Crunchy Country Sweet Pickles

This recipe comes from Eufaula Alabama.  Gail Carroll's mother Peggy Scott gave me this recipe after I raved about her sweet pickles ... she was a great Southern cook and could work magic in the kitchen.

No heating or sealing required ... you can make a 1/2 recipe if you like

Ingredients

 Pickling Cucumbers (about 20 to 24 lbs) 

2 lbs. plain or pickling salt (do not use iodized salt)

1 gallon white vinegar
6 oz powdered alum (buy it on the internet at myspicesage.com)
10 lbs. sugar
4 tablespoon pickling spices

Use whole medium size cucumbers, wash thoroughly.  In a 5 gallon plastic bucket or pottery crock; put enough cucumbers to come 3/4 full.  Dissolve 2 lbs plain salt in l gallon of water, pour over cucumbers.  Weight down and keep them covered, a washed rocks inside a glass pie plate does fine.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let stand in a dark cool place for 2 weeks (14 days).

Take cucumbers out, wash them, also the bucket.  Slice cucumbers about 1/2 inch thick and put back in the bucket.  Cover with alum water, about 6 oz alum to 1 gallon of water.  Weigh down, cover and let stand for 24 hours.

Take cucumbers out, rinse them and the bucket.  Put them back in the bucket and cover with 1 gallon of vinegar.  Let stand for 24 hours.

Next drain vinegar off cucumbers and discard all but 4 cups of vinegar.  Tie spices in a cloth and simmer gently (with lid on) in reserved vinegar for about 10 minutes.

Pour the 10 lbs of sugar and spice solution over the cucumbers, stir gently (use your hands ... it is the only way to get to the bottom of the bucket).  Stir once or twice a day for the next few days, leave in bucket until the sugar is completely dissolved and the juices are rising to the top. It is best to wait about a week before packing in jars.

Picles are done.  Sterilize jars in the dishwasher (I use canning jars, mayonnaise jars and spaghetti sauce jars), stir pickles one more time and tightly pack in jars adding enough syrup to cover pickles.  These don't have to heat sealed -- the last for a couple of years on the cupboard shelf.

Marcia’s Salsa for canning

        35-40 medium tomatoes

8 medium apples (different varieties for the best flavor)

4 green peppers

2 red peppers

6 cloves of garlic (crushed)

4 medium sweet onions

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup plain salt (no iodine)

1 cup vinegar

2 Tbsp. chili powder

3 tsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. oregano

5-7 chili peppers (use a variety of chilies, Pablano and Anaheim add great flavor)

5-7 jalapeño peppers

If you like hot salsa then do not core any of the chilies and peppers. If you like a milder salsa, remove the core and seeds on all the peppers and chilies...you can also cut the number of chilies and peppers for a milder salsa.

Course grind or fine chop all vegetables and apples. Put in a large stockpot. Add all the other ingredients. Boil for two hours, stirring often. Pour into hot sterile pint jars and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Lemon Curd (Microwave)

Lemon Curd 

1 cup sugar
3 eggs, large
1 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of 3 large lemons
1 stick butter (do not substitute), melted

 1 Grab a medium sized, microwave safe bowl, melt butter ... cool, add sugar and eggs and whisk until very smooth
2 Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice ... yummy
3 Pop in the microwave and cook, on high, for 2 minutes
4 Stir and cook for 1 minute, on high
5 Repeat step 4 until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. You can also us a candy thermometer to check the temp. Lemon Curd is the perfect consistency at 196F
6 When you’ve reached the perfect consistency, cover the mixture with cling wrap placed directly on the surface of the curd.
7 Refrigerate until set, a few hours.

 Wasn’t that simple ... makes about 2 1/4 Cups and is fabulous on toast, on top of ice cream, as a layer filling for cake, injected into cupcakes, or my favorite .... fresh berries, topped with lemon curd, topped with granola and whipped cream ...

Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

12 to 14 quarts or 24 to 28 pints

12 lbs ground meats (any combination of turkey, beef, bulk italian sausage)
2 cups red wine
3 cups chopped onions*
2 cups chopped celery or green peppers (but not both, 1/2 and 1/2 is ok)*
1 cup fine chopped carrots*
1 large head (not cloves) finely minced garlic
18 cups canned tomatoes with juice
18 cups canned tomato puree
7 cups tomato paste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oregano or italian spice mix
1/3 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon pepper
1/3 cup vinegar


1. Brown beef in a large stockpot, drain off excess fat, add red wine and bring to a boil.
2. Saute onions, celery until tender then add garlic cook another 2 minutes, add to stockpot.
3. Add remaining ingredients to stockpot, bring to boil and simmer uncovered until thick. Stir frequently to avoid burning.
4. If any fat remains in top, skim off and discard.
5. Pour hot spaghetti sauce into clean, hot pint or quart jars, leaving 1 inch headspace.
6. Adjust lids and bands.
7. Process in a pressure canner. Pints for 60 minutes. Quarts for 75 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.

*Do not increase the proportions of onions, peppers, carrots*

Spaghetti Sauce with Mushrooms

12 to 14 quarts or 24 to 28 pints


3 cups chopped onions*
2 cups chopped celery (or green peppers, but not both)*
1 cup fine chopped carrots*
3 lbs mushrooms sliced
1 large head (not cloves) finely minced garlic
2 cups red wine
18 cups canned tomatoes with juice
18 cups canned tomato puree
7 cups tomato paste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oregano or italian spice mix
1/3 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon pepper
1/3 cup vinegar

1. In a large stockpot add enough olive oil to saute onions, celery for 4 minutes, add mushroom and continue to cook vegetables until tender.
2. Add garlic cook another 2 minutes and red wine and bring to a boil.
3. Add remaining ingredients to stockpot, bring to boil and simmer uncovered until thick. Stir frequently to avoid burning.
4. If any fat floats to top, skim off and discard.
5. Pour hot spaghetti sauce into clean, hot pint or quart jars, leaving 1 inch headspace.
6. Adjust lids and bands.
7. Process in a pressure canner. Pints for 20 minutes. Quarts for 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.

*Do not increase the proportions of onions, peppers, carrots or mushrooms*