Tickle tickle, pickle pickle. Easy vinegar pickles

Pickles scare you, don't they. Well, not MOST of you. I know Susan in Oswego is not afraid of pickle. In fact, I know for a fact that Susan has never been scared by a pickle in her life, no matter how big it's been. But we won't go there. And when I say scare you, I mean MAKING them. There is a mystique about pickle making, borne out of too many episodes of Andy Griffith and Aunt Bea screwing up hers, and those jars of ugly looking vegetables that remind you of the biology class with the specimens that were older than the building.

GET OVER IT. Pickles are great. Pickles are easy. There's a very simple brining, from Alice Waters' new book "In the Green Kitchen" (it's indispensable for EVERYONE), and once you do this, you will wonder why you were afraid.

Let me say at the start that these are NOT storage pickles. You make these, you eat them, or you refirgerate them. You make em in small batches. And they're good. Here's what you need.

You need a cup and a half of a good quality vinegar. Ms. Waters recommends white wine vinegar, I use apple cider. I KNOW she would approve. Combine that with the same amoutn of water. Then add 2.5 tablespoons of sugar, a teaspoon of slat, a bay leaf, a few sprigs of thyme, half a teaspoon of coriander seeds, a couple of c loves and a bit of dried chilis. You can change these spices, but try them

Put this in a non -reactive (non metallic) pot, and bring it to a boil. When it has, drop the temperature to a simmer and add vegetables. Whatever you like, but not mixed vegetables. You do this a vegetable at a time. If the veggie is a tough, thick one, then let it cook in the brine, but usually, you won't need to do this. I usually just let them sit at the simmer, for five minutes or so, then turn it off and let them cool in the liquid.

Given the season, I have done these with ramp bulbs and with fiddleheads. With the fiddleheads, since they tend to give off a dark, murky fluid as they sit, I drained the brine off and refrigerated them "dry." But the ramp bulbs are sitting in their brine, and they are GOOD. We had them with toasted cheese sandwiches this afternoon, and we'll put em out with fish as well.

C'mon folks! The season is upon us, you KNOW you are looking for new ways to do your favorite vegetables, and this is IT. I can't wait to do some asparagus the same way.