Zucchini Relish made with vegetable scraps

Summer is coming to an end - not that Melbourne had much of a summer. It was cooler than past summers. There were long days of cloud filled skies and more rain than usual. I think my vegetables were a little confused. While my harvest was not as robust compared to past summers, I did grow a fair few zucchini, tomatoes and capsicum. 

During a recent talk, I shared how I make the most, of all the vegetables that pass through my kitchen. Whether they were grown by myself, friends or the farmers from the market. I try to add as little to my compost bin. That's hard earned dollars and time!

In time past, I would have thrown all vegetable scraps into my bin for landfill. Then I started composting, so the scraps went into that instead. With each practice, I was throwing away valuable bits of the vegetables. These days I have jars of cut up vegetable scraps in my freezer. 

Here is a photo on the left of the type of scraps I use to toss - ends of zucchini, tops of carrots, ends of onions and tomatoes. Now I chop these up into tiny pieces, pop them into in glass jars and store in the freezer. I then use them for making jars of zucchini relish at the end of summer and for soups or stocks in winter. 

Zucchini Relish made with vegetable scraps

I will admit, chopping these little bits into, well, smaller bits, does take up an extra 10 minutes but doing this helps me save money. I don't need to go and buy an extra vegetable to make relish, chutney or stocks later in winter. Because I eat with the seasons, I'm generally eating the same vegetables constantly for a couple months and it does not take to many weeks for my jars to fill up with the ingredients. Last week I had enough stored scraps to make my zucchini relish, that I may now enjoy through autumn and winter. 

Zucchini Relish made with vegetable scraps

Zucchini Relish made with vegetable scraps 
(Makes two 500ml jars)

Ingredients

250g zucchini
200g red capsicum
150g onions
150g celery stick
500g tomatoes
1/8 cup cooking salt
3/4 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1/8 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons ground mustard
1 tablespoon curry powder

How to put it together
Combine zucchini, celery, capsicum and onion in a bowl, stir in salt and cover over night.

Next day drain water from vegetables and rinse well under cold water.

Combine vegetables, chopped tomatoes and vinegar in a large pot. Bring to boil and cover, letting simmer for 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Add sugar to pot, stir over gentle heat until sugar is all dissolved, let cool.

Blend water and tapioca flour. Add to the pan with mustard and curry powder.

Bring to boil and simmer covered for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Let cool, then pour into sterilised jars.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, this looks so delicious! I'm always looking for ways to use up veggie scraps, so I'll bookmark this for the future. Also, if you have other scraps, I shared a few ideas of things to do with them: http://www.litterless.co/journal/vegetableends Looking forward to hearing more of yours! Warmly, Celia

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for sharing your own ideas!!! I will have to use some of these. The infused water is a great idea. The Builder loves to do this.

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