Adventures in Relish Making

Summer is the time for adventure. I spend my summer with my family and friends back in New England. There are so many great places to travel for the weekend or even a day. I filled the last seven weeks to the brim with all kinds of adventures. One of my favorite adventures took place last week in my Aunt's kitchen. Together with Rebecca (my sister), Julia (my cousin) and Nancy (my aunt) we made Green Tomato Relish using my grandmother's recipe.

We went to a local farm with a five gallon bucket in hand. They sent us out to the field and showed us where to  pick the green tomatoes. We cut up lots of tomatoes, green peppers, and onions. The recipe calls for grinding up the vegetables. We (and by we I mean Julia... ) used my grandmother's hand grinder and then mixed everything up together. The mixture went into the fridge overnight. Early the next morning, Nancy got up and poured salt over the vegetables. Four hours later we were ready to combine all the spices, sugar and vinegar together on the stove... add the vegetables... and then can our bounty. 18 jars later we finished jarring up the relish. 

It was so fun to work together and produce something handcrafted. It was also great to learn how to can from Nancy... she always has great things to teach and I thank her for a wonderful "Auntie Adventure" and her willingness to share and pass down family traditions.

Here are a few pictures from the "Adventure in Relish Making":

Yum!