Canning thread

[lukem]

Zucchini Relish

10-12 C grated zucs
2 C chopped green pepper
4 C chopped onion
1 C chopped red pepper

5 T salt
5-6 C sugar
1/2 t alum
1 t tumeric
1 t dry mustard
2.5 C cider vinegar
2 T cornstarch

Mix veggies and salt and let stand overnight. Next morning cover with water and drain...don't rinse just drain. Mix in remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes. Pack and process 5 minutes.

 

[save$]

We over did it last year with all the relish. I found a recipie in my mother's things that came from my Nana. I don't know why, but it taste even better this year than it did last fall when we first made it.

 

[save$]

Zucchini Relish

10-12 C grated zucs
2 C chopped green pepper
4 C chopped onion
1 C chopped red pepper

5 T salt
5-6 C sugar
1/2 t alum
1 t tumeric
1 t dry mustard
2.5 C cider vinegar
2 T cornstarch

Mix veggies and salt and let stand overnight. Next morning cover with water and drain...don't rinse just drain. Mix in remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes. Pack and process 5 minutes.

Thanks for sharing, but hope you don't mind my confusion, process? hot water bath? Pressure cooker? Why I am asking is I never knew of adding constarch, but willing to learn anything I can about good tasting food.

 

[lukem]

Water bath. No clue on cornstarch. Probably to thicken it up some.

 

[Jags]

Printed. Thanks for that.

 

[firebroad]

Made eight pints of whole, sweet--spicy gherkins last night. Had two cukes left, sliced them and put them in last years pickle juice.
Did a few jars of beets before the critters found the patch, and I almost have enough green beans to put up.
Don't do as much, now that I am solo, but the relatives like the homemade goodies.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Well, not canning, but here's this year's garlic

 

[lukem]

I picked my garlic and onions yesterday. Didn't get nearly that much garlic but I have a pile of onions. First year planting garlic. Not sure why because it is gooood and easy.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

Roast it! Take the whole head, trim the end to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, put on a cookie sheet or muffin tin and roast about 30 mins at 425. I pop the cloves out and smash them up a little into snack size baggies and put them in the freezer. When I want some, I just break off a piece and throw it in whatever I'm cooking. I always do a lot at a time in the fall as I bake bread almost everyday once the warm weather breaks and there is NOTHING like warm bread smeared with roasted garlic...YUM!

 

[save$]

Got summer squash and a few tomatoes. No too bad since I didn't plant until Father's Day. Rained most of June, then too hot and humid to do much of anything. Still need to hill the potatoes before the tops fall over.

 

[Hearth Mistress]

I'm full of zucchini, the summer squash has a lot of flowers but all male, only a few female so far to grow to squash. We also had a lot of luck so far with Kentucky Pole beans and Asparagus beans (if you never grew them, they are fun, suckers grow a few feet long!) I have tomatoes but they are still green, the peppers aren't ready to pick either. I have 4 eggplant plants but nothing on them yet, still waiting on the beets too.

We planted Mother's day weekend and thought everything would have floated away with the June rain but so far, not to bad, just a little later than usual.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

My zukes and cukes are growing and blooming, but not producing. Just getting female flowers on the cukes finally

 

[Jags]

I am gonna start throwing zukes into the beds of passing pickups.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The old joke- people lock their car doors at church in the summer so that nobody fills them up with zucchini

 

[mattjm1017]

My zukes and cukes are growing and blooming, but not producing. Just getting female flowers on the cukes finally

How do you tell if its a female flower or a male flower? One of my cuke plants died but the other is doing very good except no cucumbers.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The females have a tiny squash or cuke at the base.

 

[lukem]

I picked about a cord of green beans tonight. I might can some and c/s/s the rest for next winter.

 

[mattjm1017]

The females have a tiny squash or cuke at the base.

Thank you I had no idea. I guess I have a little of both theres some itty bitty cukes growing hopefully soon Ill have a lot of big ones.

 

[rideau]

Just made two batches of red currant jelly.

My summer squash are just starting to produce. Have two good sized vegetable marrows...zucchini still too small to pick.
Lots of small cukes...should be ready for picking in a few days.

Broccoli has been a problem - some rotting from all the rain.

Tomatoes are the slowest I've ever had, and have lost a few plants. Started 40 varieties, probably lost 8, replaced with volunteers.
My tomatoes are still green.

We've had constant rain, heat and humidity until this past week. Finally some sun and more reasonable temps.

All beans - pole, runner and bush - are coming in at the same time...all in flower now.

Peas are almost finished. Have to start a second crop.

We're on the second crop of spinach.

Beets, carrots, lettuce, chicory, Chinese veggies, basil, parsley, chard, peppers all doing well, been eating them for a while..

Kohlrabi has mostly split.

The potato crop has really loved this weather. I grow over a dozen varieties including all blue, purple Viking, mountain rose, abby's gold, rio grande, red-gold, maris piper, valisa, snow white, canela, carola, german butterball, katahdin, Kennebec, magic molly, and a few others. Lots of fun trying the tastes and textures/consistencies of the different potatoes. Have white, yellow, blue, pink and purple fleshed varieties. So far have dug about ten pounds of new potatoes. Have 5 plus rows thirty feet long, as well as assorted other plants tucked wherever I could find space. Think we'll be doing lots of experimental cooking with potatoes this winter. would welcome and good potato recipes. Saw a really interesting one for carrot-potato steamed pudding., Steamed carrot pudding is better than plum pudding, so I am going to try that one as soon as it gets cold.

Maybe I'll start a new thread soon on potatoes. Anyone else growing them?

 

[lukem]

Canned 14 jars of salsa last night.

 

[lukem]

Canned 50th jar of salsa last night. No, you can never have too much salsa.

 

[mattjm1017]

This is nothing fancy but I've used this with all sorts a pepper varieties. I like to add chipotle for smokey flavors or habanero for hotter varieties. Try adding mango for a sweeter version or corn and black beans for a southwest style. Have fun!
This will taste a little vinegary if you eat it right away, wait a week for the flavors to balance out.

Basic Salsa
Makes 6 pints

10 cups roughly skinned and chopped tomatoes
5 cups chopped and seeded bell peppers
5 cups chopped vidalia or white onions
2 1/2 cups hot peppers, chopped, seeded (or any other pepper you like)
1 cup cider vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
3 teaspoons salt
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except tomato paste in large sauce pot.

Simmer until desired thickness.

Stir in tomato paste.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head-space.

Process 15 minutes in a hot water bath.

Note: use more hot peppers for a very hot salsa or less for mild.

This sounds good. I have a question though as someone that is pretty new to canning how long will this stuff last in the jars? Not just salsa but all the veggies?

 

[Augie]

Not really a canning thing yet, but I have 5 gallons of Cucs fermenting into pickles as we speak, they have been bubbling away for about a week.

 

[lukem]

We have 4 gallons of fridge pickles going too.

 

[begreen]

I've never done this pickling method. Tell me more about it.