Pepper Pie

To celebrate my new niece Pepper, my sister asked me to make this pie. It's from "The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book" by Emily and Melissa Elsen, who have a pie shop in Brooklyn. They tend to edgy flavors.

The recipe worked well, and most of us enjoyed it quite a bit. The texture is really nice. I imagine the method could be used to combine the chocolate with any strong flavor-- my mind immediately went to orange peel, and a family member thought immediately of steeping the milk with mint. Other options might include wintry spices. (I am reminded here of the Lindt holiday spice truffles, which I've only ever seen at Wegmans. I loved them, and they included a lot of coriander, which surprised me.)

The name of the recipe in the book is "Green Chili Chocolate Pie," but I used a red pepper in spite of their saying they chose green on purpose for its green taste. I say vegetal taste. Red it is for me.

Pepper Pie

single 9 inch pie crust, parbaked

1 red jalapeno pepper (recipe says green), halved and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 in piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch pieces
1 c whole milk
1 c heavy cream
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, broken into 1/4 inch pieces (recipe says 55% cocoa; I got as close as I could with Bakers 56% baking chocolate)
1/2 t cardamom
1/2 t salt
2 large eggs
1 t fresh lime juice

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 F.

Combine sliced pepper (with seeds), ginger, milk, and cream in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep 6-8 minutes.

Combine chocolate, cardamom, salt in large heatproof bowl and put a fine mesh sieve over top. Bring cream mixture back to a simmer, and immediately strain it over the chocolate. Let stand 5 min, and then whisk steadily until the chocolate is melted.

Crack eggs in separate bowl, whisk. Slowly stream a small amount of chocolate mix into the eggs, whisking as you pour. Continue until the egg mix feels warm to the touch (I don't know if mine got there, but I think it was ok); then mix it back into the chocolate mixture. Add the lime juice, whisk till smooth.

Strain the filling into the crust (I did not do this. The temper on the eggs was just fine). Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30-35 minutes, rotating 20-25 min through. (Honestly I overbaked it 5 minutes, but I also felt like the oven was running cold). "The pie is finished when the edges are set about 2 inches in and puffed slightly and the center is no longer liquid but still quite wobbly. Be careful not to overbake or the filling will be dry and sandy; the filling will continue to cook and set after the pie is removed from the oven." Well, I did put it in longer-- and I wouldn't call the center "quite wobbly" when I took it out-- so I put it immediately in the fridge. And honestly, no dryness or sandiness here. I would make it the same again.

Allow to cool completely.

I didn't use the Elsens' crust, but here is their recipe for a single chocolate crust, which the recipe actually calls for:

1 c AP flour
1/4 c cocoa
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t sugar
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold butter, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 c cold water
2 T cider vinegar
1/2 c ice

Stir flour, cocoa, salt, sugar. Add butter and coat with the flour using a bench scraper or spatula. With pastry blender, cut in the butter to pea-size pieces (a few larger are ok)-- work fast.

Combine water, vinegar, and ice. Sprinkle 2 T over flour mix; cut in with spatula till fully incorprated. Add more, 1-2 T at a time, mix till it comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Squeeze or pinch to bring it all together, sprinkling dry bits with the water mix to moisten. Shape in flat disk, wrap in plastic, and chill at least 1 hr, preferably overnight.

To parbake, pour pie weight or beans into foiled crust and spread them around (concentrate at edges). Place on pre-heated baking sheet at 425 and bake 20 minutes, until crimped edges are set but not brown. Lift out weights and foil and brush with a thin layer of egg white glaze (1 egg while whisked with 1 t water). Continue baking 3 minutes.

Pepper rolls

My Dad and I recently visited my sister, who just had a new baby we call Pepper. To celebrate, he made pepper rolls and I made a pepper pie. His pepper rolls were inspired by a type of roll my Mom gets at their local panaderia. He made a white bread dough and stuffed the individual rolls with diced green chiles (from a can) and cream cheese. I quite liked them and I think he plans to iterate on them. Maybe I will too. I bought mild chiles for him to use but he told me they should be hot chiles.

Grandma Beth's Cream Cheese Lemon Pie

How good this is. It's not a cheesecake-style pie, it is a cream style pie that happens to have cream cheese in the pud. An aunt makes this in a graham cracker crust. My mom makes this in unsweetened pie pastry, which I think is perfect. I love the salty counterpoint. It is topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

a single 9" pie crust
1 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1 1/2 c water (C. uses 1 c)
3 egg yolks
1 T butter
8 oz cream cheese
3 drops yellow food color
1/4 c lemon juice (C. uses 6 T)
1 t lemon extract (C. uses 1 1/4 t)

When confronted about her instructionless card, Mom simply says, "I know how to make it."

When pressed, she says, "It is just lemon meringue pie with room-temperature cream cheese mixed into the warm pudding at the end."

Odessa-Style Mushrooms

Mom made these many years ago, and they were the first mushrooms I liked (the butter, cream, and sour cream helped). Now, I like many preparations of mushrooms, but these are still the best (the butter, cream, and sour cream STILL help). Although my family has never done the traditional green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, when I volunteered for a vegetable side dish this year, I wanted to do a take on the concept. Not everyone in the family is open to mushrooms, so with the help of my brother, I divided a 9x13 dish into two compartments and put some fox point green beans with shallots in one side and in the other, Odessa-style mushrooms. The idea was that a mushroom-open person could put them together into one dish. I quite liked it. I liked how the green beans cut the richness of the mushrooms, and I liked, well, everything about the mushrooms. The mushroom recipe is from "Russian Regional Recipes" by Susan Ward.

2 1/2 -- 3 1/2 oz butter
4 scallions, finely chopped
1 lb button mushrooms; I quartered them so they could be cohesive with the green beans
1 T flour
salt, pepper
4 oz sour cream
3 oz cream
2 oz grated hard cheese (recipe says cheddar, lancashire, or caerphilly; I used an asiago/parmesan/romano blend)

Preheat oven to, let's say, 350. Melt 2 oz butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add scallions, saute briefly.
Stir in mushrooms and continue to cook 5-6 minutes until they are getting soft and brown.
In a small bowl combine 1/2 oz butter and flour; work to a paste.
Stir the paste into the mushrooms; cook for 3 minutes.
Add the sour cream and the cream.  Season generously to taste.
Place the mushrooms in a casserole and sprinkle the cheese "and the remaining butter" on top (I did not add more butter, and do not think it is needed. There is plenty of fat).
Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Salmon Salad

For a certain family holiday, we eat Cajun food, Scandinavian food, and chocolate. It can be a difficult mashup to pull off. This year I planned a menu I called "Southern Smorrebrod" or "Smorrebrod and S'more brod," based off of the Danish open faced sandwiches. I got various breads for the bases, including soft white flatbreads from Ikea, crisps from Ikea, and a dense sourdough rye batter bread (the mix was from Ikea, but I baked it!). Then I made protein salads: a "Cajun" chicken salad, pimento cheese, and a Scandinavian-inspired salmon salad. People could then top their open faced sandwiches with sliced hard boiled eggs, red onion, lettuce, tomato, avocado, lettuce, nuts, dill fresh from T's garden-- and probably other delicious stuff I don't remember. I made way too much food, but I do actually think it was a fun meal. T rose to the challenge to make "S'more brod (bread)" to go with the Smorrebrod, and not only was it pretty yummy, but it was a visual pun with the rye bread as well. Maybe someday I will upload the photos we took to prove it.

Anyway, I liked how the menu turned out, but I was surprised to like my salmon salad the best, because I was the most worried about it. I based it roughly on the Swedish salad "Skagen," perhaps named after the port in Denmark? Skagen is made with shrimp, but by swapping in salmon, I think I still maintained a geographically appropriate spirit, at least.

Skagen-esque Salmon Salad

Large fillet of salmon-- mine was about 1 1/2 pounds-- bake it as you see fit; flake.
2 yukon gold potatoes-- I baked alongside the salmon, of course they take longer; peel, cube
cucumber, diced
1 large shallot, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 c cooked peas
capers

Combine. Dress with, as needed:

3 parts sour cream
1 part mayo
a squort of mustard

Season with:

salt
pepper
a whole lot of fresh dill
lemon juice-- you could even grate in some zest, I suppose

A way with vegetables: soy sauce and butter

I've been fond of the soy sauce + butter combo for a while, using it as a way to simply dress pasta or rice. Last week I tried it as a way to dress steamed vegetables, and I liked it, so I'm recording it in this culinary card box. I steamed baby-cut carrots and snap peas (a tiny touch longer than I otherwise might, as it was Mother's Day, and I know my Mom doesn't want a lot of 'dente' to her vegetables). Meanwhile, I lightly browned some garlic in a fair dose of butter, then reduced some soy sauce into it to make a loose sort of sauce. (It will look strange and sort of wicked, but don't despair.) Then I tossed it over the vegetables, and that was that. The soy sauce and salted butter will add all the salt the vegetables are likely to need.

Mark Bittman's Winter Citrus Salad

T., who was early to the Mark Bittman boat, makes this. And I like it. I will write out the recipe as it is found on the New York Times website, but the citrus complement of course can be changed, and you can section the citrus instead of slicing it.

2 blood oranges or tangerines
1 pink grapefruit
1 navel orange
salt
1/2 small red onion or 1 shallot, chopped
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T sherry vinegar
1/2 t honey
lime or lemon juice to taste
1/4 t freshly chopped tarragon or a pinch dried

Peel citrus, removing as much pith as possible, and slice into wheels. Remove any seeds. Layer onto serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and garnish with chopped shallot.

Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, citrus juice, and tarragon. Taste and adjust seasoning. Drizzle over salad.

Almond and Lemon Glazed Torte

I made this for Passover this year (on assignment) and I liked how my version turned out. I served it with sugared strawberries, but found them a little overpowering. I'm a cake lover so I'd enjoy this by itself.

A mish mash of Joan Nathan's recipe for Alabama Lemon Pecan Torte, online advice, and Diane Rossen Worthington's Almond-Lemon Torte.

For the cake:

Olive oil (for brushing the pan) plus 6 T
4 T matzo meal, divided
2 c almond flour/almond meal/ground almonds
1 c sugar, divided
6 large eggs, separated
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T orange juice
2 t finely grated lemon peel
1/2 t salt (I used more I don't know how much more.)
1/2 c sliced almonds


Preheat oven to 350 F. Brush 10 inch diameter springform pan with oil; line with parchment paper round; oil parchment. Coat with 2 T matzo meal, tap out excess.

Combine 2 T matzo meal, almond flour, 1/3 c sugar; whisk to blend. Add 1/3 c sugar to yolks and beat until thick and fluffy. Beat in 6 T olive oil, then lemon juice, orange juice, and zest. Mix in dries.

Add 1/2 t salt to whites; using clean beaters, beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 c sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Fold whites into yolk mixture in 3 additions. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle almonds over.

Here it says to bake until golden brown and tester inserted in center comes out clean, "about 40 minutes"; to get to this point for me was 55 minutes, and I do think it came out right. Put on cooling rack in pan. Now, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:

1 large egg yolk
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c sugar
1 t unsalted butter or margarine
1 T lemon rind

Combine ingredients, except zest, in sauce pan. Bring to simmering over medium heat, whisking constatntly. Remove from the heat and stir in the zest. When cake has cooled about 15 minutes, poke holes in the top of the cake with a long skewer. With the cake still in the springform pan, spoon the glaze over. Let the cake stand a few minutes until the glaze seeps into the cake. Then remove the cake from the pan by running a thin knife around the rim to release the cake.

Lihamurekepiiras (Finnish meat loaf in sour-cream pastry)

Very delicious. From the Time-Life recipe booklet accompanying their Cooking of Scandinavia book, by Dale Brown.

Pastry
2 1/4 c flour
1 t salt
12 T chilled butter, cut into 1/4 inch bits
1 egg
1/2 c sour cream
1 T soft butter

Sift the flour and salt together into a large chilled bowl. Drop the 1/4 inch bits of butter into the bowl. Working quickly, use your fingertips to rub the flour and butter together until they have the appearance of flakes of coarse meal. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg and sour cream and stir into this the flour-butter mixture, working with your fingers until you can gather the dough into a soft, pliable ball. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate 1 hour. Cut the chilled dough in half and roll out each half to rectangles of 6 by 14 inches each, setting aside any scraps.

Butter the bottom of a jelly roll pan with the soft butter. Lift 1 sheet of the pastry over the rolling pin and unroll it into the pan, or drape the pastry over the rolling pin, lift it up, and unfold it into the pan.

Meat filling
4 T butter
3/4 c finely chopped mushrooms (about 1/4 lb)
3 lbs finely ground meat (beef, pork, ham, lamb or a combo) or 4 c cooked ground or finely chopped meat
1/3 c finely chopped onions
1/4 c finely chopped parsley
1 c freshly grated cheddar or "Switzerland" cheese (I quote the book. Gruyere?)
1/2 c milk
1 egg combined with 2 T milk

Melt the 4 T of butter  in a 10 to 12 in skillet. When the foam subsides, add the chopped mushrooms and cook them over moderate heat, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes, or until they are lightly colored. If you are using ground raw meat, add it to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 8-10 minutes, or until the meat loses its red color and any accumulated liquid in the pan cooks completely away. Scrape the meat mixture from the skillet (or the mushrooms and already cooked meat) into a large mixing bowl and stir in the chopped onions, parsley, cheese, and milk. Now gather this meat mixture into a ball and place it in the center of the dough in the pan. With your hands, pat the meat into a narrow loaf extending across the center of the dough from one end to the other. Life the second sheet of pastry over the pin and gently drape it on top of the meat loaf; press the edges of the 2 sheets together. Dip a pastry brush into the combined egg and milk mixture and moisten the edges of the dough. Press down on the edges all around the loaf with the back of a fork (the tines will seal the edges securely). Prick the top of the loaf in several places to allow steam to escape.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Gather together into a ball all of the excess scraps of dough an droll it out to a thin rectangle. With a pastry wheel or small, sharp knife, cut this dough into long, narrow strips. Brush the loaf with more of the egg and milk mixture and crisscross the pastry strips over the top of the loaf in an attractive pattern. Now brush the strips with the milk and egg mixture and set the jelly-roll pan in the center of the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the loaf has turned a golden brown. Serve thick slices of the hot meat loaf, accompanied by a bowl of cold sour cream and a side dish of lingonberries.

Roast Tri-tip with Horseradish Cream

Bilbo made this for sister R's birthday dinner and I was lucky enough to be in California at the time to celebrate with them and enjoy. It hits a lot of my peculiar 'favorite' buttons, and I found it moreish, a word we associate more with salty snack foods and crunchy cookies than with beautifully plateable entrees, but there you have it. I just thought it was wonderful. I have trouble cooking meat, so I don't know if I could cook it as well as Bilbo did, but I'm recording the recipe so I have the option to try.

The whole menu was well planned and executed. Served by the side was roasted asparagus spears tossed with oil, salt, pepper, and parmesan-- they were still bright green. R made a nice dense oatmeal bread and there was also a nice savory pilaf. Dessert was an R classic, Momofuku "crack" pie.

This recipe is from the magazine Bon Appetit, December 2012, and was developed by Alison Attenborough with roast beef tenderloin, not tri-tip. Bilbo has made it with both and says he prefers the tri-tip. It says it serves 8-10 but the 3 of us ate half the meat. Oops.

Horseradish Cream

1/2 c plus 2 T creme fraiche or sour cream (about 5 oz)
start with 1 1/2 T drained prepared horseradish, add more to taste
start with 1 1/2 T coarsely ground fresh peppercorns, mixed colors if possible, add more to taste
salt to taste

Whisk creme fraiche or sour cream until thickened and soft peaks start to form, 1-2 minutes. Fold in horseradish and peppercorns; adjust to taste with more horseradish, pepper, and, of course, salt. This can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Beef

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T chopped fresh thyme
2 1/2 t salt
1 T freshly ground pepper, mixture of colors including pink if possible
1 3 pound beef tri-tip at room temperature
(1 bunch fresh rosemary)-- Bilbo omitted
1 T olive oil
1 T butter

Combine garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Rub all over meat, pressing to adhere. Wrap in plastic and chill up to overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before continuing.

Preheat oven to 400. (Scatter rosemary over bottom of a large roasting pan).

Heat oil and butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet over med high heat. Sear meat until brown on all sides; maybe 90 seconds or so on each side. Transfer to prepared roasting pan; Bilbo used a small rack.

Roast meat until an instant read thermometer inserted into thickest part of beef registers 125 for medium rare (Bilbo went to 135), about 30 minutes. Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Thinly slice and sever with horseradish cream.

To double or triple the recipe, sear pieces of meat one at a time, then arrange crosswise in roasting pan with 1-2 inches in between. The cook time will be the same.

Straight from the source: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/roast-beef-tenderloin-with-horseradish-cream#recipe-ingredients

German Chocolate Cake

Sister T made German Chocolate Cake recently. No sort of variation or riff, just normal German Chocolate Cake, and it was exactly what I wanted out of, well, a German Chocolate Cake. This recipe comes from a family cookbook given to her and her husband for their wedding by their former singles ward bishop and his wife. T reports that Hawkins Family Favorites, compiled by Betty Hawkins and assisted by Amy and Christine Hawkins, is an unusually useful member of the family cookbook genre. She finds that it has reliable versions of dishes she wants to cook. Go, Hawkins family! I do think you have a good German Chocolate Cake.

Cake:

1 bar (4 oz) German sweet chocolate

1/2 c boiling water

1 c butter

2 c sugar

4 egg yolks

1 t vanilla

2 c sifted AP flour

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 c buttermilk

4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Heat oven to 350 F. Line 3 deep 8 or 9 inch cake pans with waxed paper. (T only used 2 layers.) Melt chocolate in boiling water; cool. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and vanilla. Mix well. Sift together dries. Add alternately with buttermilk to chocolate mixture, beating well until smooth. Fold in egg whites. Pour into cake pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Cool. 

Filling/topping:

1 c evaporated milk

1 c sugar

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/2 c butter

1 t vanilla

1 1/3 c coconut

1 c chopped pecans

Combine ingredients except coconut and pecans. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add coconut and pecans. Beat until thick enough to spread. Makes 2 1/2 cups. Use to layer cake. 

Salmao Assado com Açuicar Mascavel (a Brazilian approach to salmon)

I meant to retrieve from my sister's house her German chocolate cake recipe, but that goal got lost in a hubbub of my own making, and I didn't get that recipe (yet). But I did get this one, for the salmon dish she cooked tonight. I cooked up some asparagus and red bell pepper alongside, and it was all served with some red grapes, sourdough, and white rice. It was a nice dish, and I thought a very pleasant treatment of salmon! Any recipe that could make me eat more fish should be saved, I think.

From The Art of Brazilian Cooking, Sandra Cuza, 2012.

1 1/2 T butter, melted
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 large orange, juice and zest
salt and pepper, to taste
4x5 oz salmon fillets
2 T brown sugar
1 t red pepper flakes
1 large garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a shallow baking dish, large enough to hold salmon without overlapping, with foil and grease with a little of the melted butter. Combine the lime and orange juice with salt and pepper and pour into the pan. Add salmon, turning to coat with the marinade. Marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes, turning the fillets once.

Combine orange zest, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic. Rub the marinated salmon with this mix and drizzle with the remaining melted butter. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until done.

Leek and Potato Soup-- a general scheme

Here is a dish which requires a scheme rather than a recipe. That's true of soups in general, and of stovetop cooking in an even broader general. But dishes like potato soup have a simple enough flavor profile that the way to make them 'right' is an open approach to adjustment.

I made a leek and potato soup for my Mom's birthday yesterday, and it turned out well! It was served with topping options: crisp bacon crumbles, extra sharp cheddar cheese, blue cheese crumbles, chopped chives, sour cream, saltine crackers. I also made rolls and prepared some buttered corn, with the idea that a person could even add their serving of corn to the soup. I did.

Here was my scheme:

Melt ~6 T butter in a very large pot
Saute  ~6 leeks, halved lengthwise, carefully washed, and thinly sliced, in the butter, keeping the pot covered except for frequent stirrings. ~15 minutes.
add ~4 very large potatoes (a few pounds), peeled and diced small.
Again, cover and cook with frequent stirrings, over medium heat, ~20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Don't let them burn; I did at this point and had to transfer to a new pot.
Add ~8 c chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until everything is quite tender.
Add creaminess: I added a pint of half-and-half, and, wanting more creaminess, planned to add sour cream; but decided I did not have enough to add to the soup and supply as a garnish. So I got crazy, and added a heavy dollop-- almost a cup? cottage cheese as well. Or you could just add cream.
Season heavily with salt, pepper. 
Take off heat; blend with immersion blender till quite smooth, adjusting seasoning.
Gently reheat.
Serve with: bacon, cheeses, chives, sour cream, crackers, corn, etc. 

Acar Timun (Javanese quick pickle)

I put myself in charge of Three Kings Day, because I had this image of doing a fun simplified version of a Rijsttafel, or Rice Table. This is a traditional Dutch way to eat lots and lots of Indonesian-style dishes all at once, and that sounded like a great party to me.

I planned for the top of the rice four curries: a simple, inoffensive creamy chicken curry straight from the Joy of Cooking; a beef penang curry (one of my favorite Thai curries); collard greens in curry sauce; and rendang, the dry beef curry considered by some to be the most delicious food in the world. Toppings included hard boiled eggs, cucumber, bean sprouts, sultanas, unsweetened coconut, serundeng (a coconut-shallot-peanut-and-spice condiment), roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and a variety of my sister's very good chutneys. I was pretty excited.

You will not be surprised when the penang curry turned out hotter than I was aiming for for my family's digestion's sake, and when the rendang was a big mess. I suppose I used the wrong cut of beef because by the time the sauce reduced the beef was utterly shredded, making it difficult to extract the shards of whole spices left over; and the lemongrass, which was supposed to enter into a puree did not and instead mimicked fibrous grass in the glorpy brown dish. It tasted ok, I suppose, but it was difficult to eat, and it just wasn't meant to be that weird. It was meant to be rather accessible, actually.

So I liked the penang curry but would adjust it, and the other recipes were no-saves for me. But the one thing I really loved from my menu was almost an afterthought. I made a quick Javanese cucumber-and-carrot pickle. With all the options on the table, I don't know if anyone else even tried it. And compared to the hours it took to make the curries, I scarcely remember making the pickle. But I really liked it a lot! And I thought it made a delicious topping for cold rice as leftovers.

I got the recipe from Food.com. Contributor Kitty M. says it comes from the cookbook "Nonya Favourites."


Acar Timun (Javanese quick pickle) 

10-12 oz cucumber
1 t salt
4-6 oz carrots
2 T oil
4 slices ginger
1/2 t mustard seeds
1 t turmeric
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t sugar
1/4 t salt
2 T rice vinegar

Half lengthwise and seed cucumber. Cut in narrow 3.5 cm planks. Mix 1 t salt with the cucumbers; let sit in strainer over bowl 10-15 minutes. Cut carrot to the same size as cucumber.

Heat oil in large skillet; add ginger and mustard seeds, cooking until mustard seeds pop (this will take a while). Stir in turmeric and cayenne, then add vegetables, sugar, and salt and saute 2 minutes. Do not overcook,as you do want the vegetables to retain some crunch.

Remove from heat. Mix well with vinegar. Cool it in the pan before storing in a jar. Refrigerate overnight before serving.