The Summer That Was…Part II

Of course i wasn’t going to rely on our little garden to crank hard, so i hit up the farmers market hard for the goodies.   These three came almost in a row.  I did have help with the pickling.  Thanks, Kaichi!!

L to R: Roasted Peach Salsa, Pickled Okra, Pickled Green Beans

First canning proj… the Salsa:  I call this Roasted Peach Salsa

30ish pounds of bruised tomatoes

10 ish bell peppers

  20 ish jalapeños

5 ish onions

salt

lime juice or vinegar

cilantro, chopped 

chop tomatoes, peaches, bell peppers in half (with skins on).  deseed (or not) the jalapenos and chop in half. put tomatoes, bell peppers and the jalapeños on a roasting sheet.  chop the onions in quarters and toss in olive oil, put in roasting dish.  then roast everything, the onions below the other sheet, until the tomatoes, peppers, and peaches are kinda blacken.

put everything in a large pot. blend with immersion blender to desired consistency.  add chopped cilantro.  salt and vinegar to taste.

this rough recipe yielded me roughly 15 quarts.  lucky other half and friends…we got to eat some immediately.

i think those folks were either really hungry or they liked it, cuz what was out disappeared fast!

Second and third canning proj…the Pickles:  Pickles Veggies ala Lenny.

This would be for both the okra and the greens beans.  i did do an experiment with carrots…but we’ll see about that.

BRINE - need about 2 cups per quart of veggies  

 H2O x4  

 Vinegar x1  

 Salt x1/4  

   

 In to each quart container put  

 3 cloves peeled garlic  

 2 dry chipotle peppers  

 1 teaspoon of each of the following  

 dill seed  

 whole coriander  

 cumin seed  

 peppercorn  

   

 I usually just clean the green beans and roughly cut into 2-3" pieces so they fit better into jars. Into sterilized jars (I put them in the oven to sterilize), put the dry stuff at the bottom.   

   

 Then pack in the veggies; green beans and okra I put in fresh. (This recipe is awesome with mushrooms, but you need to cook the mushrooms first because they shrink a ton when heated.)   

   

 Then pour in boiling brine leave 1/4-1/2" space at top, and make sure bubbles get out. Then water boil 25-35 min depending on elevation.  

   

 10 lbs of green beans makes 10-16 quarts.  

   

 ready in 4-6 wks  

These are his words…

I can’t wait to try them.  Yes, i’m counting the days to when i can crack the jars open and eat!