...it involved a phone call to my Mom - as her recipe doesn't include cucumbers - but I'd been gifted another bag full of somewhat too large cucumbers that I wanted to use up - and she said they were sort of like garden-end pickles and anything goes...
...here's Mom's recipe straight from the old North & South Mills River Community Club Cookbook...see no cucumbers...
...so I got chopping...or grinding as the case may be...
...and when I was done - I had a big pot full of green tomatoes, cabbage, onions and peppers (no hot peppers for me - I like it mild)...and cucumbers...
...got that boiling with some vinegar spices and sugar...
...and packed it into some sterilized jars - of which I didn't have enough - so I had to re-use a pickle jar - good thing I keep those jars - since it didn't seal I'll keep it in the fridge and use it up first...
...I also processed mine in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes - but I'm not sure Mom used to do that...
...here's my pretty row of Chow-Chow pickles...just waiting to hear the ping...
...so, what do you do with all the stuff left in your garden right before the big freeze?...
Looks great! What do you use it for? Just relish? When I am winding down in the garden I often dry tomatoes so I can have some over dried tomatoes later in the winter.
ReplyDeleteOur winters are usually not too bad and vegetables like cabbage, parsnips and celery are fine left in the garden.
ReplyDeleteChow chow pickles ring a bell for me and I think it is something I've heard of in the past.
The pickles eaten by most people in the recent past here are mainly chutneys, pickled onions and sometimes mixed pickles (mixed vegetables but left in chunks). Pickles and chutneys certainly help dull meals go down.
In the 50's and 60's my family made dozens of jars of these. They were all eaten up.
These chutneys and pickles were not canned, but covered with greaseproof paper. They always kept well.
Yum, I really want to learn how to can!
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered about Chow Chow. I see it all the time when I visit the South. How is it served? Is it a condiment or a side dish? Hot or cold?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to make some sun dried tomatoes, if time and the tomatoes cooperate. The cool down left us...82 degrees here in balmy Indiana. WEIRD!
Those look awesome. I haven't had much left at the end of season until this year. I have basil and tomatoes (a lot of green ones). It looks like pesto, frozen basil in ice cubes and tomato salsa. Peace, Angela
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I never processed my chow-chow. Just heated everything through and sealed in hot jars. I never lost any, but I know it is recommended. MOM
ReplyDeleteyum, i haven't made that for years now...i end up buying relish or cutting up bread-n-butter pickles for salads.
ReplyDeletelove that old cookbook though!
love, k
Sounds delicious! I have no garden produce left:-(
ReplyDeleteDelicious! I find it amusing that your mom's recipe didn't include cucumbers, because they are what I think of when I think "pickles." Beautiful relish, though. Did it turn out a little spicy, even without the hot peppers? It doesn't look like a dill relish.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a garden and had leftover zucchini or beets (two of my faves), I'd shred them and freeze them for adding to cakes, breads, casseroles, etc.