Readers fill requests for jelly, relishes

The Labor Day weekend was a fun-filled and jam-packed weekend for our family. Of course many things we did revolved around food. After spending a day at the air show in St. Louis and seeing the Blue Angels perform, we headed back to Cape to enjoy a fresh homemade pork sausage supper with the John and Jill Peters family and friends on Sunday afternoon. They butchered the hog earlier in the week and made up the sausage and put it into casings, then it was smoked fresh just before eating on Sunday evening. Now that was really fine eating! Janet Schuessler of Frohna, Mo., responded to the request for frozen cucumber and onions. She hopes this is just the recipe we were looking for to fill the request.

Frozen Cucumber Salad

2 quarts cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin

2 tablespoons salt

1 large onion, chopped

Refrigerate in covered container for 24 hours. Drain.

Add:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

Refrigerate for another 24 hours.

Put into freezer containers and freeze. When you want a fresh salad, thaw and enjoy.

Mabel Blattel of Cape Girardeau shares her recipe for zucchini relish in response to a recent request. As with all of these canned items, you will need to process them according to your canning instruction manual or as you are accustomed to doing so.

Tasty Zucchini Relish

10 cups ground zucchini

3 cups ground onion

5 tablespoons salt

5 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups vinegar

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed, optional

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 chopped green bell peppers

1 chopped red bell pepper

Sprinkle the salt over the ground zucchini and ground onion. Let stand overnight, drain, rinse with cold water, drain. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer 30 minutes, put in sterilized jars and seal. Makes approximately 6 pints.

Pepper Jelly

Makes approximately 8 cups.

2 cups chopped red and green peppers

1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapeño

2 cups peach or apple juice

1 cup vinegar

1 package Surejell

6 cups sugar

Simmer peppers and Surejell and juice and vinegar for 5 minutes. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and hard boil 1 minute. Makes about eight 8-ounce jars. This is great served as a topping to a cracker with cream cheese on it. It can also be used as a glaze for pork or chicken.

Darlene Williams of my own neighborhood says this is delicious, easy and as good as if it were cooked in a kettle outside.

Kettle Cooked Beef

3 to 4 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes (can be easily cut by partially freezing meat or have your butcher cut meat for you)

1 large onion, sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup flour

The recipe calls for a 9-by-13-inch baking dish but Darlene uses a large deep Corning Ware dish. Place meat cubes into bottom of dish and arrange onion slices on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle 1/4 cup flour on top. Add water to make 1/2 inch of liquid in the bottom of dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until meat looks brown. Stir for the first time and add additional water, if necessary. Total baking time varies, but usually about 2 hours to get a beef dish tasting like real country kettle beef, without the work involved. For a darker color you can add a little Kitchen Bouquet.

If you use a deep enough dish you can easily double this for more people.

A "C.M." of Jackson sent a couple of her favorite recipes for the relish and the freezer pickles.

Zucchini Relish

12 cups grated zucchini

4 cups grated onion

1 bell pepper

1 hot pepper, optional

1 jar (6 ounces) pimiento

Mix all together with 1 tablespoon salt. Cover with ice and let set for 4 to 5 hours. Rinse and squeeze out moisture. Set aside.

Bring to a boil the following ingredients:

2 1/2 cups vinegar

2 1/2 teaspoons celery seed

2 teaspoons pickling spice in a bag

1 teaspoon turmeric

5 cups sugar

Add zucchini. Boil 5 minutes. Put in sterilized jars and seal. Hot water bath as required. Makes 3 quarts.

Freezer Pickles

Chop:

6 pounds cucumbers

2 pounds onions

2 pounds green peppers

1 large bunch celery

Heat to a boil:

6 cups sugar

4 cups vinegar

1/4 cup pickling spices

Cover vegetables with syrup and let stand overnight. Put in containers and freeze.

Carol Blue of Cape Girardeau responds to the same requests.

Zucchini Relish

The night before, grind:

10 cups zucchini

4 cups onions

Add 5 tablespoons salt. Mix and refrigerate overnight. Drain and rinse very well with cold water.

Place in a large kettle with:

2 1/4 cups cider vinegar

6 cups sugar

1 tablespoon turmeric

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 tablespoon dry mustard

2 teaspoons celery seed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

Cook 30 minutes and seal in sterilized jars. Process as necessary.

Freezer Pickles

2 quarts fresh cucumbers, sliced very thin

1 large onion, sliced very thin

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons salt. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Drain well.

Mix:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

Pour over drained cucumbers. Refrigerate 24 hours. Put in containers and freeze. Refrigerate after thawing.

I still have many more recipes for the relishes and freezer pickles that readers have sent in, and if you would like them, please drop me a line and I will get them to you.

I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day holiday weekend and until next week, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.