Green Tomato Relish

As my son was clearing out the gardens for the year, he brought me some pretty green tomatoes. So I did a little recipe searching and decided to give this vintage Green Tomato Relish from the Old Farmer's Almanac a try. It's a pretty straight forward recipe that really doesn't call for many ingredients. This is the type of relish that's better suited to topping a big bowl of beans rather than slathering on a summer hot dog. Tangy and not overly sweet, it's a nice condiment that I'm guessing adults would enjoy more than kids-especially adults that fondly remember their mother or grandmom's preserving... Don't hesitate to give this a try if you have some extra tomatoes to use up folks:@)

 Normally when I make relish I squeeze as much liquid out of the vegetables as possible.

But since this recipe calls for cooking the veggies for an hour, I simply drained them in a colander.

I reduced the recipe to approximately 1/4 and ended up with 1 1/2 pints (canned six 4 oz jars).

Green Tomato Relish-from The Old Farmer's Almanac
24 green tomatoes
4 large white, yellow or sweet onions
6 medium-large bell peppers, preferably a mix of colors
1-2 jalapenos-optional-unless I'm making it, then 'penos are mandatory:@)
3 Tblsp pickling salt
3 C sugar
3 Tblsp pickling spices, tied in cloth-I use a spice ball 
3 C white vinegar

1. Finely dice tomatoes, onions and peppers-I used my food chopper. 
2. Place in large bowl, mix in salt and let sit for one hour-I stirred it a few times.
3. Drain liquid. 
4. Add everything to 4-6 quart pot-I suggest 6 quart. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook for one hour, stirring frequently.
5. Remove pickling spices. 
6. Pack into sterilized pint jars leaving 1/4" head space. Add lids and rings.
7. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Let's use up what Mother Nature gifts us and have a happy day:@)