Canned quartered peaches (left) and peach pie filling (right)
Continuing on my crazy canning kick, I decided to take advantage of cheap peaches and made up a large batch of peach pie filling and then just canned the rest mostly whole, in juice, for my fruit-crazy daughter to eat this winter.
From left: row 1, roasted red pepper spread; rows 2-3, strawberry-vanilla jam; rows 4-5, mango-peach chutney.
One thing I am absolutely loving about living in the PNW is the amazing produce to be found at every turn! Yesterday, Troy took the kiddo out and about for most of the afternoon so that I could have a crazy canning spree. I loaded up on red peppers at the local produce market the other day, then roasted & pureed them and stuck them in the fridge. It took me forever to get them all peeled and seeded, but I was really glad I had that part out of the way so I could cook the recipe (from Ball’s website) the day of and can it while hot. I probably didn’t cook it down enough, since I got more than the 5 half-pints they listed, but it seemed plenty thick. I also felt it was a wee bit too sour, so I added a bit of sugar to counter it.
I had 4 lbs of strawberries in the fridge that I’d found on super sale, so when someone mentioned on strawberry-vanilla jam on Facebook, I knew I had to make it. The recipe is from my friend, Jacki’s blog. She is more or less my canning guru. 😉
The mango-peach chutney was supposed to originally be jam, but since I lost a few peaches to mold and we had frozen samosas in the freezer, I called an audible and changed it up at the last minute. The recipe is mostly based on the one found here. I didn’t have any peppers, plus I am a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy stuff, so I subbed a tiny pinch of cayenne.
Toasted rosemary focaccia with caramelized onion jam & goat cheese.
Walla walla onions were on sale the other day, so I bought a bunch thinking I’d make some kind of caramelized onion tart. But then the urge to start a crazy canning spree kicked in, and instead I made an caramelized onion jam with balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. I had just finished processing them when I read that certain fruits and vegetables need to be pressure canned for proper storage safety, so I got paranoid and stuck the few jars this yielded in my fridge.
However, that being said, this jam is absolutely fabulous, especially with the goat cheese, which cuts the sweetness nicely. Troy declared that I should start selling it immediately so we could be rich. I’m thinking it may make for a nice ‘signature’ gift, but will need to invest in a pressure canner first.
365 Food Photo 