Cinco de Mayo is swiftly approaching.
I’m not Mexican. But, on Cinco de Mayo I get to pretend. I get to high five all the tacos with my face, raise a margarita or two to my mouth hole, and worship all things guacamole. This is special for me. But, almost any excuse to put guacamole or carne asada in my face is special for me. Do we need an excuse? I’m not sure we do. I suppose I could live every day as if it were the fifth of May. Minus the kitschy sombrero wearing and the early afternoon margarita. Yes, every day could be the fifth of May. Therefore every day could be special. Did I just discover the meaning of life? Don’t answer that.
Unfortunately, this year I can’t partake in aggressive margarita drinking. No, I’m not pregnant. Stawwwp. I feel like that’s always the first thing people conclude. You’d be surprised how much this happens. I will post something on Instagram about drinking bone broth because my tummy hurts. Minutes later I will receive an e-mail from an excited reader, which will simply and boldly ask “ARE YOU PREGGERS?”. Hmmmm. On one hand, I feel like this person has jumped to a crazy conclusion and I should just email back with #CRAZYCONCLUSIONJUMPING or something like that. But on the other hand, you feel this person’s unbridled excitement for you through the weight of their all-caps questioning. Do you write back with the truth? How honest does it have to be? Do you use statements like “Nope. Not pregnant. Just have explosive diarrhea.” Because that feels equally disappointing and graphic. Meh. It’s best that I just skip over those emails, yes? Probably. Anyway, now that you know there is nothing currently baking in my womb, I can state that the reason I’m not guzzling margaritas right now is because my new doc put me on a 30 Day Reset Diet as outlined in this awesome book. Are you rolling your eyes and thinking GINA, YOU’RE ALWAYS ON SOME KIND OF RESET OR DETOX? If you answered yes, then I think my stomach is doing the same exact eye-roll. It’s hard work on the path to health, but I’m not giving up.
So, no margs for me this Cinco De Drinko. No salsa either. Are you crying a little right now? Thanks for being so empathetic. I’m also off of nightshades which includes: tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillos, peppers, pepper-based spices, and white potatoes. There is a connection between nightshade sensitivity and chronic joint pain. I have creepy arthritic hands and feet nearly daily due to this whole Lyme situation. I’m hoping that removing these items might give me sexy non-achy body parts. But, gosh darnit do I miss salsa. But instead of getting too grumpy about it, I decided to reinvent my taco game using PICKLES. Yes, you are correct. It’s taken me three very suspect paragraphs to get to the subject of this post. PICKLES. QUICK ONES. QUICKLES. Let’s do this.
These pickles come together and are ready for use in about 35 minutes. No too bad, right? That’s less than the length of an episode of Teen Mom OG. Or, so I hear. Heh. These lil’ pickies are flavorful, tangy and perfectly crunchy. They give your tacos a bright little face and flavor lift. Huzzah. Go, TEAM! Now, be a friend and go drink one of these for me, and make your very own jar of these pickles. We can put them on everything and dance around in sombreros. VIVA LOS PICKLES!!
Quick Pickled Red Onions & Radishes
Ingredients
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 red onion, sliced into circles (skin removed)
- 1 bunch of radishes, stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp pickling spice
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Set three cups of water to boil. While it's boiling, remove the skin from your onion and slice it into thin circles. Remove the stems from your radishes and thinly slice them as well.
- Place your onions into a fine mesh strainer and blanch them by pouring the boiling water over top of them. This will soften them up a bit. Set them aside.
- Mix salt, sugar, garlic and spices on the bottom of a mason jar. I used a wide mouthed pint and a half sized mason jar for this recipe. Stir the vinegar into the jar until both the salt and the sugar dissolve.
- Add the blanched onions and radishes to the jar. Put a lid on the jar and shake it up to distribute the spices and the vinegar.
- Let the pickles sit in the brine for 30 minutes or up to overnight before they are ready to consume. Store the pickles in the refrigerator, They will keep for several weeks.
PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.
Sounds AMAZING! Do you blanch the radish’s as well?
Also, I love the way you write. 🙂
thanks for this recipe! my onions are already in the jar!
You poor thing with the nightshade issue. Sorry. I do love your bone broth though and I pretty much only make your recipe. 🙂
Never thought of using pickles to replace salsa – I am going to try it,
I have been eating nightshade free for almost 2 years and the difference for me has been incredible and worth giving up my beloved tomatoes and peppers (don’t miss potatoes at all). inflammation in my body, and particularly my feet, is markedly reduced. In fact I am wearing a full shoe size smaller!
Good luck with your nightshades free journey!