick pickled vegetables are ready to go any time but for now I will just let them get tasty while resting with the salt preserved lemons and the Strawberry, blackberry, blueberry shrub I made for this week's mocktails.