Pickled Green Beans

My mother was not the best cook by far; all our vegetables came out of a can and were microwaved without any seasonings, and let me tell you, do NOT ever try canned asparagus. Whoever thought it was a good idea probably smoked and had no taste buds or smoked and had the munchies so bad even horse manure would've done the trick. At any rate, we now have a fridge filled with fresh organic vegetables, which fills me with a bit of the dreads. I mean, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS STUFF?

You ever been to epicurious? It's a great site because 1) it's a pun! and 2) There are so many recipes with pictures and Reviews! People will go on and talk about what they altered, added, took away, etc, and when I searched for "green beans" I came up with a whole bunch of things to try. But pickled green beans sounded really good for a week where it's gonna be 100+degrees every day, so here:

1 pound green beans (or mix in some slim carrots to help make it that much. They are also good)
Boil water, toss the beans in blanching them for about a minute, then transfer to an ice bath.

In another pot, boil
1 1/4 c water
1 c cider vinegar (or a mix of them. i used 1/2 white and 1/2 red wine)
1/4 c sugar
2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed (i was out, so I sprinkled granulated garlic. still good!)
1 1/2 T dill
1 1/2 T salt.

Strain green beans out of cold bath and put into heat proof bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over it and refrigerate for at least an hour, overnight if possible.

Extremely good with sandwiches which are also easy to make on hot summer days. I'm a big fan of cucumber, tomato and mayo sammies as of late. In the brilliant words of JenniPatti,
it's like a love letter to my ass.