CHOW-CHOW

Take pickles, cauliflower, beans, little onions and a few green and red peppers. Cut all up fine, except the onions; salt well overnight, drain off next morning and put in a large jar. Now mix one gallon or more of best pickling vinegar with a pound of ground mustard (wet the mustard with cold water before using). Put in a bag the following spices: Cloves, whole peppers and mustard seed. Boil the vinegar and spices and then throw over pickles boiling. Add a tablespoon of curry powder, and when cold tie up, having previously put a cloth with mustard seed over all.

CUc.u.mBERS IN OIL

One hundred medium-sized cuc.u.mbers, sliced thin lengthwise, add one pint salt, let stand overnight, drain thoroughly in morning, add two pints of sliced onions, then add dressing, consisting of four tablespoons of black mustard seed, four of white mustard seed, two of celery seed, one-half pint of best olive oil, one-half pint of white vinegar. Put cuc.u.mbers and onions into this, add one teaspoon of powdered alum, dissolved in a little warm water, add enough vinegar to cover it well, let stand three weeks before using.

SWEET PICKLES

Soak five hundred tiny cuc.u.mbers in salt water for twenty-four hours, using one-half of a cup of salt to four quarts of water. Drain, pour hot water over them and drain very dry. Take two ounces of cloves, heads removed, four sticks cinnamon; tie these spices in a bag and heat with three pounds of brown sugar and one pint of cider vinegar slowly, nearly to the boiling-point, add the pickles and remove from the stove. Put in gla.s.s jars and cover with vinegar.

MIXED PICKLES

Wash one quart of large cuc.u.mbers, cut in cubes, one quart of small cuc.u.mbers left whole, one quart small silver-skinned onions, one quart small green tomatoes chopped coa.r.s.e, two red peppers chopped fine, one large cauliflower broken in small pieces; pour over them a weak brine solution made of one quart of water and a cup of salt. Let stand twenty-four hours; bring to a boil in same solution, drain and make the dressing.

*Mixed Pickle Dressing.*--Mix six tablespoons of mustard, one tablespoon of turmeric, one cup of flour, two cups of sugar and two quarts of vinegar. These ingredients must be thoroughly mixed and then cooked until thick. Stir in the pickles; heat thoroughly; empty into gla.s.s jars and stand away until needed.

PICKLED CAULIFLOWER

Separate flowerettes of four heads of cauliflower, add one cup of salt, and let stand overnight. Place in colander, rinse with cold water and let drain. Tie one-quarter of a cup of mixed pickle spices in a thin bag and boil with two quarts of vinegar and two cups of sugar, throw in the cauliflower, boil a few minutes and pour to over flowing in wide-mouthed bottles or cans. Cork or cover and seal airtight.

PICKLED BEANS

Remove the strings and cut one pint of wax beans into one inch pieces; wash and cook in boiling salt water (one teaspoon of salt to one quart of water), until tender, but not soft. Drain beans and save the water in which they were cooked. Reserve enough of this bean liquor to fill cans, add one-half cup of sugar and one cup of vinegar, let just cook up add the drained beans, cook all together and pour boiling hot into the cans.

Seal at once. Use as a salad or sweet sour vegetable.

PICKLED ONIONS

Pour hot salt water over the onions, which should be small and perfectly white. Peel them with a silver spoon (a knife would injure their color), and let them lay in a salt brine for two days. Then drain the onions and boil enough vinegar to cover them. Throw the onions in the boiling vinegar and let them boil only a few minutes. Take from the fire and lay them in gla.s.s jars, with alternate layers of whole white peppercorns and a few cloves (removing the soft heads, which would turn the onions black), a stick of horseradish sliced, and mustard seed and dill (used sparingly). When the jars are filled heat the vinegar and add a cup of sugar to a gallon of vinegar. Cover the jars to overflowing with the vinegar, and seal while hot.

GREEN TOMATO PICKLE (FRENCH PICKLE)

Wash thoroughly a peck of green tomatoes, eight large white onions and six green-bell peppers. Remove the seeds from the peppers. Slice all the vegetables very thin. Put them in a stone jar; sprinkle a pint of salt over them, add a pint of cold water. Cover them with a napkin and let stand overnight.

In the morning put as much of the pickle as it will hold in a colander; let cold water run over; drain the vegetables a moment, then turn them from the colander into a large preserving kettle. Repeat the process till all are in the kettle. Then add a quart of cider vinegar, a half pint of tarragon vinegar, a pound of granulated sugar, a half pound of yellow mustard seeds, four bay leaves, an ounce of stick cinnamon (broken in short lengths), six whole cloves and stand the kettle over a slow fire and let the whole simmer for an hour with the cover of the kettle drawn back two inches. Stir the mixture frequently. At the end of the hour put the pickle in a stone crock or in gla.s.s jars.

PEPPER MANGOES

Take large green peppers; extract the seeds and core with a penknife, being careful not to break the peppers. Chop up one head of cabbage after boiling it in salt water. When cold add one cup of mustard seed, two tablespoons of grated horseradish, one nutmeg grated, one clove of garlic grated, a pinch of ground ginger, one dozen whole peppercorns, half a tablespoon of prepared mustard, one teaspoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of best salad oil. Lay the peppers in strong salt brine for three days; then drain off the brine and lay them in fresh water for twenty-four hours. Fill the peppers with the above mixture, sew or tie them up with strong thread, pack them in a large stone jar and pour scalding vinegar over them. Repeat this process three times more, at intervals of three days. Then tie up the jar and set it away in a cool, dry place for three months.

PICCALILLI

Take one-half peck of green tomatoes, three red peppers, chopped; put in one cup of salt. Let stand overnight, then strain off the water. Five chopped onions, one pound of brown sugar, one-quarter ounce of allspice, and whole cloves put in a bag; one bunch of celery, one-half ounce of mustard seed. Cover with vinegar and boil three hours.

PREPARED MUSTARD

Rub together one teaspoon of sugar, saltspoon of fine salt and one tablespoon of best salad oil. Do this thoroughly. Mix two tablespoons of ground mustard with vinegar enough to thin it. Then add to the mixture of sugar, and if too thick, add a little boiling water.

BEET AND HORSERADISH RELISH

Take three cups of cold, boiled beets, grate and add one-half cup of grated horseradish; season with one-quarter teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar. Add all the vinegar the horseradish and beets will absorb, and place in covered jar or gla.s.s and it is ready for use. Will keep a long time.

CABBAGE, BEET AND HORSERADISH RELISH

Take two quarts of boiled beets chopped, two quarts of cabbage chopped, one cup of grated horseradish, mix with two cups of sugar and two teaspoons of salt, add cold vinegar to cover, and place in gallon jar.

PICKLED BEETS

Take two pounds of cold, boiled beets, slice, place in crock in layers, sprinkle with one teaspoon of salt, one-eighth teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of brown sugar, one teaspoon of caraway seed, if you like, and cover with one pint of vinegar.

Cold, hard-boiled eggs may be placed in the vinegar, and sliced over the beets for decorations. The eggs will be red.

PICKLED RED CABBAGE (HUNGARIAN STYLE)

Select a medium-size, very hard head of red cabbage. Remove the outer leaves and cut the stalk off close to the head. Then cut the cabbage in quarters and take out the heart close to the leaves.

With a very sharp, thin-bladed knife cut the cabbage in shreds as fine as possible.

After the cabbage is all finely cut let cold water run over it through a colander; put the cabbage in a big kitchen bowl or a stone-crock in layers about two inches thick.

Over each layer place two or three thin slices of red onions, and sprinkle about four generous tablespoons of salt. Repeat this process till all the sliced cabbage is in the jar or bowl. Let the last layer be one of salt.

Pour a pint of cold water over this. Cover it with a plate that fits closely and lay a weight of some sort on the plate and stand the bowl in a cool place overnight.

In the morning pour the cabbage, brine and all, in a large colander to drain; let the cold water from the tap run over it for about five minutes; then return the cabbage to the receptacle in which it was salted.

A stone-crock is really the best, as the cabbage will keep in it all winter. In a kettle or saucepan over the fire add a pint of good cider vinegar, a gill of tarragon vinegar, a half pint of cold water, a half pound of granulated sugar, four bay leaves, a level tablespoon of allspice, a teaspoon of peppercorns and three ounces of stick cinnamon broken in half-inch pieces.

Let this all boil one minute and while boiling hot pour it over the cabbage in the jar; place the plate which should be of porcelain, over it; then put the cover of the jar on and let this stand for twenty-four hours. Then pour off the vinegar, heat it again till it just boils, pour it over the cabbage, cover it and put it in a cool place. It will keep in perfect condition all winter, and is one of the most delicious relishes known.

SAUERKRAUT