Summer Squash Pickles

I love gardening, although my focus is generally on what is edible.  Flowers inspire me, but if it comes down to a space choice of flower or vegetable, veggie wins every time.  I continue to learn about new things to grow that I would never have considered edible, but I still fall back on certain staples every year.  And that means I always run out of season before I run out of tomatoes of course, and last year rather than too much zucchini, I ended up with too much summer squash.

Always on the search for canning recipes for these - I found two that were really successful and want to share them.  The first is Summer Squash Pickles, and the second is a variation on Green Tomato Relish AKA (Chow Chow).  Apparently, it depends on what region of the country you come from as to which name you use, but more on that later.  For now I'll share the squash recipe.

I found this recipe on a website called The Old Farmer's Almanac:

Yield 6 pints

Ingredients
10 c thinly sliced summer squash (any combination will do)
2 c thinly sliced onions (I used white & red, but again, any/or a combination will do)
2 c thinly sliced green pepper (I actually used green & banana)
1 large jar of diced pimento (optional)
2/3 c salt

Soak squash, onions, peppers in 2 quarts water for 2 hours.  Drain.  (I added ice cubes to mine)

Syrup
3c sugar
2 c apple cider vinegar
2 t celery seed
2 t mustard seed

Combine syrup ingredients and bring to a boil.  Drop drained vegetables and pimento into the syrup but don't cook.  Mix well.  Put in hot sterilized jars and cover with syrup.  Process in water bath for 15 minutes.

This is a wonderful pickle - crispy and lightly sweet with a spicy flavor.  The options of mixing the types of squash, onions, and peppers make it a great opportunity for cleaning up the garden and changing up the recipe!