Basil Onion Pepper Jelly

In my search for a better pepper jelly, this one is a milder version with a wonderful sweet, herb flavor. The peppers are a blend of cubanelle, red cherry, sweet banana and tiny yellow bells from the garden. The basil and red onion add a depth of flavor that is wonderful when served as an appetizer on cream cheese with Ritz crackers.

Basil Onion Pepper Jelly

11 ounces peppers
5 ounces red onion
20 basil leaves
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo

Sterilize the jars and prepare the lids according to manufacturers directions.

Chop the peppers, onion, and basil in the food processor finely. In a large stainless steel pan, combine the pepper mixture with the sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Bring to a full rolling boil and add the Certo. Bring back to a full rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into hot jars, wipe rims clean and secure the lids and rings. Place jars in a canner covering completely with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Fig Preserves

As a child, I remember my mother and grandmother making fig preserves. The strange looking brown fruit was cooked in syrup and left to stand overnight before cooking again the next day and preserving in decorative jelly jars. The sweet preserves were a staple at breakfast as a topping for hot biscuits and toast.

Several years ago we planted two fig trees with the hope of someday having figs, but that day has not arrived thanks to a late cold snap that has taken the summer harvest. But just 2 miles from our home, James and Mary are enjoying a bumper crop of figs and were kind enough to share.

Fig preserves are very simple to make but require an overnight soak. The 10 pounds of figs yielded 11 half-pints and 12 four ounce jars of preserves. James and Mary, thanks for sharing your delicious figs with us!

Fig Preserves

6 pounds figs, washed and stemmed

1 1/2 quart water

8 cups sugar

1 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

Combine the water, sugar and lemon in a large pan and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Remove the lemon and skim off any foam. Add all the figs to the syrup, a few at a time so the syrup continues to boil. Cook rapidly, stirring frequently, until the figs are translucent, about 30 minutes. Remove figs from syrup and place in a shallow pan. Boil the syrup until it is as thick as honey. Pour the syrup over the figs and let stand overnight, covered at room temperature.
The next day, heat the figs and syrup to boiling and continue cooking until the syrup is thick, about one hour. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

While the figs are cooking, sterilize the canning jars and prepare lids and rings according to the manufacturer's directions. Spoon hot preserves into jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Add syrup to 1/4 inch from jar top. Remove air bubbles wipe rims and adjust lids. Process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.

If you have leftover syrup, can or refrigerate it and use as a topping for biscuits, toast, pancakes or pound cake.

Roasted Tomatoes

It has been a long, productive day in the kitchen. Our 72 tomato plants are flourishing and now is the time to save them to enjoy during the winter months. In the past, the process for freezing tomatoes has been to dip them in boiling water, remove the skins, chop and freeze. This year I am trying something new. It all started with the selection of tomato plants. This year we planted Roma tomatoes in hopes of having a meaty tomato to use in sauces and soup. Inspired by this month's Gourmet magazine, I tried roasting the tomatoes with olive oil and garlic. After roasting the tomatoes, I used a food mill to remove the skins and crush the tomatoes which resulted in a very thick sauce with lots of texture and great flavor. The best part was the ease of preparation and cleanup. Today the garden yielded a harvest of Romas, Juliettes and Sun Gold tomatoes. The Juliettes look like a smaller Roma and have a great flavor. I cut the the Romas and Juliettes in half, drizzled with olive oil and added 6 cloves of garlic to the mixture. After roasting for 1-1/2 hours in a 425 degree F. oven, and run through the food mill, I had a thick rich sauce, suitable for soup for a rich sauce for pasta.Now for the Sun Gold tomatoes. These tiny, marble-size tomatoes are full of flavor. They were roasted for 1 hour along with the Romas and Juliettes. After being food milled, the sauce was thick and a beautiful gold color with a very sweet flavor. I don't think these will make it to the freezer, but will be added to pasta with some basil for dinner tomorrow night!

Sweet Tomato Relish

Our friend, Marshall, was kind enough to share with us his late crop of tomatoes. It is a real treat to have tomatoes in October. Since there were more tomatoes than we could possibly eat, I decided to try my hand at making a tomato relish. My first batch didn't include peppers. For the second batch, I used the few remaining sweet banana peppers from the garden. The result was 18 jars of a wonderful, sweet, spicy relish to serve with peas and greens. Thanks ,Marshall!

Sweet Tomato Relish #1

8 pounds tomatoes, peeled and diced

2 pounds onions, finely minced

3 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil and simmer for 2 hours or until the mixture has thickened. Pour into sterilized canning jars. Wipe rims with a damp cloth. Adjust prepared lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Yield: 12 half-pint jars.

Sweet Tomato Relish #2

4 pounds tomatoes, peeled and diced

1 pound onions, finely minced

8 ounces banana peppers, seeded removed and finely minced

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons salt

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat to a boil and simmer for 2 hours or until the mixture has thickened. Pour into sterilized canning jars. Wipe rims with a damp cloth. Adjust prepared lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Yield: 6 half-pint jars.

Green Tomato Relish

It is the end of tomato season in our garden. As we pulled up the vines, we collected all the green tomatoes. This recipe is a great way to use those tomatoes. Serve as a condiment with peas, butter beans and greens.

Green Tomato Relish
5 pounds green tomatoes
1 pound red bell peppers
1 pound onions
2 jalopeno peppers, seeded
4 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon celery seeds
1/4 cup Kosher salt

Coarsely chop the vegetables in a food processor. Combine all the ingredients in a dutch oven and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars. Wipe jar rims with a damp towel. Adjust prepared lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Scuppernong Jelly

About 8 years ago, we planted our first scuppernong vines and this was the first year we have had a real harvest. This past year, the vines have been given the TLC they deserved and we were rewarded with a good crop that we could enjoy along with the deer that share our garden.The scuppernong is a greenish, or bronze, variety of the muscadine, native to the southeastern United States. The fruit is very sweet when ripe and is perfect for jelly making. The process for making jelly is very simple, but somewhat time consuming. Since the scuppernongs have a tough outer shell, you must extract the juice and then strain it several times to remove all the particles for a pretty jelly. Scuppernong Jelly
3 pounds scuppernongs, washed
1 cup water
7 cups sugar
1 pouch Certo

Simmer the scuppernongs in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes. Crush the fruit to release the juice and strain in a colander. Using 8 layers of cheesecloth, strain the juice. Do not press the fruit through the cheesecloth.

Once the juice is extracted, measure the juice. You will need 4 cups of juice, adding water if needed, no more than 1/2 cup of water should be added for the best flavor. Put the juice and sugar in a large dutch oven and heat to a rolling boil. Add the Certo, bring back to a rolling boil on high heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and skim off foam. Pour into hot sterilized jars to 1/8 inch from top of jar. Wipe rims to clean and put on prepared jar lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes After the jars have cooled, check each one by pressing tbe middle with your finger. If the center springs back, refrigerate. Allow the sealed jars to stand 24 hours. Remove the rings and clean the jars. Store in a cool, dark place. Open jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks.

Green Tomato Pickles

You know how it goes, you have your day planned when you receive that unexpected phone call. My task for the day was to clean out the laundry room and pack up the unused items for Wesley Woods yard sale. I was working diligently to make a dent in the mess when Kenny called. His friend Henry was cleaning out his garden and had harvested a bunch of green tomatoes. Did I want them? Of course I can't say no to fresh veggies, especially tomatoes, and I wasn't thrilled with my task for the day, so I said "Yes" without hesitation. Today's cleaning day quickly turned into a day of preserving nature's bounty for those cold winter days when we will enjoy the harvest of the summer.

So what do you do with a bucket of green tomatoes? Many years ago as an Extension Home Economist, I tried my hand at pickling and preserving just about everything. One of our favorites was Pickled Green Tomatoes. They are a wonderful accompaniment to the crowder peas and butter beans in the freezer and very easy to make. The hard part is waiting a couple of weeks for the tomatoes to pickle. Try these for a real treat when the weather is cold and you are looking for the warm thoughts of a summer garden!

Green Tomato Pickles

Green tomatoes

Apple cider vinegar

Garlic

Hot peppers

Wash the tomatoes, core and slice into wedges. Sterilize your canning jars in boiling water. Put one clove of garlic and a hot pepper into each jar. Pack the tomatoes tightly into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Pour boiling apple cider vinegar over the tomatoes. Wipe jar rims and adjust lid and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Jennifer, I have a jar for you! I'll bring it to Charlotte next week.

More Hot Pepper Jelly

I seem to have an addiction to making Hot Pepper Jelly! I think I have perfected this recipe after 11 batches. This is a simple, but time consuming and messy, process. Preparing the peppers is a pain, but the rewards are worth it. I like to prep the peppers (remove the stems, cut in half and remove seeds) ahead of time and store in the frig for a day. The most important thing to remember is to wear gloves when working with hot peppers and make sure there are no holes in the fingertips.

If you are new to jelly making, make sure you have the right equipment for the job. You will need:

• Large canner or stockpot - deep enough to cover the jars with 1 inch of water. You can also use this pot for sterilizing your jars


• Large saucepan for making the jelly


• Food processor or blender for chopping the peppers in vinegar


• Canning jars, lids, and rims


• Large saucepan for preparing the lids and rings - see the box for directions on preparing the lids


• Timer


• A jar lifter or tongs


• Gloves

The recipe in the August post is the same as below. The only change I made was to shorten the cooking time to 5 minutes which resulted in a hotter jelly. If you are growing your own peppers, allow some of them to stay on the vines until they turn red. The red peppers add a beautiful color to the jelly. Some recipes call for red or green food coloring, but I like the natural colors of the peppers.

Hot Pepper Jelly
12 ounces hot peppers, quartered, cored and seeded
1 cup white vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin (Certo)

Process the peppers and the vinegar in a food processor or blender until the peppers are liquefied. Combine the peppers and sugar in a heavy pan and boil slowly for 5 minutes. Add liquid pectin and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim. Pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from canner and let sit for 12 to 24 hours. Test to make sure the jars are sealed. Remove the screw bands and clean the jars of any jelly residue. Store in a cool, dark place. Yield: 5 half-pint jars. Serve as a condiment with vegetables or pour over cream cheese for a delicious appetizer.

Hot Pepper Jelly

Pepper Jelly is a family favorite, but we like it hot. This year we included a variety of hot peppers in our garden to add more heat to the Pepper Jelly. The UGA Extension Service recipe, "Pepper Jelly with Liquid Pectin", calls for 4 or 5 hot peppers and 4 sweet green peppers. My batch for 2008 used 12 ounces of cored and seeded hot peppers - a combination of cowhorn, jalopeno, hot banana, serrano and 2 habanero peppers. Be sure and wear rubber gloves when handling hot peppers and don't touch your skin with the gloves! I made the mistake several years ago and spent the night with my hands on ice water.

Hot Pepper Jelly
12 ounces hot peppers, quartered, cored and seeded
1 cup white vinegar
5 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin (Certo)
Begin by setting up your work area. You will need a heavy pan for the jelly, a large pan for sterilizing the jars, a small saucepan for preparing the lids (read the direction carefully on the lid container), and a canner for processing the jelly.

Process the peppers and the vinegar in a food processor until the peppers are liquified.


Combine the peppers and sugar in a heavy pan and boil slowly for 10 minutes.


Add liquid pectin and boil hard for 1 monute. Remove from heat and skim.


Pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.

Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Remove from canner and let sit for 12 to 24 hours. Test to make sure the jars are sealed. Remove the screw bands and clean the jars of any jelly residue. Store in a cool, dark place.

Serve as a condiment with vegetables or pour over cream cheese for a delicious appetizer. Yield: 5 half-pint jars.

For more information, visit National Center for Home Food Preservation How Do I? Can

Freezer Sweet Cucumber Pickles

For the first time in years, we have cucumbers in our garden. Every year, we purchase plants and set them out early and wait with anticipation, only to be disappointed at the yield. This year, I ordered seeds - Sweet Burpless Hybrid and Sugar Crunch Hybrid - from Burpee and the cucumber crop has been extremely successful.

With all the cucumbers, I knew I had to make pickles. During my time as an Extension Agent, I canned a lot of pickles, and to be honest, I was not looking forward to the long process of making the brine and then processing the jars. So I turned to my friend Barb and asked for her recipe for Freezer Pickles. I know you are thinking, you can't freeze pickles! Believe me, you can and they are very good. I altered Barb's recipe by reducing the amount of sugar from 1 3/4 cup to 1 cup. If you have a mandoline, it will make the work of slicing all the cucumbers a breeze. For me, the mandoline works better than the food processor.

Freezer Sweet Cucumber Pickles

8 cups thinly sliced cucumbers - mandoline setting 1/8"
1 medium Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
Combine cucumbers, onions and salt in a large container. Let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. Rinse cucumbers and drain thoroughly in a colander. Press to remove as much liquid as possible.

1 to 1 3/4 cups sugar (to you taste)
1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
Heat all ingredients in a saucepan to a boil. Pour over the drained cucumbers and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days, stirring occasionally. Pack in freezer bags or containers and freeze.