Them Some Glorious Pickled Peppers

I walked by a vendor at the Austin downtown farmers market who had a basket full of beautifully colorful baby bell peppers.  Two young men were scooping handfuls into a paper bag.  I asked them if they had something planned already, and one responded that they were going to pickle them.  "Good idea, " said I, and I meant it, because I promptly purchased a bag of my own, went home, and pickled the suckers.  I had a few stray banana peppers growing in my garden, so I tossed those in as well.  I used the recipe below from a website called Taste of Home with a little extra garlic.  After a week or so in the fridge, my wife and I tasted them, and good golly they are tasty.  I'd say they're a lot like a pickled Italian cherry pepper.  Just great on sandwiches or salads.

Pickled Peppers

Ingredients

4 quarts long red, green or yellow peppers (Hungarian, Banana, etc.)

1-1/2 cups canning salt

4 quarts plus 2 cups water, divided

10 cups white vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Steps

1. Cut 2 small slits in each pepper. Dissolve salt in 4 quarts water. Pour over peppers; let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly.
2. In a Dutch oven, combine the vinegar, sugar, garlic and remaining water; bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Remove garlic. Pack peppers into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Carefully ladle hot liquid over peppers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles with a non-metallic utensil. Adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: about 8 pints.