When I was growing up we lived next door to an older widow whom we called
Bessie. Bessie's kitchen window looked out over our yard and she kept track of us. If we were quarrelling in the sand pile, she was out the door to restore order. If we were late getting in from a date, Bessie casually mentioned the time she saw us come in. She scolded us and loved us in the course of any day. But she was a life line for us. If our parents were gone, we always had Bessie. She could apply a bandaid better than anyone around.
Bessie lived a life of routine and order. On Monday we all filled the wash tubs and did the week's laundry. We talked across the fence while we draped sheets over clothes lines and hung socks with clothes pins.
On Tuesday Bessie would come over, wander through the house until she found the ironing basket that mother had tried to hide. She took it home and ironed it all on her mangler.
On another day, she cleaned, another she worked in the garden and every Sunday morning she called for a ride to church. Summer and fall were the best. Day after day she stood over her hot stove canning, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, apricots, beans, beets, peas, carrots, tomatoes, raspberries. But the day she made Green Tomato Relish was our favorite. Because on that day the smell of sweet vinegar and stewing veggies filled the entire neighborhood.
Well, this is a long intro to the recipe for Bessie's Green Tomato Relish. I made some last week and experienced a wave of nostalgia as I filled those little jars and lined them up on my kitchen counter. For just a moment, I wanted to be a little girl again, go home, and let Bessie say, "Landy child, you are growing so fast!" I loved her and I love her relish!
Bessie's Green Tomato Relish
2 qts. ground cukes (not peeled) (about 10 large)
1 qt. ground onions (2 1/2 lbs)
2 qt. ground green tomatoes (10 lg)
9 ground green peppers
3 ground red peppers
(Bessie used a hand grinder, but I use a Cuisinart)
Pour off some liquid after each grinding.
In large pot put ground veggies and add:
3 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
1 1/2 T mustard seed
1/2 t. green food coloring
2 T salt
1 1/2 T tumeric
1 1/2 t. celery seed
Boil together 20 minutes. (this is when the smell will fill your house and neighborhood of the doors are open). Put hot liquid into jars and put lids and rings on. To secure preservation, store in freezer.
Makes 13 pints
Such a sweet story and a wonderful memory!
ReplyDeleteWhen canning recipes that have been handed down the USDA recommends that ONLY recipes that have been tested by the USDA or it's extensions be used in home canning to avoid mold, bacteria and illness. This recipe can be made and then placed into plastic containers or freezer bags and then frozen.
Sweet Bessie. Thanks for sharing her Kathy.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Lisa's caution, but with all that vinegar and sugar I would feel safe just keeping them in my extra refrigerator. I lose things in my freezer.
I just made some refrigerator pickles that I don't even boil at all or seal. I hope I don't die of pickle poison.
Refrigerator Pickles
based on recipe of Margaret Baker's Mother
12 c. plus sliced cucumbers (I didn't measure)
1 c. canning salt (uniodized)
top with two tray of ice cubes and 4 cups of water.
Let stand for two hours. (or three)
Drain and rinse well with clear water.
Mix 6 cups sugar and 3 cups white vinegar.
Pour over cucumbers that are packed in a bottle with fresh dill.
Store covered in refrigerator.
Stir once a month.
Will keep up to about a year in refrigerator.
It made about a gallon of pickles.
You have to wait a few weeks before they are ready to eat. They are good. The original recipe called for adding sliced onions and green pepper and celery salt. But I like them with just dill. Some years I have added garlic though. I forgot this year.
I love reading these recipes. It reminds me of being a younger girl. My mother used to (and still does) make all sorts of pickles each year. Everything from dill to sweet to red cinnamon pickles. mmmmmm!
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