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!

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!