Carrot Pickles

I have always loved the hue of purple carrots. They are so pretty with their contrasting purple skin and orange flesh. I thought they would make some really pretty carrot pickles.


I love to pickle foods. Almost any fresh food can be pickled. I have a couple of brine recipes I like to use. This one is nice and spicy with the addition of the red pepper flakes.

Pickled Carrots 

 
3-4 fat carrots
Slice the carrots into slim stick, thin rounds or any desired shape

1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups filtered water
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf per jar

Combine the brine ingredients in a medium-sized, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil. Taste and adjust spices to please your palate. Add the sliced vegetables. Stir to combine and remove from the heat.

Fill prepared jars. Wipe rims and apply lids. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes (starting time after the pot has returned to a boil).

These should rest for a few weeks or months before opening to let them infuse with the flavors of the spices. 

Makes three pints.

the joys of laundry

Growing up we did not have a lot of money. When you don't have a lot you tend to take real good care of what you do have. I learned from a young age how to do laundry - from simple sorting and washing of clothes to the details of ironing a mens shirt piece by piece. These chores became weekend rituals and I found peace in them then and still do today.

Laundry is one of my favorite household chores. It is one of the most gratifying tasks that leaves you with warm piles of folded clothes and towels smelling fresh. Taking a pile of wrinkled clothes - ironing and hanging them seems to restore order and say - we are ready to take on the world.

Call me crazy! But I love it!

I also love products - so I am always on the hunt for new, exciting products that can help me get my clothes clean as well as make as little impact as possible on the earth.

This new laundry soap by Method is so amazing - the tiny little bottle so easy to have around and if you are schlepping to a laundry mat this is o-so portable. Very, very concentrated only using 4 pups for an entire load of laundry. My clothes came out clean and smelling fresh. If you have not tried it I say give it a whirl.