pickled pink

i think somewhere on the guam blog i discussed an aunt's penchant for cooking with colour cues and not by flavours--she uses enchilada sauce and cream cheese in her lasagna because it's the right colour. eek.

occasionally i fall down that weird shame spiral, but so far i haven't had any horrible taste sensations come from it. the latest "it's the right colour" recipe is for pickled onions. i was craving them after i had them in our border grill feast, so i set about making some, without benefit of a recipe. eh. kitchen chemistry (btw, did i ever tell you my AP chem teacher worked in a michelin-starred kitchen in belgium? she made the best quiche i've ever had on a bunsen burner in the lab).

easy enough, this. i just looked for sweet, sour, and pinky, so i brought a half cup of balsamico and a cup of pomegranate juice to a gentle boil, along with thyme, pink peppercorns and bay leaves. dumped in some red onions, cut into rings, so they could absorbed some of the pickling liquid easily, then took it off the heat, placed it in a jar, and let it sit overnight in the fridge. the next day i had lovely, slightly crunchy, mellow sweet and sour onions. tasty accompaniment to a turkey asado i made but didn't photograph. sorry. next time.