Sometimes I make old recipes just because of nostalgia. Piccalilli reminds me of the stories my grandmother like to tell of the depression. She was tough, smart and never wasted even a plastic margarine cup. She grew up to be a nurse, serve in the military and be a proud divorcee and single mother. She loved to tell stories and as a child sometimes I fell for them. If you ever spoken to anyone over the age of 80 about their childhood ...you know the stories. ...Grandma's always began five miles to school uphill both ways carrying a load of firewood and two younger brothers on her shoulders because the snow was up to her chest. I use to laugh at that picture in my head because my grandmother was a diminutive woman and I was taller that her in second grade. So the idea that the snow was up to her chest seemed to be a realistic, especially after the blizzard of 1979 where the snow was over my head. But those stories had a point. Life was hard, but planning and know how made life easier. I loved to hear how everything from the garden was used, and canned to get through the winter. Piccalilli is green tomatoes and garden leftovers relish and a similar recipe is called rummage relish based on rummaging through the garden and the icebox to find enough ingredients to can. I love this relish with slightly tart bite with fish or to brighten a drab chicken dinner.
Piccalilli
2 med. sized cucumbers, peeled and chopped fine
1 small cabbage, finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped fine
6 lbs green tomatoes, cut up
2 TBS of canning salt
2 cups brown sugar (or to taste)
2 cups white distilled vinegar
2 tsp. celery seed
2 tsp. mustard seed
Mix all chopped veggies & salt together and allow to stand for 4 hours. Drain into a colander. Simmer brown sugar,vinegar, celery seed, and mustard Combine veggies with remaining ingredients in a pot, bring to boil, cook for 20 minutes. Pour into pint jars, remove bubbles wipe lids and seal. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.
