Silly Dilly Piccalilli

Nothing wasted

After the frost scare, all those green lovelies have to find a new life.

My mom used to choose the biggest and best and wrap them in newspapers.

Shed tuck them in an old breadbox (one I never saw actually used for bread!)

and check them every week.

Slowly they would ripen, and they tasted just like they were picked from the vine.

Some years, we even had them on Thanksgiving.

We also used green tomatoes in our obligatory batch of mincemeat for pies and filled cookies during the holidays.

The making of the mincemeat was not so much about having mincemeat but rather the making of it together.

I used a purple onion and a yellow, and substituted poblanos for the green peppers she used.

I also add fennel seed and tuck a little star anise in each jar.

Mom used white vinegar, but I prefer the flavor of the cider vinegar.

Piccalilli travelled a long way to get to our Vermont kitchens.

Makes 5 pints or 10 cup jelly jars

Prep the vegetables.

Slice the tomatoes and remove any pulpy, seedy areas.

Cut the yellow onion in half at the equator, then slice thinly.

Dice the purple onion.

Place the tomatoes and onionsin a large bowl and sprinkle the salt over, then mix it up.

In the photos below the vegetables had only set for an hour!

While the onions and tomatoes process, assemble the rest of your ingredients.

Dice the peppers and carrots and set aside.

Immediately remove from the burner and add the water.

Mix well, and place over medium high heat until it comes to a simmer.

Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, until everything is tender.

Place in canning jarsyou have scrubbed in hot sudsy water and rinsed well.

Wipe the rims clean and add the lids and rings.

Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes, remove from the pot, and let set overnight.

The next day, confirm the jars have sealed.