Spicy Mixed Veggie Relish

Look at all that veggie goodness! pickling cukes, carrots, celery, onion red and green bells and roasted peppers all soaking up a delicious syrup of sweetness and spices. 

As usual I didn't follow the recipe, mostly due to lack of all the right veggies, but hey, I had surplus of things that needed to be used so it's all good. I doubt that anyone will be picking the relish apart....lol.

I used brown and white sugar and a combo of cider and white vinegar and added a pinch of cloves to bring the flavor level up and wow, it's good! (I'm practicing showing confidence. How am I doing?)

With all that being said, I will share the recipe I found and my changes. Either way, I think this recipe is a winner for hotdogs, burgers pulled pork sandwiches, tuna or potato salad. Anyone else getting hungry?

Spicy Mixed Veggie Relish

Ingredients

For the Relish:

• 8 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced (about 2 quarts diced) (I used pickling cukes and minced celery, about half and half)
• 2 cups of chopped onion
• 3 green bell peppers, chopped ( didn't have all the peppers I needed so I minced some carrots to make up the difference.)
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 large can of pimento, drained and chopped, optional ( I didn't have this on hand but had some Anaheim peppers, 6 to be exact, that I roasted, peeled and minced)
• 2 tablespoons of kosher salt
• All told you should have about 3 quarts of finely chopped veggies.

For the Syrup:

• 1 quart of white or cider vinegar (I did half and half)
• 4 cups of granulated sugar (I used 1 1/2 c white sugar and 2 1/2 c dark brown sugar)
• 2 teaspoons of finely minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons of mustard seed
• 2 tablespoons of celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, or to taste, optional (I used 1/2 t. )

Instructions

In a large glass or plastic bowl, mix together the cucumbers, onion and peppers; toss to mix well. Add salt, stir, cover and refrigerate; let stand 6 hours or overnight, stirring occasionally. Drain well, but do not rinse.

In a large pot, mix together the vinegar, sugar, garlic, mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly until sugar is dissolved. Add in the drained vegetables and red pepper flakes, if using, return to a boil, reduce to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer relish into sterilized jars and top off with syrup. Seal, refrigerate, or process for canning. Makes about 6 pints.

To Process for Canning: Sterilize jar and lids. Prepare a hot water bath. Pack hot pickles and liquid into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles. Add lids and rings and process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Spicy Zucchini Relish

 Surprise, surprise, zucchini is cropping up everywhere! The two of us can't eat it all before it spoils and with a small apartment freezer we can't shred to freeze much either, so I did a google search and found several recipes that I tweaked to come up with a very delicious and spicy relish that will make your hotdog lover shout for more!

Here's my version of
Spicy Zucchini Relish
6 c. each finely chopped zucchini and cucumbers
4 c. each finely chopped onion and bell peppers, including half red peppers and a couple of hot jalepenos
Place all veggies in an enamelware or stainless steel pan or glass bowl. Sprinkle with 5 tablespoons of canning/pickling salt. Mix well. Cover and let sit over night, for about 8 hours and rinse. 
Sterilize 6 pint or 12 half pint jars and sets of lids for all. 
In a large pot combine:
4 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 T. curry powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 1/2 T. celery seed 
1 T. dry mustard powder
Add rinsed vegetables and bring to a boil. Turn down to a slow boil and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle into hot jars, straining a little of the syrup off if needed so relish is not soupy. Put lids on firmly and hot water bath for about 10 minutes. As an aside, many of the recipes called for 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch, but if the veggies are drained well before cooking, the sugar and vinegar mixture should be the perfect consistency when cool.