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.