These were given as a garnish for the Bloody Mary recipe I linked to
earlier from the L.A. Times. For those with a backyard harvest or a
good farmers' market, these also look like a great refrigerator
munchie even if you're skipping the drinks.

Spicy pickled green beans

1 pound green beans, trimmed

1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
8 garlic cloves, chopped
8 fresh dill sprigs, chopped
4 bay leaves

1. Boil the beans until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and cool
in a bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside in a shallow baking dish.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining ingredients and bring to a
boil. Cook for 1 minute, stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

3. Pour the vinegar solution over the beans to cover completely.
Marinate, refrigerated for at least 24 hours. The beans will keep
refrigerated for 3 to 4 weeks.

Note on the last two sentences: it's not clear to me whether you
drain the beans before storing them for the longer term, or store them
in the pickling juice. Which would you do? -aem