NO MORE EXCUSES about not having enough time to pickle. Here is your ticket to a high-quality pickle featuring only:

One prepared spice blend
One vegetable
Simple brine
About 10 minutes prep time

This Chayote-Jerk Speed Pickle is lively and delicious—fully blossomed in Caribbean flavors. With only one vegetable to prep, you will have this recipe made in minutes. My own personal Spice Route takes me to a local shop to discover traditional and other worldly blends. With the speed and connection of the internet, the spices of the world are at your door.
Tips on Buying Spice Blends:

• Buy small amounts of exotic spices or blends—for larger amounts store in freezer or a cool cellar.
• Write the purchase date on the jar.
• Keep out of direct light and heat (especially near stove and appliances that give off heat—toaster oven, coffee pot.
• Store spices for easy retrieval; I use alphabetical order to organize.
• I try to find a blend that is salt free; as the salt of the brine is our known. If you use a blend with salt, try to determine how much is used in the blend and reduce the salt in the brine. If unknown, and it is the first listed ingredient, figure at least half the spice blend is salt and reduce the brine by that amount. You can adjust for saltiness after fermentation.
• Buy whole spices. Columbus didn’t sail the oceans blue looking for canned pepper. Use a spice grinder, mortar and pestle or other tools to crack or grind before using.
• Many spices like a little dry roasting in a heavy skillet to bloom their flavors. Don’t drift away from the chore, just a little until you can smell
  them. Then you can grind them up.

Here are some nice chunky, sweet and slightly hots spears of pickled chayote. Great as a snack, as a pickle side to a sandwich or I enjoy them cold & crisp with a cooked breakfast!

Eggplant Vindaloo

TURN AN EGGPLANT into an exotic Indian pickle using a medium hot curry,
called Vindaloo. I bought a small jar at Penzeys.com.
Peel the eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch dice, and pack into a wide mouth canning jar. Mix a standard brine and add 1 tsp. Vindaloo spice blend for each pint of pickles. Pour in the brine and seal per directions.

Here is what it can look like. This takes about 10 minutes, picklers! Serve with a splash of olive oil and chopped fresh chives or scallion tops.