Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Last night was "pepper time" in my 1920s / 1960s / 2010s mishmash of a kitchen. In addition to the, chili, and jalapeno peppers, I also planted three each of sweet banana and salsa (hot!!) plants. They are doing unbelievably well this year. I put them right in the middle of all of the tomatoes in the "second" garden that has a very, very, small slope.

I have been able to pick a few bell peppers already this summer and have been watching the others grow like crazy. (I did put a little Miracle Gro-laced water on them when I planted them, but that is the only "chemical" help they have had). I decided yesterday that I better start picking before something else gets them.

Since I only have three tomatoes that are even close to be ripe, I can't make salsa or chili sauce. So I decided to chop and freeze the salsa peppers for a later use. (NOTE: WEAR GLOVES when you process hot peppers!)

I washed and removed the stems, seeds and white parts of the ribs and cut them into two inch pieces. I pulsed my little baby chopper until the pepper pieces were small enough to use in salsa or other recipes (a little goes a long way with these). I do not have a large food processor (although I would love one), so I chopped theses in three or four batches. Peppers do not need to be blanched before freezing. You can even freeze the little chili peppers whole if you like. I then spooned this into quart-size freezer bags, making sure to remove the air by rolling the bag before I sealed it. I like to flatten my bag out, evenly distributing the peppers. Some people like to freeze the chopped peppers in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer before bagging. I so not bother, because it is easy "break" off small chunks of the chopped goodness when needed.

Next were my sweet banana peppers. I washed, stemmed, and seeded these babies fairly quickly. (I didn't cough constantly like it did with the salsa peppers. No hot pepper spray in the air!) I then sliced them all into rings and set them aside. I gathered my canning supplies and put the canner full of water on to boil.

I tripled this recipe. It is my first time making these, but it has good reviews. It is simple enough, and I have high hopes for yummy pickled sweet peppers on my sandwiches this winter.

Hot Red Jalapeno Pepper Sauce

Yesterday, the auction was a bust so I left and went to a nearby outlet mall. I bought some of my favorite Estee Lauder perfume and some of hubs' favorite Starbuck's K-cups. Then I went home and started on canning some red jalapeno hot sauce. We had a bumper crop of peppers this year from all of the varieties of peppers that were planted, and I'm trying new ways to preserve them. (Later this week I'll post how I made the Christmas pepper jelly.)

The original recipe was for "red hot sauce" and it came from a Ball Canning book. I double it and made sauce a little runnier.....the recipe says to cook it to the consistency of ketchup, which didn't sound appealing too me.

Washing the pepper mix from the garden. I removed all of the red jalapenos for this recipe.

I cut off the stem end, split lengthwise, and scrape out seeds/membrane. I then chopped them up in my new Ninja mini chopper

Finished product! It is probably twice as much as I need but, I will have to find more ways to use it.

Peach Jam

Today, I made peach jam for the first time. This past winter I made orange-lemon marmalade for my hubs (those English love their marmalade) when the local grocery had a special on oranges. He really liked it, so I decided to use some of the peaches from one of our fruit trees for jam. It is really easy :)

I followed the recipe at my favorite food preserving site here "How to Make Peach/Nectarine Jam" As always, her recipe was foolproof. You need peaches, sugar, bottled lemon juice, fruit pectin (from your local grocery store or Wally World) and pint or half-pint canning jars with lids and rings (also at your local grocery or Wally World). I do not even bother with the half-pint jars myself....not worth the extra $$ for the amount of product you can put in one, and it usually doesn't take us too long to empty a pint of yummy. (She also has a recipe that uses Stevia/sugar instead of all sugar.)

I plan on making more, as I want to give a few jars away. Also, I plan on using it to make shortbread cookies and some type of dessert roll this fall and winter.

I also made tomato-basil soup for the freezer today. I'll post the directions for that in the next few days....it is sooooo good on a cold Saturday for lunch.

 Earlier this week I shucked, cut, and prepared sweet corn to freeze from our good friends' farm. I'll post their recipe and directions for how they (and now me) like to preserve it so it tastes great when you use it later in the year. I did 22 dozen last year, and it was delicious. This year I am doing less than half of that as I planted a lot more veggies this year than I did last.

Salsa

We had weekend guests Friday evening to Sunday, so I did not finish my back hall. However, I canned salsa before I mad the poppers on Friday. I do not know how it tastes later in the year after being "canned" a few months, so I am not going to post the recipe yet. I do know that it was very good right before it was ladled into the jars :)

On another note, I changed out the three light fixtures in the back hall and almost finished the trim touch up on the floor. Pics tomorrow....... (if my new photographer is available).

Canning Pizza Sauce

Yesterday, I made seven pints of homemade pizza sauce. It's a little bit of work, but goes quickly if you get organized before you start. I fill my canner with water, get all of my jars, lids, and tops (one extra than the recipe calls for just in case), bowls, etc., etc. out and ready before I peel one tomato.

This recipe called for 20 lbs. of tomatoes, any kind. I like to use mostly Roma when making sauces as they tend to be less watery. However, many of my Romas were zapped during our heat wave earlier this month. So, I used a variety of tomatoes from the garden.

I used the directions in this canning recipe. This lady does a great job with directions for preserving just about any kind of vegetable or fruit. She also lists local farms to pick you own or already picked. The home page is http://www.pickyourown.org

I used the recipe as it was written, including the salt. I used a little celery seed instead of the optional celery. If you decide to use this recipe, or any cooked tomato recipe for canning, do not be tempted to over season with onions, garlic, or fresh herbs...they can become bitter. I usually "tweak" the sauce when I get ready to use it. I have used it 'as is,' with a little sugar, canned tomato sauce, and meat over pasta, and with other fresh veggies cooked into it. But, it is a good base sauce....I used it last year and wish I had made more.