OMG! Fall is already here, I can’t believe this year is already three quarters of the way over.
It seems just like yesterday that it was snowing. I detest winter more every year. The neighbor has been cleaning off his garden and brought me more bounties to preserve. I now have beets, beans, peppers and onions to work up. Momma said, “Use everything you can, just let your imagination flow and work your magic – something good will come out of those jars this winter.”
I have a recipe that sounds good for onion and pepper relish that I will share with you this week. The beets will be pickled, the beans will be shelled and canned and I think that will take care of most of what I have now.
I have had to wait to get my newest baby she is still nursing and has a bit of a runny nose. The lady at the shelter said maybe next week if they can get her to start on solid food, I can’t wait. I haven’t even gone to the shelter to see what she looks like yet. I will talk to the boss and see if I can get a picture of her in one of my upcoming articles.
Well, it is Friday and I have procrastinated until the last minute this week doing my article. We have been very busy and I just keep putting it off. But now we are down to crunch time and I am about finished. This brings another time when I can hear my mother’s voice. Momma said, “Don’t put things off, if you have a job to do, do and get it done then you can mess around.”
I hope everyone out there is getting ready for the changing of the seasons and watching Mother Nature get fired up with the landscape paint. I won’t be long before the gold, reds, brown and yellows are at their peak. For me, I will enjoy the green as long as possible.
Onion and Pepper Relish
5 – 14.5 oz. cans chopped tomatoes (drained)
6 bell peppers (seeds and ribs removed) (I used two each of red, yellow and green)
6 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
6 jalapeno peppers with seeds and ribs removed (a spoon does this easily)
3 medium onions
2 cups white vinegar
2 small boxes powdered pectin (1.75 oz)
1. First chop all vegetables. It goes together very easily once all the chopping is done. To make this quicker I used a food processor.
2. Mix everything together, except the pectin, in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour. Add in the pectin and boil for 1 minute.
3. Pour relish into hot sterilized half pint jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head room. I needed 13 half pint jars.
4. Place lids and rings on jars. Process jars by placing them in a large pot of water. Water level should be an inch over jars. Boil for 15 minutes. Carefully remove jars from water and allow to cool. You know jars are sealed when there is no give in the lid.
I plan to attach a tag to mine that says, “For an easy dip, mix jar contents with 2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese and serve with corn chip scoopers.”
