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CARROT PICKLES WITH SHALLOTS AND DILL

makes 1 quart • TIME: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooling, 1 hour refrigeration

Crunchy and cool, these carrot pickles have a mellow natural sweetness. If you can’t find fresh dill, substitute fresh cilantro or the Mexican herb epazote for an aromatic, caraway-like zip. Superb on sandwiches and tucked into tacos.

1½ pounds carrots, trimmed and peeled, sliced on the bias ⅛ inch thick

8 ounces shallots (about 2 large shallots), thinly sliced

6 sprigs fresh dill, cilantro, or epazote

1 cup distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar

4 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon celery seeds

2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns

Combine the carrots, shallots, and dill in a quart-size glass container with a lid. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water with the vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar, celery seeds, and peppercorns, and heat until it simmers. Pour the brine over the veggies, cover loosely, and let cool to room temperature. Seal the container and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

WATERMELON AND ONION PICKLES

makes 1 quart • TIME: 10 minutes preparation, 1 hour refrigeration

Not your mama’s watermelon rind pickles! We make these sweet-and-sours with bright red watermelon flesh, cutting it up into small tiles and pickling it along with sweet onion and basil. Serve a side of these with take-out fried chicken and you’ve got a meal with down-home flavor. With piping hot fried oysters, these pickles are dynamite!

One 2½-pound piece underripe or ripe fresh watermelon, cut into 1-x-1-x-⅓-inch “tiles” (1 scant quart)

1 large (8-ounce) sweet onion, sliced into thin rings

2 sprigs fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley (optional)

½ cup white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

⅛ teaspoon crushed dried red chile flakes

Layer the watermelon, onion, and basil in a quart-size glass container with a lid. Pour 1⅓ cups water and the vinegar into a small bowl, add the salt and the chile flakes, and stir until the salt dissolves. Pour it over the fruit, cover, and chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week.

PICKLED GRAPES WITH ROSEMARY AND CHILES

makes 1½ quarts • TIME: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooling, 1 hour refrigeration

Pickled grapes look a lot like olives, and we use them a lot like olives, too, tossing them in cold salads or just serving them in a ramekin as a cocktail nibble, with toothpicks (no dish for pits required!). Their playful sweet-sour flavor, their crispness, and their gentle chile heat make them super-addictive.

6 cups stemmed mixed red and green seedless grapes (about 2 pounds)

2 cups distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

Leaves from 1 four-inch sprig rosemary

½ teaspoon crushed dried red chile flakes

Pack the grapes into 3 pint-size glass containers with lids. Pour the vinegar and 1 cup water into a saucepan, set it over medium-high heat, and add the salt, sugar, garlic, rosemary, and chile flakes. When the mixture starts to simmer, remove the pan from the heat and divide the hot brine among the pints of grapes. Cover loosely and let cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

ZUCCHINI AND ONION PICKLES

makes 1 quart • TIME: 10 minutes preparation, 30 minutes cooling, 1 hour refrigeration

We’re always looking to transform inexpensive stalwarts of the produce section into something astounding. Here we combine yellow summer squash and green zucchini for the appealing mixture of color, but you can use either color alone if you prefer a more monochromatic look, or if one variety is less than fresh in the