Skald the Dawg

Sorry for being absent yesterday, things have been a little discombobulated around here. We have bought a house! Whoo Hoo! A very nice, 3 bedroom raised ranch in a nice part of town, right at the edge of town in fact. Our back yard abuts the town soccer field. There is corps of engineer land across the road, so it is all undeveloped and pretty. Very quiet, just my style. The house was a bank repo, so a very good price, we got it for about $20,000 less than normal. The basement is unfinished, but that is ok, we can do what we want to with it! It has room for a nice large utility room down there as well as room for another bedroom or family room. I think we are going to put in another bedroom so DS can have his own privacy as it were. It has a nice big back deck, not a lot of yard (yay, less mowing).

Here are a couple of pics, one from the front and one from the back:






Anyway . . .

Relish. Most people like relish. Some people do not. Until just a few years ago, I was in the latter category. Could not stomach the stuff. Now that I have made it a few times, I have changed my mind about that. This recipe that I am going to give you is a mix-n-match recipe. I was making some bread and butter jalapenos and I had about a gallon bag of sliced jalapenos and onions left over. Hmmmm . . . . Dad was wanting some sort of picallili, so Mom and I got our heads together, looked to see what we had to work with (besides the jalapenos and onions) and this is what we came up with. It is sweet, spicey and has just a bit of a kick to it. We love it on hot dogs or in potato salad. Or on a sandwich.

Skald The Dawg Relish
Amounts given here are approximate!

1-1/2 quarts sliced jalapeno peppers
3 medium onions, sliced
6 medium green tomatoes, chopped
1 small-to-medium head of cabbage, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper (for color)
1/4 cup salt
5-1/2 cups sugar
4 cups vinegar
4 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spices

Grind jalapenos, onions, green tomatoes, cabbage and red peppers in food processor.
Place in bowl, sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let sit 12 hours.
Drain well. Push down on veggies to get excess water out.

In large pot, mix sugar, vinegar and spices (in cheesecloth or spice ball). Bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes. Add veggies. Simmer for 10 minutes. Take pickling spices out. Pack in hot jars and hot-water bath for 10 minutes.