Can Jam May - Rhubarb

Update 5-25-10 -Pictures! Yay! Posts are so much better with pictures!

Also, if you have extra rhubarb leaves I made a rhubarb stepping stone post here.

You may notice that there aren't any pictures in this post. That's because I am an idiot and I dropped and broke my camera. Argh! I had the worst week for canning. First of all I broke my camera, then I was about to start canning and I'd borrowed my Dad's camera, but then the whole town lost power for 4 hours. Then my Dad went on vacation and took his camera with him. I also had to get Tansy neutered - yes that's right my sweet little girl turned out to be a BOY! Let's just say Tansy is not pleased with me right now - the snip snip wasn't so much fun. I also had a really busy exhausting week at work. There were also a million things I had to plant in the garden. Plants don't exactly wait very well to get planted. Soooooooo a long difficult week.

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This month for the Can Jam we had the choice of either rhubarb or asparagus. I HATE(d) both!

My hate for the green spears stems from my childhood. When you grow up in a family that grows asparagus for sale, you eat a lot of asparagus, and in my case develop a hatred of it. This is also why I am not a huge fan of red raspberries. I imagine the same thing happens to children of candy makers. *just kidding!*

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So rhubarb. Well, my Mom never cooked with rhubarb when I was growing up, because she hated it. She hated all the sugar that people add to it. However, I turned her into a rhubarb lover with my Savory Rhubarb Soup recipe. I thought about making a rhubarb-cherry jam, but after experiencing the citric acid power of rhubarb in the soup recipe, I decided to try a savory recipe. My Mom was rooting for a chutney recipe, but I have lots of Pear Chutney in my pantry. I decided on a salsa recipe and so Rhubarb Salsa was born, er canned.

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Spicy Rhubarb Salsa

3 cups chopped tomatoes

2 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup chopped tomatillos

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped chile peppers (I used a combination of habenero, yellow spicy and anaheim)

1 Tbs garlic paste

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs cilantro

2 Tbs cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup lime juice ( I used key limes)

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 mins. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 15 mins. in a boiling water bath canner.

This is HOT!!!

It has a sweet and smokey flavor too.

It's yummy. I think it would make a good barbecue sauce.

Filled jars before canning.

Onions.

Peppers.



I thought the tomatillo husks looked like flowers.

Chopped peppers.

Rhubarb and tomatillo.

Tomato.

Cooking.

Cooking.

Canning.

Done!

Rhubarb salsa!

Don't Be A Hero Pickled Peppers

Someone at work brought in 3 huge bags of hot peppers.

I dried all of the red ones and then pickled the rest.

These pickles are not for me!

They are too HOT!

They will be gifts.

*wink*

Don't Be A Hero Pickled Peppers

3 lbs peppers

6 cups vinegar

2 cups water

Combine vinegar and water in a large saucepot.

Bring mixture to a boil.

Pack peppers into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Ladle hot liquid over peppers, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles.

Adjust 2-piece caps.

Process 10 mins in a boiling water canner.

Yay! for free vegetables!

Spicy Cabbage Relish

This is hot and tasty! Perfect for using up extra cabbage.

Spicy Cabbage Relish

Chopped veg. to equal 11 cups - cabbage, cauliflower, onions, green tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers.

5 Tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp celery seeds
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ginger

2 1/2 cups vinegar

small hot chiles - your choice

Combine chopped vegetables; sprinkle with salt ; mix well. Let stand 4 to 6 hours in a cool place or 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Drain well. Rinse and drain.
Combine sugar, spices and vinegar in a large saucepot. Simmer 10 min.
Add vegetables; simmer 10 minutes.
Bring to a boil.
Prick each hot chile with a sharp knife. Add one hot chile to each jar.
Pack hot relish into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps.

You don't have to use the chiles, if you want a cooler relish.
Process 10 min. in a boiling water canner.

Or skip the canning and eat!