Yellow Summer Squash recipe and some ramblings

Ah, Ma nature can't make up her mind. We had days of rain and now we have gone days without rain. The garden is looking pretty droopy and I believe we are going to have to water tonight. /sigh

I am writing this post as Jim is in the kitchen fixing the drain for the kitchen sink. Last night as I was draining the dish water from washing all the mason jars we picked up at a sale yesterday, my toes started getting wet. I initially thought I had "splashed" with the dishwater, but definitely not the case. A seal or something let loose. So...that meant the squash I picked this morning were washed in the bathroom sink. That makes me giggle for some reason.

A week ago we tried out a new recipe. Yellow squash summer relish. We grew a couple squash plants this year, but we didn't have any specific recipes in mind. I came across this recipe in a magazine I picked up. We weren't sure what it would taste like. We gave it a shot and if it was a failure, I am pretty sure I knew of some people that would have taken it off our hands. However, a failure it wasn't and the results are going to the canning cellar.

Let's take a look.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE magazines!

I don't know why, but I do!

Magazines with pretty jars on the front (even when those pretty jars require lots of work) are no different.

There are some amazing recipes in these magazines.

Recipes like Yellow Summer Squash relish and Tomato Basil Jam.

Are you grinning and maybe even drooling just thinking about it??

he he

The inside pages are just as beautiful as the covers!

So I prepped the squash -- yep fresh from our garden

Used the food processor to get it, peppers and onions to this point.

This is what it looked like when I took it out of the fridge the next morning.

The final result.

Ready to see the recipe?

Here it is:

Pretty simple really.

10 cups shredded yellow summer squash (about 4 pounds)

2 large onions, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped 

(I used peppers from the garden of different hotnesses..roughly 1 large green pepper)

6 tablespoons canning salt

4 cups sugar

3 cups cider vinegar

1 tablespoon each celery seed, ground mustard and ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large container, combine the squash, onions, green pepper and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain; rinse and drain again.

In a Dutch oven, combine the sugar, vinegar and seasonings; bring to a boil.

Add squash mixture; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Carefully lade hot mixture into six hot pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 15 minutes in boiling water canner. Refrigerate remaining relish for up to 1 week.

YIELD: 6 pints

This batch didn't have any turmeric added because there wasn't any in our pantry.

The batch that I am processing this evening will have turmeric added. I can't wait to see the color difference and the taste difference too.

This batch is AWESOME!!!! on burgers. We think it would be EXCELLENT on hot dogs.

We will be trying that sometime this week.

If you give it a shot, I would love to hear what you think of it!!!

I know you really came for the ramblings and not the recipe, so here we go.

Canning season conclusions I've come too so far this season. I find it interesting how I think about things differently now that I share things from our lives with you.

1. Canning Season: the easiest and quickest way to dirty EVERY bowl and every towel in your kitchen.

2. The season for a continually dirty kitchen floor.  ** I'm not saying I don't clean it. I sweep it every day to make sure the seeds and such are gone. I swear that stuff hides somewhere though. You sweep, empty the dustpan and hang up the broom and there is MORE on the floor. :( /sigh. 

Here are some of the tools of the trade. :)

This morning's harvest. That big yellow squash weighed 2 pounds 7 7/8 ounces.

That squash was shredded and is in the fridge doing its thing until later on.

The recipe says overnight, but by the time I get to it, it will have been in the fridge for 12 hours.

With all that produce and fixed drain in the kitchen sink, I must leave you and pay attention to these veggies.

I hope your weekend is shaping up the way you would like.

Any of you processing produce this weekend?

hugs!

Linking up Here:

Strawberry Jam - YUM!

Hi Everyone!!!!!!! I hope all of you are doing well!

We are doing well. We have been keeping very busy.

These longer days have been keeping me outside longer, for which I am thankful.

More time outside equates to less time with all of you though.

Over the weekend we hit some yard sales. Found some good deals.

We planned our route so we would be in the area of the LOCAL berry farm.

We came home from there with 11 quarts of strawberries.

These berries are much bigger, sweeter and juicier than last years berries.

YUM!!!!!!

We made strawberry jam.

There are 12 half pints and 12 pints sitting on the counter, with another pint or so sitting in the fridge!

We won't eat it all ourselves. Some of it will be set back to be given as gifts now and again at Christmas!

I sure am thankful Jim likes to help in the kitchen!!

Making the jam as a team is definitely a lot easier and more enjoyable!

We used the recipe straight from the Ball Blue Book of Canning!

Strawberry Jam

yield: about 8 half pints

2 quarts strawberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 package powdered pectin

7 cups sugar

Wash strawberries; drain. Remove stems. Crush strawberries one layer at a time. Combine strawberries, powdered pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a ROLLING boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

***have no fear if you can't find the "one package of powdered pectin." It seems they are now selling this pectin in containers. 6 tbsp of the stuff in the container is equivalent to one "old" box. /sigh ***

Here's a look at the jam cooking away.

It turns such a vibrant red once the sugar is added.

Oh and...the house smelled AMAZING!!!!

Here's the end result...

It was gloomy most of the weekend or I would have taken a picture of ALL

of the jars lined up.

I think of our filled jars as works of art!

Look at how pretty!!!

We cleaned up the sticky mess and relaxed with a bowl of ice cream with some of the "too much for another jar" leftovers. YUM!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and starting your week off with this sweet treat!!!!

~Jen