Saturday was pickle relish day.  After picking some large cucumbers at a friends house and then at my house I decided to can some pickle relish.  My peppers were ready, the banana pepper plant was heavy with peppers and the Orange Globe peppers were bright orange and ready to be picked.  I pulled a few onions from our garden and was ready to get started.  I used the recipe from the  Preserving the Harvest book for Sweet Pickle Relish.

3 qts cucumbers, scrubbed and chopped                                 

3 c banana peppers, seeded and chopped

3 c orange ball peppers, seeded and chopped

1 c onions, chopped

8 c water

4 c ice cubes

3/4 c salt

4 t ground turmeric

4 t yellow mustard seeds

4 t whole allspice

6 c distilled white vinegar

2 c raw sugar

In a 12 qt saucepan or bowl, combine the vegetables, water, ice and salt; let stand for 4 hours.  Drain and recover with fresh ice water  for 1 more hour.  Drain thoroughly.  Use a food processor to chop the vegetables then put back in bowl.

Combine the spices in a cheesecloth bag.  Place the spice bag, vinegar, and sugar in a 4 qt saucepan and heat to boiling.  Pour the vinegar syrup over the vegetable and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Heat the mixture to boiling and ladle into sterile jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head-space.  Cap and seal.  Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water-bath canner.

(Makes nine 1-pint jars)