Relishing zucchini
Posted by Amateur Teacher on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Under: canning
Pun intended. Here's what I just posted to Facebook:
"The last three weeks our zucchini plants have been LOADED. I have made zucchini bread, zucchini chocolate muffins, zucchini pie, zucchini patties, zucchini fries, zucchini brownies, zucchini medallions, breaded zucchini, sauteed zucchini, and, today, zucchini relish (which smells fabulous! it's in the water bath as I type!). My favorite of all these recipes? The brownies. Hands down. Tomorrow, I'm trying a zucchini "apple" pie. Gotta get creative when zucchini is running out of your ears."
I just got my relish out of the canner and, boy, does it look GORGEOUS! I can't wait to mix it up in some black eyed peas or purple hull peas with some cornbread! Oh, these little southern taste buds of mine are jumping for joy! I made two kinds of relish today and both were super easy thanks to my food processor and my nephew who helped me chop. Which, let me tell you, I never realized how wonderful a food processor was. I was given a really nice one by my mother in love and use the blender with it all the time (it's an awesome Cuisinart that has a processor and blender attachment), but not until I watched my step mother in love grate cheese with hers did I feel like slapping my forehead and crying, "Eureka!" Why spend all that time chopping, slicing, and dicing when you have a machine that does it for you? Still, 99.9% of the time I like the manual chopping. There's something about it that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside... maybe it makes me feel like Chef Ramsey himself couldn't even yell at me. Heehee! Anyways, back to the relish.
The two relish recipes I used today are from the Ball Blue Book. If you don't have this book, I highly suggest getting it. Especially if you are a beginner like me. While you can find what you want on the internet, I like that it pretty much has everything you would look for anyway and it's right there at your finger tips! And, well, if the power goes out... okay, okay, back to the relish... I think I said that before...
Zucchini Relish
Yield: about 4 half pints (I used pints and it made two full ones)
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet green pepper (Mister doesn't really like these types of peppers. So, since we still have loaded cayenne plants, I raided a bush and used them instead. This gives it a very nice kick.)
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 tablespoons Ball salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 cup cider vinegar (I'm pretty sure that with both these recipes going at the same time, my house has been naturally deodorized by all the vinegar fumes!)
Ball Pickle Crisp (optional)
Combine zucchini, onion, green and red peppers; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain, rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add Pickle Crisp to each jar, if you want. Remove air bubbles and put on your lids; making sure they're nice and tight. Process in a boiling water canner for ten minutes.
The zucchini relish has a great thickness and texture. I tasted it before packing it and was impressed. Now, the cucumber relish recipe...
Sweet Pickle Relish
Yield: about 8 half pints (I got four pints out of this recipe)
1 quart chopped cucumbers (I should have used more... my batch was super watery even after squeezing and squeezing!)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper (again, I used cayennes)
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup salt
3 1/2 cups sugar (it is sweet pickle relish, after all!)
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 cups cider vinegar
Pickle Crisp (optional)
Combine cucumbers, onions, green and red peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Combine sugar, spices, and vinegar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables and simmer ten minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add pickle crisp, if using. Remove bubbles and put on your lids. Process ten minutes in a boiling water canner.
This recipe, too, turned out tasting great. However, it did turn out a bit more watery than I thought it should. I think next time, and there will be a next time, I'll add some more cucumbers for safe measure.
So, for my first batch of relish, I'm super happy with it! Not sure yet what I'll can tomorrow... hmmm... but I do know I want to try a zucchini "apple" pie I saw on a blog yesterday!
"The last three weeks our zucchini plants have been LOADED. I have made zucchini bread, zucchini chocolate muffins, zucchini pie, zucchini patties, zucchini fries, zucchini brownies, zucchini medallions, breaded zucchini, sauteed zucchini, and, today, zucchini relish (which smells fabulous! it's in the water bath as I type!). My favorite of all these recipes? The brownies. Hands down. Tomorrow, I'm trying a zucchini "apple" pie. Gotta get creative when zucchini is running out of your ears."
I just got my relish out of the canner and, boy, does it look GORGEOUS! I can't wait to mix it up in some black eyed peas or purple hull peas with some cornbread! Oh, these little southern taste buds of mine are jumping for joy! I made two kinds of relish today and both were super easy thanks to my food processor and my nephew who helped me chop. Which, let me tell you, I never realized how wonderful a food processor was. I was given a really nice one by my mother in love and use the blender with it all the time (it's an awesome Cuisinart that has a processor and blender attachment), but not until I watched my step mother in love grate cheese with hers did I feel like slapping my forehead and crying, "Eureka!" Why spend all that time chopping, slicing, and dicing when you have a machine that does it for you? Still, 99.9% of the time I like the manual chopping. There's something about it that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside... maybe it makes me feel like Chef Ramsey himself couldn't even yell at me. Heehee! Anyways, back to the relish.
The two relish recipes I used today are from the Ball Blue Book. If you don't have this book, I highly suggest getting it. Especially if you are a beginner like me. While you can find what you want on the internet, I like that it pretty much has everything you would look for anyway and it's right there at your finger tips! And, well, if the power goes out... okay, okay, back to the relish... I think I said that before...
Zucchini Relish
Yield: about 4 half pints (I used pints and it made two full ones)
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped sweet green pepper (Mister doesn't really like these types of peppers. So, since we still have loaded cayenne plants, I raided a bush and used them instead. This gives it a very nice kick.)
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 tablespoons Ball salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 cup cider vinegar (I'm pretty sure that with both these recipes going at the same time, my house has been naturally deodorized by all the vinegar fumes!)
Ball Pickle Crisp (optional)
Combine zucchini, onion, green and red peppers; sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand 2 hours. Drain, rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add Pickle Crisp to each jar, if you want. Remove air bubbles and put on your lids; making sure they're nice and tight. Process in a boiling water canner for ten minutes.
The zucchini relish has a great thickness and texture. I tasted it before packing it and was impressed. Now, the cucumber relish recipe...
Sweet Pickle Relish
Yield: about 8 half pints (I got four pints out of this recipe)
1 quart chopped cucumbers (I should have used more... my batch was super watery even after squeezing and squeezing!)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper (again, I used cayennes)
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup salt
3 1/2 cups sugar (it is sweet pickle relish, after all!)
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 cups cider vinegar
Pickle Crisp (optional)
Combine cucumbers, onions, green and red peppers in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain, rinse, and drain again. Combine sugar, spices, and vinegar in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Add drained vegetables and simmer ten minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add pickle crisp, if using. Remove bubbles and put on your lids. Process ten minutes in a boiling water canner.
This recipe, too, turned out tasting great. However, it did turn out a bit more watery than I thought it should. I think next time, and there will be a next time, I'll add some more cucumbers for safe measure.
So, for my first batch of relish, I'm super happy with it! Not sure yet what I'll can tomorrow... hmmm... but I do know I want to try a zucchini "apple" pie I saw on a blog yesterday!
In : canning