Pickled Fennel and Pickled Onions

2 pickling techniques! I was reading my new issue of "Ready Made" magazine, found it pretty boring, except for an article on Pickling.

Well I picked the last of the fennel today so tonight I made another jar of pickled fennel. Supposedly they should be pickled with oranges but not having any I pickled them with Walla Walla Sweet Onions (the worlds greatest Table Onion), and the other jar I pickled "Burgermaster"Purple Onions with some garlic cloves. The spices I used were dill seed, whole black peppercorns, some chile powder and some ground cumin. here is the recipe I used:

PICKLE ANYTHING from Ready Made Magazine

BLANCH AND SEAL PICKLE TECHNIQUE
1 clean pint jar with lid
1 1/2 cup of Vegetables or fruit , cut into small slices or chunks
1 cup of White Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
Herbs (about 2 tbsp, chopped or a few sprigs) and spices (About 1 TBSP)

Blanche your choice of veggies, for 1 -3 Minutes, Remove veggies and give them an Ice bath (put in a bowl of ice water). Placed Blanched vegetables and/or raw fruit into the jar with Vinegar, salt, herbs and spices. Cover tightly and enjoy within a week.

FRESH PACK TECHNIQUE - This is the method I used
1 clean pint jar with lid
1 1/2 cup of Vegetables or fruit , cut into small slices or chunks
1 cup of White Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup of sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
Herbs (about 2 tbsp, chopped or a few sprigs) and spices (About 1 TBSP)
Place your chosen fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices in the jar. Cover and shake Gently to mix - uncover and in a small saucepan bring vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, and then pour over the raw ingredients.Cover loosely with the lid. Allow to cool.

Cover tightly and Refrigerate for up to a week.

Now of course this is not long term preservation, but allows you to keep things for a couple of weeks or so. And a sure fire way to get a blast with your sandwiches or cheese platters and a great change of pace from plain old pickles!