Yes…. family and friends…. I do cook. With our small garden of cucumbers and tomatoes I’ve also started canning, otherwise we would be feeding all of Fayetteville with FRESH Grown Cucumbers. So I thought I’d share the recipe. Other tomato and egg recipes to follow:
Cucumber Sweet Relish
- 8 cups cucumbers grated unpeeled
- 2 cups chopped onions
- Mix above and drain for 2 hours (see note 1. below)
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 cups vinegar (apple cider vinegar)
- 2 t. turmeric
- 2 t. celery salt
- 2 t. canning salt
- Fresh Garlic
Mix vinegar sugar and spices. Bring to hard boil. Add onion and cucumber mixture to vinegar mixture. Bring back to hard boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Pack in jars and seal (see note 2 below).
Note 1: put vegetables in large pan sprinkle salt and stir. Put ice on top of vegetables and cover with plate. Let stand 2 hours with pitcher of water on top of plate to compact, then drain water brine off. This minimizes the liquids when you add the syrup mixture.
Note 2: It’s been many, many years since I packed and sealed canning jars. I sterilized the jars and lids in the dish washer and filled the jars while they were still hot out of the dishwasher. I did a boiled water pack method. Don’t fill jars completely, leave a little room at top. Put jars in large pan and cover the jars about 1 inch of water. Bring to boil for about 15 minutes. Do not tighten jar lids after water bath. Sit jars on towel or rack. If lids do not seal store in refrigerator and will keep for a short time. Let jars cool and sit for 12 hours before opening.
Comment: You can also substitute the above list of spices with pickling spices if you can find them.
Salsa
-
Diced Tomatoes (fresh from garden or canned)
-
Diced Onions to taste
-
Fresh Garlic – crushed (fresh from garden or jar)
-
Celantro to taste
-
1 T Vinegar
-
1 can mild peppers (or not mild if like spicy)
-
Salt to taste
You can dice or mix in blender for smoother salsa. The vinegar allows a longer life when stored in refrigerator, up to a few weeks. This is great with chips during those fall football games. Especially if you spend them at Green Haven Creek for the week-end. Check out EVENTS for special packages!
