Green Tomato Relish

My beautiful heirloom cherry tomato bush gave us a tremendous harvest this summer, but the season is over and the bush needed to be cut way down (I'm going to leave it in it's pot to see if it comes back next year).

So what do I do with all these green tomatoes? How about making and canning green tomato relish! (I've heard it is also called Chow Chow)

The recipe calls for bell peppers - which I can't stand. I left the peppers out of my recipe and it's great, but feel free to add them if you so choose.

I had about 6 cups of heirloom green cherry  tomatoes (using a liquid measuring cup).

2 green bell peppers - seeded & cored

1 red bell pepper - seeded & cored

1 large sweet yellow onion

1 Tablespoon mixed pickling spices

1 Tablespoon celery seed

1 - 2 cups apple cider vinegar (depending on the quantity of tomatoes you use - start with 1 cup & taste. Add more if needed)

2 cups granulated sugar (I used ORGANIC sugar)

1.5 Tablespoons canning/pickling salt

This recipe yielded 5 - 8 oz jars.

Chop the tomatoes & peppers finely. (Since I have twin toddlers there was no way I was going to chop all those tomatoes. I put them in the food processor, in small batches, and it worked great!)

Dice onion. Put veggies in a large pot, add spices, salt, sugar & vinegar. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, stirring frequently, until relish cooks down & thickens. This should take about an hour & a half. Place hot relish in prepared jars.

Here are the instructions for water bath canning - straight from Granite-Ware's instruction manual, using a Granite Ware canner and jar rack:

Thoroughly wash lids, bands, and jars in hot sudsy water, rinse. Dry bands. Heat jars and lids in hot water [in the canning pot] prior to filling.

Fill hot jars with prepared recipe. Leave recommended headspace according to recipe [about 1/4" from top].

Wipe jar rims with a clean damp cloth. Position heated lid on jar with screw band.

Place each jar onto canner rack, prior to water reaching a boil, and lower rack. Water should be 1 to 2 inches over jar tops. Add additional hot water if needed. Cover canner. Start timing when water begins to boil [boil for about 10 minutes].

After processing, lift rack and hook over rim. Remove jars from canner with your jar lifter. Do not carry jars in canner rack Set jars on a towel to cool for 12 to 24 hours.

When jars are cool, test for a seal by pressing down on center of lid. If lid center does not flex up and down the lid is sealed. Store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Whew!

So, why am I posting a recipe for relish on my sewing blog? Look what I did with all the scraps of fabric and miles of ribbon I have!

I am also currently canning this summer's fruit harvest for Christmas gifts. I've already bought the Holiday fabric.

If you're not into spending all day in a hot kitchen this summer, why not fill a Ball jar with Epsom salt & add some flowers from your lavender bush (make sure you've dried them first) to make a relaxing salt bath gift.