Pickled Turnips and Radishes

This morning I opened a jar of pickles I made this summer from my bountiful lemon cucumber crop. They are outrageously good bread and butters with extra coriander and turmeric. So good in fact, that my fifteen-month old kept jamming them in his mouth. I had to hide the jar or else he might have eaten them all. Which, yeah, I don't think so! I think that was his first pickle experience. It was really quite beautiful to watch. We have a believer. He then helped me make this pickle recipe. He's really good at pushing the food processor on and off.

I was so excited to write about these pickles because they look incredible. But, it will be a few days until I can back that up empirically. I based it on a couple of recipes, mostly Linda Ziedrich's Pink Pickled Turnips for the measurements. There are a bunch of recipes for this Middle Eastern pickle, and they all have beets in them. Seeing as how I drank my last beet yesterday (with some carrots and ginger), I decided to use these watermelon radishes instead. Both the red turnips and watermelon radishes are local, purchased at the winter market the other day. The radishes are from but a few miles from my home, as the crow flies. I wondered if the reds and pinks would do what the beets do, and that is color the pickle. And yes, they did. A beautiful pink blush showed as soon as the brine hit the vegetables. I will post back to record their success (or failure).

2 1/2 pounds of turnips and radishes, cleaned, trimmed and sliced in fine rounds

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

3 tablespoons of pickling salt

teaspoon of celery seed

1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns

a few sprigs of fresh dill

Sterilize three pint jars, or a 2 quart jar, if you have it. Put the vegetables into a large glass bowl. Dissolve salt in water and vinegar. Pour over vegetables. Add spices. Pack vegetables into hot jars. Add brine to cover. Remove bubbles and add dill. Seal tightly and let them stand at room temperature for about 10 days. Then refrigerate. Will keep for about a month.