Pickled Mixed Peppers

It seems to have been a bumper year for peppers and my friends brought me a passel of different varieties from their garden - all different shapes and colors, all delicious. Since I had reached an impasse in unpacking from my move (ie. a closet was being built so I could not unpack clothes) and since my bread and butter pickles were such a resounding success, I decided to turn the mixed peppers into pickles. (Bonus for those interested - the photo was taken on the ledge of my office window since the rest of the apartment was in chaos. I do think that I have a perfect Philadelphia view...)

Since I had not found the pan I wanted amidst the boxes yet, I decided to baptize the microwave and this turned out really well. I forgot to take a picture of all the gorgeous peppers "au naturel", but think that the layered result looked really nice too!

2 c assorted peppers (I had all sizes, shapes and heat to work with.) Slice them as close to the same size as you can

5 cloves of garlic, peeled, lightly crushed

1 tsp pink peppercorns, lightly crushed

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

1 cup water

1 1/3 c white vinegar

2 Tbsps kosher salt

Layer the peppers by color into a sterilized glass jar, tucking the garlic cloves here and there among the layers.

Combine the other ingredients in a measuring cup and pour over the peppers.

Place in the microwave and microwave on high for two minutes, two times, for a total of four minutes.

Remove from the microwave and immediately screw the lid on tightly. Turn upside down to allow the pink peppercorns and the mustard seeds to distribute throughout the pepper mixture and leave to cool. You may hear a pop as the lid seals.

Once the mixture is completely cool, turn the jar right side up and refrigerate. I tasted some immediately and the pickled peppers were good, but they were excellent the next day.

These would be good in tuna or gg salad, chopped into marinades, served over roasted vegetables or steamed fish...Plenty of uses for the jar I now have in my fridge.