Quick Pickled Green Beans

It's a really easy recipe and doesn't require much. I'd recommend doing it on a day when you can open your windows. Simmering vinegar with serrano pepper seeds in it goes airborne and gets pretty intense!I usually just buy a few handfuls of green beans and eat whatever doesn't fit in the jar. I calculated about 10oz of green beans fit in this quart jar. Every time I make this I end up short on liquid. I usually just pour some more apple cider vinegar (diluted with 25% water) in to make up the difference. This time I calculated how much I used and adjusted the recipe to reflect it.

I usually trim the beans and add them to the jar one at a time. This way I can add the sprigs of dill, sliced serrano pepper and quartered garlic clove around them. Once you have the beans, dill, garlic and pepper arranged you can add the peppercorns, coriander and 1 bay leaf. Or add them first, either way they will float around!

Mix the vinegar, wine, sugar, salt, 2 bay leaves in a pot and bring to a light simmer. For very mild heat, exclude any pepper seeds from this recipe. For medium heat, I like to simmer the seeds in the brine and then remove them (along with the bay leaves). For the max heat, leave them in the brine! But take the 2 bay leaves out still.

Once I have my jar packed up (not too tight though!) and the brine has been cooled (and removed of it's pepper seeds and bay leaves) pour it into the jar, seal it up and pop the jar in the fridge. These are best in about a week. HOWEVER, since these are not traditionally hot canned pickles they do not have the same life span. These are good for a few weeks only and must be refrigerated the whole time. 

Bonus, cat reading a recipe book. ;)