A couple months before the holiday hullabaloo began, I bought a jar of gourmet dill pickles. They had garlic and chili peppers and they were delicious. And disappeared all too soon.
I was left with sadness and a half-jar of pickle liquid that still had plenty of punch. So just for the heck of it I filled the jar with some fresh cucumber chunks. Next morning, I had pickles again — not the same as the originals, but delicious all the same. It was as though Santa had come.
I bring this up now because in the final ramp-up to Christmas, you may be a) low on cash, b) in need of a couple last-minute gift ideas or c) in need of something to make for a party.
Looking further forward, after the new year you may be a) low on cash and b) trying to alleviate all the holiday bloat by eating lighter.
As an answer to all these needs I offer: Cheapskate Pickles.
HOW TO MAKE CHEAPSKATE PICKLES
What you need
>> Leftover brine from a jar of commercially prepared pickles. I’ve gotten the best results from regular dill pickles, but other types also work, including some Japanese-style pickles such as takuan.
>> Fresh veggies: My favorites are cucumbers, red bell peppers and radishes (the last two as a bonus turn the brine red in the holiday spirit), but you could try just about anything.
How-to
>> Bring brine to a boil.
>> Pour over cut veggies in clean jars. Harder items, like carrots, can be blanched, or watery items like cucumbers can be tossed in salt to draw out excess liquid that could dilute your brine. But I don’t do any of that.
>> Keep refrigerated. They’ll be ready to eat in a day or so.
FOOD SAFETY NOTES
>> Don’t reuse brine more than once. Each use dilutes the acid that keeps bacteria in check. Eat them all within two weeks.
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