Dill Relish

 

At the market last Thursday I found a beautiful peck basket filled with little cucumbers.  These little cucumbers make perfect pickles for canning. They are not as seedy and have great flavor.

I brought them home, washed them up and made bread and butter pickles and then on another day (because I am not a canning kamikaze like my Mother used to be), I made this relish.  I made a small batch.  This recipe could easily be doubled.  I only had enough to make one batch.  Unlike jelly recipes, this kind of recipe can be doubled. 

The beautfiul green color of the relish is made possible by turmeric.  In case you were wondering, most commercial relishes have food coloring in them.  So if you are wondering why yours is not bright green- thats wy.  This color is appetizing nonetheless.

This winter I will be grateful that I canned this because last winter I had to buy it from the store because I had none.  I use relish in more things now.  Like meatloaf, making my own tartar sauce, beans, and of course hamburgers and hot dogs.

This piece of equipment is great for making perfectly ground vegetables such as pickles.  The processor, although I love it for most things, can't compare to this old piece of equipment. Yes it makes a mess but it is totally worth it.

Can you say mess?

Dill Relish

3 1/2 pounds pickling cucumbers
1 1/2 cups onion,chopped
¼ cup pickling or kosher salt
3 cups white vinegar
¾ cups sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dill seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoons turmeric
4 whole pint-sized canning jars, lids and rings





Chop the cucumbers.  If you use a food processor, be careful not to over process because you will end up with a soupy mix.  Place the chopped vegetables in a large nonreactive bowl, such as glass or ceramic and sprinkle with the pickling salt. Stir well and allow to stand for 2 hour.

Drain the cucumber mixture in a colander; rinse with cold water and drain well.
In a large pan, bring the mixture, vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed and turmeric to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Seal with lids and rings and process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 pints

 

I also wanted to tell you about this great blog I found called One Good Thing by Jillee.  An excellent site for some DIY and great how to tips on laundry and cleaning.  I also found that great recipe for English Muffin Toast on that website.  (I have made it three times.  Yes, four loaves three times.  Hey, we had company... well, actually my husband has been tearing through it like nobody's business).

Anyway, Jillee had this really nice giveaway and I WON!  Wahooooo.  An adorable pair of sunglasses.  Check them out!  They are from a company called Kameleonz.