Pickled Hot Peppers

Toward the end of summer, the farmer's market was overflowing with peppers.  I picked up a variety of jalapenos, banana peppers, and wax peppers and decided to pickle them all together.  While banana and wax peppers are not as spicy as the jalapenos, when they are combined together they take on some of that heat and become pretty spicy in my opinion.  They are great to add a little kick to a pizza or sandwich, and we also fried some of them in tempura batter which was delicious.  You could even blend them up for a spicy relish or spread to go on a hot dog or burger.

Ingredients: 
1 lb hot or mild peppers - any variety (should be about 4 cups when sliced)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
Slice the peppers in thin rings- removing seeds to decrease the level of spiciness.  I left a few in but removed most of them.  In a bowl, toss the peppers with the sugar and salt and let them sit for 20 minutes, mixing occasionally.  This will start to soften them and bring out some of the flavor.  Drain any liquid that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl, and then add the vinegar and oil.  

MIx to combine and refrigerate.  Stir the peppers every 30 minutes or so for the next couple hours, and then store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.   We had them on a pizza as pictured below, but there are many other uses for these spicy pickles!