Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spring is in the Air

Mississippi has been having some great weather lately. I have been enjoying every minute of it,
whether it is setting up a table and enjoying my lunch outside or planting a potted herb and vegetable garden. This year I am trying to turn my brown thumb into a green one ha ha! I decided to plant my vegetable and herb plants in pots. I like to be able to move the plants around my yard if I need to. Our backyard has spots that are sunnier than others.
One garden fresh vegetable I love is tomatoes. I have planted red and yellow tomatoes and cherry tomatoes as well. In the summer a fresh tomato sandwich with a little mayo, salt, and pepper is simple but so delicious. I also love a good BLT. 
In the South, a vegetable that is easy to grow is squash. Squash also grows bountifully. I am always trying to come up with recipes using squash. My grandmother gave me her recipe for squash pickles. I had not heard of anything like it. I decided I would take her recipe and make it my own. I use cane sugar which is better for you than granulated sugar because it is unrefined meaning it contains essential nutrients and minerals.
You will love my recipe for squash pickles and want to make and serve it all spring and summer long.



Squash Pickles

About 4 cups sliced small yellow squash
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
salt
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup cane sugar
¼ tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed

Layer squash and onion slices on a baking sheet. Sprinkle salt over vegetables and let stand for 1 hour. Place vegetables in a colander. Lightly rinse and drain.  Then place vegetables onto a layer of paper towels. Pat dry.

In a medium saucepot over medium heat, add vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add seasoning. Add squash and onions.

Bring vinegar to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool on counter for 1 hour.

Spoon into mason jars and refrigerate.

Serve squash pickles with your favorite sandwich.








9 comments:

  1. Canning gives anything that good ol'fashioned taste but pickles are my all time favourite. These look particularly interesting.My favourite pickle recipe uses watermelon rind and cinnamon hearts because it reminds me of my Grandma. So excited to learn about your blog and of course I am a follower now. Happy Cooking!

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  2. Sounds delish! But everything you post sounds delish!

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  3. oh so yum! my great aunt used to make these and I LOVED it!! I need to try it myself!!

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  4. When do I put the mustard into this?

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  5. mmm...that seems tasety...i have to try that

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  6. The mustard is part of the seasoning in the directions so add it after the sugar.

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  7. My grandmother taught me how to make zucchini relish. Although she has passed, it is the ONLY relish that I will use! I love it and hope to pass on the recipe and the tradition to my kids.

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  8. Ooooh these sound good! Thanks for the recipe Whitney. :)

    Any idea when your cookbook is supposed to come out?

    Sara

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  9. Thanks for the recipe! My friend and I have an annual squash dinner where each dish has to feature a different type of squash. Last year we used acorn, butternut, spaghetti and buttercup(one I had never head of before). We were trying to come up with new squash recipes for next year, so if you have anymore that would be awesome if you can post one!

    APB

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