Mustard and Ginger Pickled Carrots

I tried two different homemade pickle recipes this weekend. One was for Homemade Dill Pickles from the Jul/Aug 2011 issue of Weight Watchers magazine. I couldn't find a link to the recipe online and I am not going to bother to post it here because frankly I didn't think it was that great. It had a variation for pickled green beans, that was what I tried, but the flavor wasn't that great. The next day, these were not any better. I would definitely not make these again.

The other pickle recipe I made was for Mustard and Ginger Pickled Carrots which apparently came from Sunset magazine which I used to get for awhile. This recipe called for mustard seeds and coriander seeds. I tried two different grocery stores and neither one carried these seeds. So instead I used some Pickling Spice which I already had which contained mustard seeds, coriander seeds, as well as some other seasonings. I think it was a reasonable substitution. At first I thought these came out okay but the next day when I tried them they were practically inedible. Way too salty, and the flavor was way too strong. I would definitely not make these again.