Yearly Traditions

Brunswick Stew and Chopped Bar-B-Que

Does your family have any yearly traditions that you enjoy, or don’t enjoy, at this time of year? Here in North Carolina it is Brunswick Stew and chopped Bar-B-Que for us the first week of December. My daughter’s in-laws and a couple of their friends are the cooks with several weeks of advance preparation. Chickens and pork roasts are cooked, de-boned, shredded and frozen; sweet corn from their garden is cut from the cob, bagged and saved for the stew; and butter beans from their garden frozen and saved. On the big day potatoes and onions are cooked and mashed ready to add to stew. Hot pepper flakes, salt, and pepper added. It has to be a lot of tiring work, but I have only been on the clean-up crew! Mr. Blalock’s mother and her neighbor used to make the stew, along with the older kids’ help. She was a great cook.

The men cooked the pork for the bar-b-que and then chopped it. We had Jamie’s husband, Jeff’s, homemade vinegar-based sauce. Their youngest daughter helped them all morning, even taking a few pictures for me.

 It was very, very cold today, and everything was done indoors. Payton started getting ready for Christmas!

I love all the Winter traditions here in North Carolina!

Sweet Pickles

From AMERICA'S BEST

Vegetable Recipes

Selected and tested by the

Food Editors of FARM JOURNAL

Copyright 1970 by Farm Journal, Inc.

The most fragrant cooking this side of the moon - that's the way one home economist in out Test Kitchens described pickle-making. Farm home-makers agree.

Aristocratic Pickles are a favorite of a Nebraska farmer's wife, who makes them when the cucumber crop is good.

ARISTOCRATIC PICKLES

Very crisp; sweet, sliced pickle has excellent flavor and appearance.

2 c. pickling salt 

4 qts. Water

4 qts. Thinly sliced cucumbers (4 to 5" in length)

1 Tblsp. Powdered alum

1 Tblsp. Ground ginger

2 c. White vinegar

2 c. Water

6 c. Sugar

1 stick cinnamon 

1 tsp. Whole cloves

1 tsp. Celery seeds

1/2 tsp. Whole allspice

Dissolve salt in 4 qts. of water; add cucumbers. Let stand 8 days in stone crock, glass, pottery or enamel-lined pan (should no t be chipped.)

On the ninth day, drain well. Add fresh unsalted water to cover; add alum. Simmer 30 minutes.

Drain well. Add fresh unsalted water to cover; add ginger. Simmer again 30 minutes. Drain well.

Mix vinegar, 2 c. water, sugar and spices (tie spices in cloth bag). Add cucumbers and simmer again until Pickles are clear. Pack in hot, sterilized jars; seal. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes about 6 pints.

SWEET GREEN PICKLES

Good with hamburgers or roast meat

3 c. pickling salt

6 qts. water

30 whole pickling cucumbers (3 to 4" in length)

5 c. white vinegar

10 c. sugar

2 1/2 Tblsp. powdered alum

1 1/4 tsp. whole cloves

2 1/2 sticks cinnamon 

Add salt to water; bring to boil. Pour over cucumbers in stone crock. Weight down with plate. Let stand 8 to 10 days. Rinse well in fresh unsalted water. Slice Pickles; rinse again. Let stand in fresh unsalted water 1 hour. Drain.

Combine remaining ingredients (tie spices in cloth bag); bring to boil. Pour over cucumbers; cover and let stand 24 hours.

Drain syrup; bring syrup to boil, pour over cucumbers. Let stand 24 hours. Repeat this process for a total of 3 mornings.

On fourth morning, drain Pickles, reserving syrup. Pack Pickles in hot, sterilized pint jars. Bring syrup to boil. Add green food color, if you wish. Pour hot syrup over Pickles jars; seal. Process 10 minutes

In boiling water bath. Makes about 6 pints.

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Grandma Mildred's Bread and Butter Pickles

Bobby's Favorite Pickle

4 quarts sliced medium cucumbers
6 medium sliced white onions
2 green bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup course/medium pickling salt
5 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
2 tablespoons mustard seed
3 cups cider vinegar

Wash cucumbers, but do not pare. Slice thin. Add onions, bell pepper, and whole garlic cloves. Add salt and cover with cracked ice. Let stand in refrigerator for 3 hours. Mix thoroughly, rinse and drain.

Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Place cucumber mixture into boiling mixture. Bring back up to a boil and then remove from heat. Seal in hot sterilized jars. Makes 8 pints.

Ann's Squash Relish

A great way to use all that yellow squash from the garden!

Ann writes: "I am including this recipe especially for my dear brother-in-law, Bob Shubert. He just loves squash - any way you fix it! Ginger Shubert Snider, who probably doesn't remember this since she was only two years old at the time, helped me make my very first batch of squash relish over 20 years ago. I wanted to make sure she knew how to make it for her grandpa some day!

Now, I guess to keep the story straight for anybody who doesn't know - truth of the matter is that Bobby cannot stand the taste of squash - no matter how you fix it! I pulled a real sneaky on him once, and put squash relish in my potato salad, which he dearly loves, and never made him the wiser until he had finished with two big helpings!"

2 cups yellow squash, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup sweet green pepper, chopped 

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons salt

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 cup apple cidar vinegar

2 teaspoons celery seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed

Combine squash, onion, and peppers. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let stand for 2 hours. Drain vegetables, pressing out liquid. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at the top. Adjust caps and process 10 minutes in boiling water bath. I use food processor to chop vegetables.

Niece Sommer was Busy Making

35 jars homemade dill pickles in Texas! Granny Mildred's recipe!!

Recipe found here: 

http://foodgratitude.blogspot.com/2008/06/quick-dill-pickles.html

Maureen's Memere's Recipe

Maureen's Family Recipe View this email in your browser

Free Family Recipe Dear Judith, Yesterday, due to a software application glitch we had several people with difficulty accessing my grandmother's recipe. So, I wanted to send it out to you again today with an updated link. I hope you enjoy the recipe. In celebration of Mother's Day and all families everywhere, several of this month's blog posts and the photos shared from my library revolve around food. Our food stories are part of the glue that binds us together with our past. I have created a special giveaway for this month, a recipe from my grandmother. I found a partially handwritten recipe in my grandmother’s cookbook, a family heirloom.  There were no directions on oven temperature or on the size of the box of raisins/baking pan dimensions. I had no idea how long it would take to bake.   It’s a dense cake that’s dairy-free and can be made gluten-free.  You can download both the recipes here. Happy May, I hope to see you! Maureen