Preserving the harvest...this was very commonplace for centuries before refrigeration, and even after as for many people, grocery stores were not on every corner, and many people simply could not afford to purchase 'store bought'...they ate seasonally, which I am trying to do for our family as much as possible. I'm new at eating seasonally, and have to really think and plan, but the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" helped me a lot to realize that the old-fashioned way of eating seasonally was by preserving the harvest.
Now, the above photo is NOT from homegrown tomatoes (or any other veggie right now), but as our freezers are full of meat (Praise you, God!) I was at a loss as to how to store the excess of homemade barbeque sauce that I had made. The container in front is what we used for ribs for Father's day dinner....and I water bath canned the rest. As this homemade sauce is very time-consuming, I am pleased as punch that I now have 5 quarts ready and waiting when I need them! The other thing that makes me very happy, is that there are no preservatives, funny ingredients or high fructose corn syrup in there....and my family loves it! I will try and give the recipe, but, to be honest, I'm one of the 'those' cooks who does not measure...I just estimate and taste until it tastes 'right' . So, here are the general ingredients:
diced onions, green peppers, garlic, pickle relish, yellow mustard, balsalmic vinegar, apple cidar vinegar, lemon juice, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper, honey, brown sugar.
Just sautee the veggies in a little butter/olive oil, spoon in the relish and just a little bit of mustard....add the rest of the ingredients to taste. My husband likes it sweet, so we add a good bit of honey and brown sugar.
~We are hoping to preserve A LOT of fresh veggies and fruits this summer and early fall...we will be canning, freezing and dehydrating as well. Anyone have any special recipes they might want to share? Here is to a "Happy Harvest"!!! ~Sue~
