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Our third and final #PGMinseason winner, Jenna of Jenna Rose Textiles had a winning submission that our panel, and us, loved for its ability to capture the preservation of summer's bounty in a simple and relatable way. The image of herbs drying in the window and a plethora of mason jars nearby had us dreaming about what exactly was going on in that kitchen! If you were wondering yourself, we have the answer for you here, with Jenna's recipe for Hot Cumin-Pickled Summer Squash.

A sincere and heartfelt thank you to our two other winners, My Blue and White Kitchen and Mila's Deli for their wonderful contribitions as well!

Our kitchen is a busy place this time of year as we preserve our garden’s bounty. There is a constant rotation of fresh herbs being hung and dried in the breezy window and many evenings are spent over the canning pot.

I clip the herbs when the plants are full grown, just before they flower. After washing and patting them dry, they’re tied in small bundles and hung until they are fully air-dried. The length of time varies depending on the herb, but I usually take them down within a few days and store them in mason jars. My favorite is Pineapple Mint, which makes a really nice tea.

When zucchini is plentiful, our go to recipe for preserving them is Liana Krissoff’s ‘Hot Cumin-Pickled Summer Squash’ from her book, Canning For a New Generation. It’s a very flavorful pickle and our favorite way to preserve the abundance of this prolific producer.

Hot Cumin-Pickled Summer Squash

By Lianna Krissoff, from Canning For a New Generation
Makes about 6 pint jars


Ingredients

• 4 pounds yellow summer squash or zucchini
• 8 pounces sweet onion (about 1 medium)
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon pure kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 6 cups cider vinegar (5% acidity)
• 2 tablespoons mild honey
• 7 cloves garlic
• 7 small fresh serrano chiles

Scrub the squash and cut it into ¼ inch rounds. Cut the onion in half lengthwise and thinly slice it into half-circles. Put the squash and onion in a large bowl and sprinkle with the ¼ cup salt, tossing to combine. Cover with a layer of ice cubes and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Pick out any un-melted ice, drain well, and rinse under cold running water. Toss with the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, and ground cumin and set aside.

Prepare water bath for canning.

Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.

Working quickly, pack the squash, onion, garlic, and chiles into the jars (not too tightly). Ladle the hot vinegar mixture into the jars, leaving ½ inch head space at the top. Use a chopstick to remove the air bubbles around the inside of each jar. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it’s just finger-tight. Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil for 15 minutes to process. Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each; if it can be pushed down, it hasn’t sealed, and the jar should be refrigerated immediately. Label the sealed jars and store.