Pseudo-pickled Veggies

When I have a heavier dish, like my potato pancakes or red meat, I really enjoy a little bright flavored 'something' to eat with it. If I have some homemade pickles, that works for me, but I often don't have any pickled veggies, so here's something that can be made quickly but still give a bit of a pickled taste to some veggies.

Soured orange peppers - yummy!

Pseudo-pickled veggies
What you need:
lemons
salt
water
veggies

What to do:
1. Juice 2-3 lemons and pour the juice into a small container like a mug or small bowl.
2. Add 1/2-1 teaspoons of salt.
3. Add about as much water as there is lemon juice, maybe a little more.
4. Add enough (chopped small) veggies to still stay covered by the liquid.
5. Let them sit there for 20-40 minutes and absorb the lemony, salty goodness.
6. Scoop the veggies out (save the lemon juice on the side) and place in a small dish.
7. Serve as a side condiment for your dish of choice.

Note: The lemon juice can be used as a dip for something like fish, or in a salad dressing later, and will often retain a little of the vegetables flavor. If you have chopped chile peppers as one of the soaking veggies, the lemon juice will be spicy, too.

Smaller sized pieces are essential in this or the veggies don't absorb the flavor enough in the short amount of time they soak. I've also found that some veggies absorb the flavor more readily than others. Carrots needed longer soaking time, but chile peppers and bell peppers were good within 20 minutes. Broccoli does fairly nice with this as well. More soaking equals more flavor and saltiness, though, so fiddle with times a bit until you find a flavor you like.