since carrots are available year round at reasonable prices, you might want to try this recipe and keep a small stash in the refrigerator ... I like 'em Pickled Carrot Sticks Makes 10 servings Source: Gourmet, November 2003 (originally November 1985) Good snack. Keep chilled in an airtight container up to one month. 1 pound carrots cut into 3 1/2 x1/3 inch sticks 1 1/4 cups water 1 cup cider vinegar 2 cloves garlic lightly crushed 1 1/2 tbsps dill seeds 1 1/2 tbsps salt Blanch carrots in nonreactive saucepan of boiling salted water, then drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Transfer carrots to a heatproof bowl. Bring remaining ingredients to a boil in saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Pour picking liquid over carrots and cool, uncovered. Chill carrots, covered, at least a day for flavors to develop.

I got the Banana Jam recipe here, but I don't know whose recipe it is: Banana Jam Prep Time: 45 min Total Time: 2 hr min Makes: about 8 (1-cup) jars. 4 cups prepared fruit (about 11 fully ripe medium bananas) 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1 tsp. EVER-FRESH Fruit Protector (optional) (I used Fruit Fresh) 1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin (I used Ball liquid pectin) 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine (optional) (skipped this) 6 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl BRING boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling. MASH bananas thoroughly. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-quart saucepot. Stir lemon juice and fruit protector into prepared fruit in saucepot. (I also added 2 tsp. citric acid due to paranoia) STIR pectin into fruit in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. STIR in all sugar quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. LADLE quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches; add boiling water if needed. Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 minutes. (I processed 10 minutes) Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.) I also added 1 tsp. vanilla extract before filling the jars.

Here's a recipe I stole from the internet and converted to metric! Pickled Carrots 1kg (2lb) carrots, peeled 1 cup sugar 2 cups vinegar 1 1/2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cinnamon stick 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice Cook carrots in boiling water until crisp-tender. Drain. Cut carrots into 8cm-long sticks and pack upright in small hot sterilised jars. Combine sugar, vinegar, water and salt in a saucepan. Tie cinnamon stick and pickling spice in a cheesecloth bag and add to vinegar mixture. Boil 5-8 minutes. Fill jars with boiling syrup, leaving 1cm head space. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath 30 minutes. Serve as cocktail food. I've never tried them, but I think the little baby carrots would be best for this purpose.

That sounds delicious. May I ask where you got the recipe? Most of the pickled carrot recipes I've seen before have a much higher proportion of vinegar to water, so I just wanted to make sure this is safe before I add it to my list for this year. Melissa