I know is has been a LONG while since I have posted a recipe.

It has been a LONG few months for me.

Most of my extra time has been full of family and work. With out going into a lot of boring details….cause HEY who wants boring? But, in case you are worried, everything seems to be going pretty smooth right now. I just finished teaching summer school, my Mom the Princess, is doing much better and I am ready to spend more time in my garden, messing with my backyard chickens and of course and always in the kitchen cooking and messing it up. (cleaning is for grandchildren to do right?) Ha!

Since it is gardening season now, and if you are like a lot of my friends that grow zucchini, sometimes you get an abundance of zucchini. You grow so much that you are giving it away to everyone and then your friends start avoiding you when they seen you coming toward them with zucchini. So, I thought I would help you out and post a few zucchini recipes.  I will start with  my favorite zucchini relish recipe that my kids and grand kids will eat first, before they even think about opening a can of store bought relish. It is a sweet relish. You can use it in any recipe that calls for sweet relish. Like, chicken salad and tater sauce and it is great on brats and hot dogs.

Besides being tasty and delicious…it looks great in the jars. ; ) I mean…we want pretty fill jars too…right?

Here goes:

Above is a picture of the relish I made with a mixture of orange and red sweet peppers. I love the colors!

Here is what you need. Zucchini (0f course) apple cider vinegar (I put the white vinegar in the picture by mistake oops), sugar, sweet peppers, sweet onion, mustard seed and celery seed.

First you chop up your zucchini. I do not peel mine. I like the texture of the peelings being left on in the relish.

Chop up the sweet pepper. In this picture I used green peppers. Make sure you remove all the white pith and seeds out of the chopped peppers.

Chop up the onion. Try not to cry. I seem to always cry chopping onions.

In a large bowl put in the zucchini, onions and peppers.

Cover with cold water.

Add salt and stir. Let the mixture sit for 2 hours.

Drain off the salted water, rinse, and drain again.

Here is a picture of the correct cider vinegar…oops.

In a large sauce pan or stock pot, pour in the vinegar.

Add in the sugar.

Add in the mustard seeds.

Lastly, add in the celery seeds.

Bring to a boil.

Add in the zucchini mixture.

Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Fill jars and water bath can for 10 minutes.

It really is easy and I have doubled this recipe when I have made it and it turned out fine. (I would not double a jam or jelly recipe though.)

Anywho, I hope you give it a try and let me know how you like it!

Enjoy!

Becky

Here is the  recipe:

Zucchini Relish

Adapted from Ball Blue Book

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped zucchini (I do not peel mine)

1 cup chopped sweet onion (I used vidalia onions)

1 cup chopped sweet peppers (In one batched I used green in another I used a mixture of orange and red)

2 Tablespoons salt

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoons celery seeds

Directions:

Chop the zucchini, onions and peppers. Put the veggies in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Sprinkle the salt over the mixture and stir. Let it sit for 2 hours. Drain off the salted water, rinse and drain again.

In a large saucepan, add in the vinegar, sugar, mustard and celery seeds. Now, add in the zucchini mixture. Bring to a simmering boil for 10 minutes.

Hot pack the relish in pint jars, leaving a 1/4 inch head space. Remove air pockets by poking a skewer or a Popsicle stick in the relish. Wipe off the jar rims and put on the lid and ring.

Water bath can for 10 minutes in boiling water.

Follow water bath canning instructions found on the Ball Canning web site if you need further instruction

Remove the relish from the water and let the jars cool over night. Making sure the lids are sealed.