Relish the Memories...

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures. ⁹ For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light. Psalm 36:7-9 (AMP)

Several weeks ago my husband's sister stayed with us for a few days so she could visit her parents in the local nursing home. While with us she asked for some of my home canned relish because it was made from Mom's recipe. She always loved her mom's relish and Mom had been unable to can that

sweet treat for many years because of her severe arthritis.

Judy had used up all the jars of relish left in the basement at the homestead and no one else in the family makes it except me. How could I resist that look of longing in her eyes as she asked if she could have a couple of the jars I had canned this past summer?

I decided to repeat the relish recipe here today so others can "relish" mom's homemade relish. Since I'm already planning my garden for this coming summer, I want to be sure I grow enough of the necessary veggies  - it looks like I'll have to make another batch or two this coming summer. My sis-in-law isn't the only one who wants more of it....

Mae's Pickle Relish

Ingredients:

1/2 bushel of cucumbers (about 20 pounds)
5 lbs. each of green peppers (add a few red peppers for color), green tomatoes, onions
2 heads of cabbage, small to medium sized
Grind everything up and place in a food-grade container or crock. Salt and let stand overnight to bring out the natural juices of the vegetables.
Drain - squeezing out excess moisture the next day.

Place the drained relish in a large pot and cook for 1 to 1 and a half hours with:
1 quart of apple cider vinegar
1 quart water
2 T celery seed
2 T Mustard seed
3 T Turmeric
Sweeten it to taste with 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of sugar.
(I use my crock pots to cook the relish for 3-4 hours so I don't have to stand and stir it - it will stick to the bottom of the pot and burn on the stove - Been there done that!)
When relish is thoroughly cooked, you can ladle it into sterile pint jars, seal and process it in a water bath canner for 15 minutes. I usually get a dozen or more jars from each recipe I make, but I'm not sure how much the actual recipe makes since I don't measure my ingredients.
This is the best relish for hot dogs - or eating straight from the jar like Judy confessed to doing LOL!
Don't forget to "relish" the memories and traditions of your loved ones. And especially to "relish" the Lord today!

Comfort food

Back in October, the pumpkins were everywhere: the big ones for carving and cooking, the little sweet pie pumpkins, and even my favorites - the long-necked squash pumpkins. I was ecstatic when I found some of my favorite kind right across the street at the stand of a roadside vendor. I bought one at the time, but they were a little pricy for the quantity I wanted.

When I got home, I asked the Lord to provide a couple more pumpkins of any kind for canning since my food budget was a little limited. Nothing happened at that point. Pumpkin season passed and I pretty much forgot I'd even asked my Father for them. But God never forgot.

This past week, my father-in-law passed away. The family had already made plans to come home for the day - partly because we wanted to get together like we did each year and partly hoping they could see dad alive one more time to say their last good-byes. But that's not the way it worked out.

After we got the news of his passing on Wednesday morning, I had an especially difficult time getting things ready for our big family dinner. Thankfully, my children were bringing much of the food because I couldn't focus on cooking. I think God knew I needed a special reminder of his love and care to help me through the holiday family time.

Thursday morning, my daughter and her brood arrived. As they got out of their van, six-year-old Sam struggled over to the porch carrying a large, orange pumpkin. Ten-year-old Jack brought another. Sam proudly proclaimed that his mommy couldn't possibly cook all her pumpkins - she had one for each of her 7 children - so she sent me the two biggest ones to can.

I remembered asking my heavenly Father for some nice big pumpkins to can and suddenly felt hugged by God. At a time when I needed to know his presence and comfort the most, he sent me a tangible reminder that he cares about me and the details of my life.

Thank you Father! Amen.

“Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the LORD is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation.” Psalm 100:4-5 CEB

Second chance tomato soup

The recipe for tomato soup was typed on a piece of onion-skin typing paper, in the days before we used personal computers. An older pastor's wife had taken the time to type it out for me when we tried out for the youth pastor position at their church, MANY years ago.

The soup she served us was excellent, but when I tried to make it a few years later, I took a shortcut, pureeing the tomatoes in my blender without slipping the skins first. I loved the flavor of the soup, but I kept getting pieces of tough skin in every jar with each bite of the soup. Ewwwww!

Considering it a failure, I tucked the recipe away in my stash. But I kept it because of the memories of the sweet woman who took time to mentor me - both in canning and as a pastor's wife.

I dug that old recipe out last week and tried it again with the frozen tomato juice from this year's garden. This time, I followed the directions - no skin on the tomatoes. Wow! It tastes phenomenal - better than tin-canned tomato soup. I will definitely not forget about this old recipe again.

It reminded me of an important life lesson: Listen to those who take the time to mentor you!



Thank you Lord for being patient with me, even when I try to do things my own way. Help me to eventually get it right and do it your way!

“Come, let’s sing out loud to the LORD! Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation! Let’s come before him with thanks! Let’s shout songs of joy to him!” Psalm 95:1-2 CEB

Home-canned Tomato Soup

by Sister Barriss from Jeanette, PA
Cook and puree:

• 1 Peck of tomatoes (about 15 pounds)
• Or use 6 quarts of home-canned tomatoes
• Or 6 quarts of home-canned tomato juice (use half the recommended salt and sugar if you used them to can the tomato juice)

Cook well and blend, then add pureed veggies to the tomatoes:

• 2 large ribs of celery
• 2 green peppers
• 6-8 onions (small to med)
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes

Add to mixture and heat until all are well blended:

• 1/2 pound of butter or margarine
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of salt

Make a paste with 1 cup of flour and some of the tomato juice. Blend well then stir slowly into the tomato soup. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
Ladel the soup into your jars and process for 20 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure for a pressure canner

Kraut in the crock - NOT!

“But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.” Matthew 6:33 GW

While talking with a friend the other day, I learned that his wife wanted to make sauerkraut this year - the wonderful, old- fashioned kind that ferments in a large earthenware crock.

I heard myself telling my friend, "I have one of those crocks. Does your wife want it?" No big deal - I didn't use it anymore because I had found other ways to make my kraut that were easier for me than dragging out that heavy old crock.

The inner battle to let go of "stuff" started as my inner critic began sputtering, "You can't give that away. You might need it. You used it this year to make relish. What will you use in its place?"

I ignored the inner critic and dragged the heavy thing out to clean it up for my friend. But just then, an overwhelming need to make sauerkraut one last time in the crock hit me. Since I planned to make some kraut this year anyway, I bought several pounds of cabbage.

But thankfully, reality also slapped me up beside the head and I figured I would do the kraut in small gallon-jar batches like usual because they were more manageable for me. The big crock was not!*

The whole incident did get me thinking. There's a lot of things I keep that I don't really use - maybe it's time to clear out the extra "stuff." Not only will my house be easier to care for, but others may be able to use the "stuff" I don't need any more.

In my spiritual life, I also need to clear out "stuff" that I've been holdoing on to like emotional baggage, fears, ineffective ways of coping, etc., that I don't really need that may be hindering me from walking closer to the Lord. By putting him first, he makes my life more manageable by providing just what I need instead of all the clutter that builds up to separate me from him.

Father, help me to keep my eyes on you for the things I really need. Amen.

* Click here for the recipe for making sauerkraut in jars

How many apples?

“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything." John 15:5 ERV

In one of the early churches we pastored, we had 3 apple trees in our yard. One was old, but still producing apples. They were smallish and not very pretty looking, but they made the best apple sauce. The second was a younger tree of the same kind which had recently started producing apples that were larger and beautiful for pies. The third tree, another young tree, produced tart green apples.

Not wanting to waste the apples, I spent many hours that fall, picking them up and canning them into the most wonderful pink sauce. I baked a lot of apple pies and dumplings that year too. My mother-in-law even took a large basket home with her But the job seemed never ending since the trees produced quite a bit of fruit! By the time the apple harvest was done, so was I. LOL!

Knowing that all those apples came from just three trees amazes me. Ane each of those trees came from just one seed. Over the lifetime of the trees, I can't begin to imagine how much fruit would be produced! But God knows and counted each apple.

Father, help me to stay joined to you so that my one life produces that much fruit. Amen.

That happy "snappy" sound

“Bow down and worship the LORD our Creator! The LORD is our God, and we are his people, the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture. Listen to God’s voice today!” Psalm 95:6-7 CEV

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in canning mode this week. Last week it was 14 jars of relish, 12 jars of beans, 20 quarts of tomatoes and 16 pint bags of corn for the freezer. This week I’ve canned 8 pints of beans, 13 quarts and 8 pints of tomato sauce. I still have more tomatoes, pumpkin, applesauce and sauerkraut to do, but things will definitely slow down now.

Some days I’m not sure why I put myself through all that work because it is an arduous process, but I really do enjoy it – especially seeing the filled jars on the pantry shelves and eating the better-than-store-bought items in the dead of winter.

But what I really love about the canning process are those few moments right after pulling the jars out of the canner. I find myself listening for that little metallic “snap” of each lid that proves the jars have sealed. No matter where I am in the house,, I hear it because I’ve trained myself to listen for it so I can count each ”snap” to be sure all the jars have sealed. Each time I hear that distinct sound, I feel a happy sense of fulfillment. I want to whoop for joy because I know my hard work paid off.

Though life is hard at times, I feel that same sense of fulfillment as I bow down to worship God. When I listen for and hear his voice, I know I am safe, cared-for and full of peace, even during life’s storms. Listening doesn’t come naturally – I have to work at listening for his voice, but when I hear it, it makes my heart glad.

Thank you Lord for caring for me and speaking to my heart. Help me keep my ears tuned to your voice no matter where I am or what I’m doing today. Amen.

Tomatoes and more tomatoes

Be glad you can do the things you should be doing. Do all things without arguing and talking about how you wish you did not have to do them. In that way, you can prove yourselves to be without blame. You are God’s children and no one can talk against you, even in a sin-loving and sin-sick world. You are to shine as lights among the sinful people of this world. Philippians 2:14-15 NLV

Last weekend, I bought a half bushel of Roma tomatoes to make and can spaghetti sauce. I haven't canned sauce for a while so I had forgotten what a big job it is. About halfway through the process of blanching and skinning the tomatoes, I realized I was grumbling to myself about all the extra work I had taken on. I didn't have to buy those extra tomatoes or make sauce - after all, I still had lots of tomatoes in my garden which would ripen over time. I could freeze them and make sauce later when it was cold outside.

The more I complained to myself, the harder the job seemed to become. My back started to hurt between my shoulder blades and I felt really tired. But then I decided to put on some praise and worship music so I didn't have to listen to myself complain.

As the music seeped into my soul, the job became easier and the tight muscles in my back relaxed a bit. No - not because the job had become easier, but because I had a change of attitude. I remembered why I wanted to make all that sauce; how good it would be to have a taste of summer in the dead of winter and to have some to share with my children who had families and jobs that prevented them from canning.

After I got all the tomatoes in my big roaster to cook, I remembered I needed to run some errands. On the way home, I ended up at a roadside farm stand where I bought another half bushel of Roma tomatoes to make more sauce.

No, I'm not a glutton for punishment. I know the amount of work that lies ahead. But because I can already see, smell and taste the goodness, I'm motivated for the work ahead. This time I'll start the process with praise and make the big job a lot easier!

Lord, help me to do everything without arguing and complaining. Thank you that a spoonful of praise makes everything easier! Amen.

Relish

“But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.” Psalm 42:8 NLT


Yesterday I finished a marathon 2-day canning project – homemade Relish!
My Mother-in-law taught me how to make her recipe many years ago and it is so much better than the commercially made product. It’s a combination of

• 20 pounds of cucumbers
• five pounds each of peppers (red and green), onions, cabbage and green tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. each of mustard and celery seeds
• 3-4 Tbsp of turmeric
• 1-2 cups of sugar (to taste) sugar
• 1 quart each of vinegar and water.

On day one, the veggies are ground up and salted, then left to stand overnight. The next day the excess water is squeezed off the veggies until they are almost dry before cooking them in the fresh water and vinegar-spice mixture.

I have changed things up over the years. For example, I don’t stand over a hot stove and cook the mixture for one and a half hours. After I burned a batch a few years ago, I decided to let my crock pots do the cooking! The crock pots keep the mixture moist and I only have to stir things up occassionally while they cook for 4-5 hours on high. Sure it takes a bit longer, but I’m free to do other chores while the pots do all the work. LOL!

This year’s batch was about 2/3 the size of the recipe, but I ended up with 14 pints. I thought it would be enough to last for 2 years for my husband and I, but when I told my daughter about the relish, she immediately said, “I gotta have me some of that!” Oh well… I guess I can always make more next year.

Relish is a condiment – not something people usually eat by itself, but something they use to help enhance the flavor of other foods. I love the thought that God can make me into a condiment for his use. He takes all the trials and hurts that I’ve gone through and adds lots of learning experiences, interactions with others and a little heat to make me into a person who will add just the right touch to help to bring out the best in others.

It may be a marathon process, but I suppose God loves the process just as much as he loves seeing the finished product all ready to enjoy – just like I enjoy making and seeing my relish all canned on the counter!

Thank you Lord, for my relish and for preparing me to spice up the lives of others. Amen!