Spicy pickled vegetables

Here’s a quick recipe for pickled vegetables for you to play around with. I’d been making a batch of pickled red onions every couple of month ever since I found Monica Bhide’s recipe in a magazine last year and finally started playing around with it to mix up the color and flavors. I love this version – it’s a gorgeous mixture of oranges, yellows, and purples – and it tastes just fabulous. Crunch, tang, spice, a bit of sweet . . . we’ve been adding it to everything from pizza to hot dogs to hummus and spinach tortilla wraps. Plus, it’s vegan, gluten-free, and has that super-healthy boost turmeric provides.

Best of all, it’s a simple recipe that keeps for – well, I don’t know how long it will keeps. We’ve always eaten this size batch within 2 weeks.

This is all you do.

Pour 1 cup very hot water in a 2-quart Pyrex mixing bowl.

• Stir in 1 tbsp sugar and stir until dissolved.
• Add 1 tbsp turmeric and stir again

Now add:

• One thinly sliced red onion
• 3 ribs thinly julienned celery
• 1 bunch thinly sliced radishes
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• a pinch of red pepper flakes

Cover with white vinegar, and your work is done. Just snap on the lid, place the container in the refrigerator, and let the turmeric and vinegar do their thing for 6-8 hours.

Drain the mixture well before serving; a colander works best. Store unused portion in the vinegar mixture in the refrigerator.