my wife and I have a garden this year first we;ve had in a few years, forgot how much enjoyment and work that they are.she needs a good and simple recipes for sweet and dill pickles,also one for squash relish that uses oinions and bell pepper.thanks in advance. big dave

-- david e jackson (davidejackson@ccconnection.com), June 27, 2000

Answers

Praise God for abundant gardens! I'm sure yours keeps you busy just as mine does! My favorite recipies:

Zucchini Relish (these can be baseball bats--you're just grinding them up anyway)

Cut squah in half and remove seeds. Grind to make 3 qts. (12 cups) Put in large bowl. Add: 2 bell peppers chopped (I use both green and red) 4-8 onions chopped 1/2 cup salt 1 tray ice Let sit for 2-3 hours. Drain. In a large pan heat: 4 cups sugar 4 cups vinegar 2 Tbsp. mustard seed 1 tsp. tumeric 1/2 tsp. ground cloves Pour over zucchini mix. Heat. Pack in hot jars (no burping necessary) and hot water bath for 10 min.

Dill pickles. I don't do dill, so I have no recipie for you on that one. A neighbor of mine swears by Mrs. Wage's dill pickle mix. Just follow the instructions on the back.

Sweet pickles. The only one I do is bread n butter pickles so I'll leave you with that one. Mix in large bowl: 4 qts (16 cups) 1/2" thick sliced cucumbers 8 onions chopped 2 peppers cut in strips 1/2 cup salt ice to cover Let sit 3 hrs. Drain. In large saucepan mix and heat: 4 cups sugar 4 1/2 cups vinegar 1/2 tsp ground cloves 3 1/2 tsp. mustard seed Add cucumber mix and heat through. Hot pickles, hot jars, 1/4" headspace, burp well. Hot water bath for 10 minutes. Yield is about 7 pints.

Hope this helps some. Sorry so long! E-mail me is you have questions.

-- Misha (MishaaE@aol.com), June 30, 2000.