easy preserving

I haven't started any real preserving since not a lot of fruit and veggies are in season yet, but I did make a simple apple jam recently as a spread for a pork belly sandwich. It's pretty quick to make and tastes like applesauce, but with the texture of a thick jam. I used this honey lemon apple jam recipe, but divided it in half.

* pork belly (using the Momofuku technique but with skin on for crunchy crackling)

* pork belly sandwich

I also ran out of candied jalapenos last month (because I dropped an entire jar and it smashed all over my floor), so I promptly made some more. When I made these last time, I didn't remove the seeds, which resulted in some wickedly spicy pepper rings. This time I de-seeded about half.

And here is some Vietnamese pickled carrot and daikon that I made. These are quick pickles and you can eat them about an hour after making them. I added them to a refreshing cold soba noodle salad.