Sweet Pickle Relish

Despite our overly wet summer, the pickles are producing well. The chief gardener planted the seeds in hills which has helped keep the roots out of standing water. We've made dill chips and still have plenty left for bread & butters and relish.

We make a couple relish varieties. This recipe is a great coney topper or a sweet, crunchy addition to egg and potato salads. It comes together fast (after the veg soak) and incorporates other garden vegetables that ripen alongside the cucumbers.

Chop the vegetables and soak in a salt solution for two hours.

Make the brine by combining vinegar, sugar and spices. Heat to dissolve sugar.

Combine the drained, rinsed vegetables and brine. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Pack into jars, process 10  minutes. Cool, remove bands and store for up to one year.

Sweet Pickle Relish
From Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

1 quart chopped cucumbers
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup canning salt
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp celery seed
1 Tbsp mustard seed
2 cups cider vinegar

Combine chopped cucumbers, onions, green and red pepper with salt. Pour cold water over vegetables just to cover. Let stand 2 hours. Drain and rinse vegetables.

Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Add vegetables and simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids.

Lower jars into simmering water. Make sure water covers jars by 1 inch. Bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars 10 minutes. Remove from canner. Cool 12 hours. Remove bands, wipe jars and store for up to one year.

Crock Fermented Sauerkraut

We typically grow cabbage and if it's a good season that yields a big harvest, we'll ferment a few heads for sauerkraut. I grew up in a German/Irish family where we ate kraut throughout the winter and sometimes twice for New Year's (eve and day). My mom would roast the kraut in a slow cooker along with a pork roast, smoked sausage and brown sugar. It was the kind of meal I could smell before I entered the house.

The fermentation process takes a few weeks. Be aware the aroma of fermenting vegetation can waft throughout the house. I try to close off the crock in a spare room or a cool basement to minimize the odor. If I have enough cabbage, I ferment 50 pounds at a time, which requires a five gallon crock. I've also had success fermenting a smaller batch (25 pounds of cabbage). I tend to avoid ferment-in-the-jar recipes. I think a large batch of fermenting cabbage has a better flavor. If we make more that what we'll eat, my friends and family enjoy the excess.

I ferment the cabbage in a five gallon, lead-free crock. Other non-reactive
containers suitable for curing include food grade plastic, glass or stainless steel.

Discard outer leaves and cut into quarters. Remove core.

We use a large antique slaw slicer (this one belonged to the hub's grandparents).
The small box on top slides across three large and very sharp blades in the base.
You could also use a food processor or knife to slice the cabbage.

Mix the cabbage and salt in the crock. Press until the liquid covers the cabbage.
Cover cabbage with cheesecloth and place a dinner plate over the cloth and top
with a weight to keep the cabbage submerged under the liquid. Remove scum daily.

Fermentation will be complete in 3-6 weeks. The cabbage will be wilted and yellow.

Remove kraut from crock to a large stock pot. Bring just to a simmer.
Pack hot kraut into jars and process quarts for 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Allow to cool for 12 hours. Remove rings, wipe down jars and store in a cool, dark place.

Sauerkraut
from Ball Blue Book
50 lbs cabbage
1 pound canning salt

Wash and drain heads. Remove outer leaves, cut heads into quarters and remove core. Use a shredder or sharp knife to cut cabbage into thin shreds. In a large clean, lead-free crock, thoroughly mix 3 Tbsp salt with 5 lbs cabbage and let stand for several minutes to wilt slightly. This allows packing without excessive breaking or bruising. Using hands, press down firmly until juice comes to the surface. Repeat shredding, salting and packing until all cabbage and salt is used. If juice does not cover cabbage, make a bring by boiling 1 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1 quart of water. Cool before using.

Cover cabbage with cheesecloth, tucking edges against the inside of the crock. Weight cabbage under brine by placing a dinner plate over cloth (add additional weight on top of plate, if necessary). Formation of gas bubbles indicates fermentation is taking place. Remove and discard scum formation each day. A room temperature of 70-75 degrees F is best for fermenting cabbage. Fermentation is usually complete in 3 to 6 weeks.

To can:
Bring kraut to a simmer (185-210 degrees). Do not boil. Pack into hot jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Ladle hot brine liquid over cabbage  leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust lids. Process pints 15 minutes, quarts 20 minutes in a boiling water canner. Yield: 18 quarts

Holiday Food Prep Schedule

Hosting a holiday meal can make for a stressful day for the host. I'm sort of a stickler about getting the meal on the table at the pre-announced time, so I make a schedule to keep me on track. With an eye on the clock, I can usually have the food on the table within 5-10 minutes of my goal.

To get the entire meal on the table at the same time, I enlist both my ovens and a turkey roaster. I've adapted the schedule below to include a microwave and crock pot, in case you have just one oven. A note about a roaster: you might think it's an unnecessary kitchen tool that you'll use only once a year. In addition to roasting a holiday turkey, ham or beef roast, this workhorse can also be used to roast multiple chickens simultaneously and feed hungry crowds sausage & peppers, pulled pork, chicken & noodles and more. 

This 70+ year old roaster belonged to my grandmother. The top can be separated from the base
for countertop use. The masking tape on the upper right was placed there by Grandma Egner
so no one would (accidentally) take her roaster from covered dish dinners and farm meals. 

A note about roasting turkey: The roasting time below is for a 14 lb. unstuffed turkey with a 1pm finish time. To learn how long to roast your turkey, check the Butterball roasting chart. If you're stuffing your turkey, be sure to place stuffing in cavity just before placing in the oven. Stuffing the bird the night before can encourage bacteria growth. Also, pop-up timers can be faulty. Determine doneness with a meat thermometer: 165 degrees at the meatiest part of the thigh and breast, making sure not to touch the thermometer to the bone.

Sample Holiday Meal Schedule

Two days before the meal

• Prepare bread for stuffing: cut into cubes and dry in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes stirring once. Cool and store in a sealed bag until ready to use
• Make and refrigerate cranberry sauce.
• Make and refrigerate brine.

Day before the meal

• Saute vegetables for stuffing
• Place turkey in brine in the afternoon
• Blanch  and refrigerate fresh vegetables in prep for final cooking: green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
• Assemble and refrigerate salads and other cold sides
• Make pies or other desserts
• Make and refrigerate mashed potatoes
• Chill beverages

Day of the meal

8:30am Preheat oven/roaster

Prep turkey for roasting

9:00 Place turkey in oven/roaster

Crockpot: Heat premade mashed potatoes on low 

stirring occasionally

Prep veggies for roasting, sauteing or boiling

11:30 Assemble stuffing

12:30 Remove turkey from oven/roaster to rest for 30 minutes

Oven: Bake casseroles requiring dry heat (stuffing, 

mac & cheese, etc.)

Oven: Roast veggie sides

Stove: saute/boil veggie sides

Strain pan drippings into saucepan and make slurry for gravy

12:45 Microwave: Heat casseroles that can withstand 

moist heat (squash, green beans)

12:50 Stove: Make gravy

1:00 Let’s eat!!

How do you manage your holiday feast?

Pickled Peppers

I love pickled peppers. The briny spiciness is a great foil to rich foods like pizza, pasta and nachos, but can also brighten vegetable salads and sandwiches. Our peppers have just started to produce and over the course of the next month we'll can most and freeze a few to toss in with sautes and chili.

Pickled peppers are easy to preserve with a short process time, raw packed and no blanching. Just place peppers in the jar, add brine and process. I chop the peppers and remove the seeds and veins. If you prefer, leave the seeds attached in whole peppers or sliced rings. Leaving the seeds and veins intact will increase the heat.

This recipe can be used with any hot pepper, or with a mix of peppers. I use this recipe to preserve banana and jalapeno peppers.

Wash, chop and remove seeds. Or if you prefer slice into rings or leave whole.
Want lots of heat? Leave the seeds and veins intact.

Place peppers into clean jars. I used gloves. That pepper juice is hot!
Using my bare hands can make contact handling tricky. For days.
The white granules are Ball's Pickle Crisp. I'm trying it for the first time.

Pour brine over peppers leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Wipe rims, adjust lids and place in a boiling water bath.

After jars cool, remove rings, wipe down and store in a cool dry place.

Pickled Hot Peppers
Adapted from The Ball Blue Book
Click here for step-by-step water bath canning information
Makes about 5 pints

2 3/4 lbs hot peppers
6 cups vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic, crushed slightly
Ball Pickle Crisp (optional)

Leave peppers whole or cut into 1-inch pieces. If using a variety of peppers, combine peppers. Combine vinegar, water and garlic in a saucepot. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Discard garlic. Pack peppers into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add Pickle Crisp, if desired. Ladle hot liquid over peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

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