Putting the Summer in Jars
Another canning season is slowly nearing completion. Even though the garden has been far from its best this year, it's been a highly productive year for canning.
I didn't do plain canned tomatoes this year. Either I got a little crazy last year and canned too many, or I just didn't cook much this past year (actually the more plausible of the possible reasons). At any rate, I still have more than a case of pints of tomatoes from last year.
That didn't stop me from still going through more than 100# of roma tomatoes all the same. Homemade tomato sauce has become a necessity for many years now and my homemade salsa even more so. Last year those necessities were joined by homemade ketchup and chili sauce. They're necessities now, too, and batches of both of those joined the salsa and tomato sauce on the shelves this year as well as this year's new comer---BBQ sauce. That just might become the newest cupboard necessity. It seemed a little hot at first, but it mellowed nicely.
I may try my hand at a beer mustard before I declare the condiment cupboard full for the year. We'll see. Also have a recipe for a cranberry
Oh, I almost forgot. I made a Vidalia Onion Maple Conserve that I found in a canning "special edition" Better Homes and Gardens book, too, but now that it's made I'm too nervous to actually eat it. It's made with both olive oil and butter. Worried about both rancidity from the butter and botulism. If you never hear from me again, you'll know I finally ate it---and that it wasn't a good idea. Still, imagine it with goat cheese on some of the baquette from the pastissierie (sp) at Eastern Market toasted. Yum!
So far I've only put up a couple types of jam/jelly this year. I did a batch of family favorite Strawberry Blackberry, and a couple batches of White Balsamic Strawberry. Still have Jalepeno Jelly and Maple Apple Jam to do. If my Zavory chilis ever ripen I'm going to turn them into jelly, too.
My brother called the other day to tell me he'd been sharing my jam with his buddies at Bellacino's. They're all spreading it on fresh sub rolls hot out of the oven---like you could possibly go wrong spreading anything on hot bread fresh from the oven. I guess the one guy said I need to package and sell my jams. The other one told Wes if I was single he'd marry me in a heartbeat. LOL! Everybody needs strokes now and again.
I put up peaches for the first time in several years. I didn't have the best of luck with peeling this year, so so of them look a little raggedy, but they're going to taste just as good. When I went to pick strawberries this year I was possessed with the urge to also pick the ripe sweet cherries teasing me on my way back to the scale house. Yeah, what do you do with sweet cherries aside from eating them out of hand? I pulled out the unopend bottle of brandy that someone gave us a few years ago, and canned up a bunch of Brandied Cherries. Wow! Or maybe I should say "Pow!". Going to do both plain and cinnamon applesauce yet.
And of course, there must be pickles! I've done several batches of Dilly Beans as I pick enough beans for a batch. Have plenty for eating and giving away. We planted cauliflower this year, and I turned some of that into pickles. Seriously. Having finally discovered last year that I actually do like Bread & Butter Pickles I put up another batch of them up this year, British style which are a bit different than the ones most people are familiar with.
My big pickle ta-dah, though, is the Pickled Roasted Red Peppers. They look so pretty and the brine is so interesting with wine in it. I'm tempted to crack open a jar really soon to see if they're as good as I've been imagining. That way I can tell if I need to find some more red bells before the season is up.
So, that's the canning season wrap up....I think. Cranberries will be available soon....