Two Takes on Pickles. (easy)

I love making pickles because when you feed them to your friends everyone is super-impressed and the general response is, "You MADE these?!" It feels great because it only takes, like, 15 minutes to make these and as with all meals containing mostly vinegar and sugar, they are delicious. So here it is ... Dill Pickles versus Asian Pickles, both recipes from Everyday Food Magazine. (Free Martha.)

Dill Pickles:
4-6 Cucumbers (the little Kirby ones are best), quartered lengthwise
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon dill seed
2 garlic cloves, smashed

Put the quartered cukes in a pan that is big enough to lay them all flat and be able to cover them with liquid. I used a 9 x13 Pyrex pan. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, dill seed, garlic, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Once they've dissolved, pour liquid over cukes, making sure the seed side of the spears is submerged, for better absorption.
Put that pan in the fridge for at least 2 hours, then transfer to Tupperware of some variety. Keep them in liquid until ready to serve. The flavor gets stronger the longer they stew. The recipe says good for 2 weeks, but I don't see what could go wrong with all that vinegar.

Take 2! Super Fun Happy Times Asian Pickles!!

This recipe starts the same as the dill pickles, with the quartered cuke spears in a Pyrex pan. THEN!

Cut 1-2 carrots in half lengthwise and then 1/2 inch diagonal slices.
In saucepan, combine:
1 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 cups water

And then as above ... Bring these items to a boil, simmer and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour over cukes. Refrigerate for 2+ hours. The ginger flavor grows as they sit. Deee-lish!