Slow summer farmhouse kitchen canning | Preserving garden goodness

Step on into my slow summer kitchen as we harvest garden tomatoes and peppers for a family favorite salsa stash and I try my hand at my first batch of grape jam. Our grape vine went on a growing spree this spring and harvest was a bit... interesting. You'll see what I mean. Join us!

Thanks so much for stopping by our farm!

Lauren

RECIPES:

Homemade Waffles:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1.5 cups milk (I start with 1.5 and then add more if needed)
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
Whisk together dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients. Mix together until well blended but don't over-mix.
Allow batter to rest a few minutes while your pan heats over medium/low heat. Cook waffles in waffle maker (hopefully you have a nicer one than I do! Haha!) Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Grape Jam
I referenced these links for my recipe today:
Sure Jell Pectin: https://www.kraftheinz.com/sure-jell/...
Simply Canning: https://www.simplycanning.com/grape-j...

Canning Salsa:
*As mentioned in this video, I didn't measure exactly today as I went along so this recipe below is based on my estimates and past canning adventures:

15 lbs tomatoes - washed, cored and chopped
3.5 lbs green bell peppers (15-20 small peppers), washed
4.5 lbs onions (10 or so medium onions)
15 jalapenos (remove seeds for mild salsa)
1/3 cup garlic, minced
1 entire bunch/bundle of cilantro (about 1.5 cups)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp canning salt
2.5 cups white vinegar

How I can my salsa:
1. Wash (thoroughly) and chop all veggies.
2. Quarter tomatoes or chop in large chunks and place on cookie sheets under the broiler to blacken the skins. *I had almost three full sheets of tomatoes to blacken (15 lbs).
3. Add your jalapenos on top of your tomatoes to char them as well.
4. Place the bell peppers and onions (and garlic if using whole cloves) on the second rack in the oven to cook them a bit but NOT to char.
5. As you rotate and finish the blackening/cooking process, transfer the veggies into a large stock pot or a roaster oven.
NOTE: I sometimes strain off a bit of the juice if the tomatoes are a bit too runny. This saves me from having to cook it down to thicken later on.

6. Once everything has been blackened or cooked, stir in the cilantro, sugar, salt and vinegar.
7. Use a blender or immersion blender to puree your salsa to your desired consistency. Ladle into hot jars, adjust two piece lids and water bath for 40 minutes.
Makes 9 quarts of salsa.

LINKS:
Tools I recommend for canning:
Water Bath Canner: https://amzn.to/3VKKxWw
My Ove Glove (this was a wedding gift and seriously the best oven mitt ever! GREAT for canning when handling hot jars!): https://amzn.to/3Lem8DM
Ball Jars: https://amzn.to/4cqZzYL
Food Processor: https://amzn.to/3LxKSr3
The New Ball Blue Book of Canning: https://amzn.to/4d8vLzY
Similar roaster oven: https://amzn.to/3M5k8OO

MUSIC: Royalty free music provided courtesy of Epidemic Sound

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