Pickled Mustard Green Stems

 I hate to waste anything I grow in my vegetable garden, keeping this in mind when I picked Red Giant Mustard earlier this week I set aside the stems when I stripped them of their leaves.  Here is what I made with the stems.  Crunchy, slightly spicy, nice and dilly with just a hint of heat from the mustard stems.  You will love these little pickles!

Red Giant Mustard from my garden

For this recipe you will need a clean quart jar with a tight fitting lid.

In a small bowl add: 
1 cup Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
1 generous Tbsp Pickling Spices
1 dried small red pepper, left whole (optional)

1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Stir to blend

Slice the stems of the Mustard Greens into bite-size chunks and fill jar to about 3/4 full.  Pour over the pickling vinegar blend, and add just enough water to fill jar.  Add a bit of sea salt if desired.  Place the lid on tightly and shake to distribute the spices.  Refrigerate for 2-3 days, give it a good shake once a day.  These will keep for a month or more refrigerated, but believe me they will not last that long in this house!  Tony and I each had about a 1/2 cup last night as a snack. 

leave a bit of head space so you can shake the jar now and then

Every day or so I pick herbs from the garden to use in my cooking, it makes such a difference in the final dish.

My Homemade Pickling Spice Blend

1 tablespoons Mustard Seed

1 tablespoon Coriander Seed

1 tablespoon Caraway Seeds
1 Tablespoon Celery Seed

2 Whole Cloves

1 teaspoon Ground Ginger (or a fresh slice if using immediately)

1 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 or 2 Bay Leaves, broken into pieces

1 teaspoon Whole Allspice Berries

1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns

1 teaspoon Whole Dill Seeds ( I used fresh dill for this recipe)

Some of the spices for the blend, the jar on the right is my spice blend. I have a collection of 1950's and 60's Spice Island Jars that I keep refilling.  Each jar has the original date on the bottom molded into the glass.

Optional: for a sweeter blend you can also add cinnamon sticks, but I prefer to only use those if I am canning sweet pickles, relishes or crab apples.