Pallet for Home

Pepper season is almost to the end and I have yet to get out & pick peppers. BUT when we have our peppers in Barn market, we discard ones that are not in their fresh prime. I feel awful when this happens and do have a helpful solution, {a parent of Panda's friend is raising pigs again next year & I'm hoping to combine resources with him- more on that later}. For now, I put aside the ones that we discard, in need of immediate use to Can some of Red pepper & tomato spread. I still have Hungarian Paste tomatoes growing in my garden as well as the Basil, making this the perfect recipe to avoid waste { I just out the bad spots anyway}..

This is a sweet & mild recipe with an array of uses. Pizza sauce, Pasta sauce, a thick spread for a bruschetta you add Mozzarella to the top & roast in the Oven. Use it in your meatloafs, as a topper for burgers even as a substitute for Ketchup. Use it as a dip & serve it with Pita chips and a side of Goat cheese.

 I did research online to see what others use this for & have also seen where some use a predominant red pepper w/ less tomato version for use with wild caught Salmon. The list could go on & on.

This will be a MUST for inclusion in our "Straight from the Farm" holiday baskets this year. The sauce as well as the Thick spread version.

 This wonderful photo of the Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato spread is via Creating Nirvana , where she too has shared the recipe from the Ball canning book.

We also grow Medium hot Hungarian peppers that go from yellow- the stage used for pickling- to a  red which is great for roasting. if you substitute 1/3 of the red sweets for red medium hots,  you can make this spread have a bite but not overkill the flavor. I found this recipe long ago in the Blue Ball canning book. I add whole heads of garlic vs. their few cloves. The recipe is in a small enough amount to make 5 half pints (8 ounce jars). Make a batch & taste test. Put your own twist into it as I have done with the Medium hots and extra pound of tomatoes to make the pizza/pasta sauce version.

 6 lb red bell peppers
1 lb Italian plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 small white onion
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
5 half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

1. Roast the red bell peppers and a half an onion (skin side up) under a hot broiler. Roast the peppers until the skins start to blister and turn black. Rotate the peppers to roast all sides of the pepper. By this time your onion will also be well roasted.

2. Remove the hot peppers from the oven and place in a paper bag. Seal the bag and let the peppers cool for about 15 minutes. This resting stage will allow the skin to easily peel away from the pepper. Also note that the burnt blisters will not be transferred to your peppers leaving you with bright red pepper pulp. After the peppers have cooled enough to handle them, peel away the skins and remove the seeds from the peppers.

3. Peel away the outer skin on the onion and finely chop the onion. Measure ¼ cup of roasted onion. 

**Do not add more onion because this will increase the pH of the spread thereby making the spread not safe for boiling water canning. **

4. In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients.

5. Add the ingredients to a sauce pot and bring to boil over medium heat. Stir the spread frequently to prevent the spread from burning on the bottom of the pot.

6. Reduce the temperature to a simmer. Simmer until the spread thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently.

7. Ladle the hot spread into hot sterile jars leaving ¼” headspace.

8. Place the lids on the top of the jars and adjust the two piece caps.

9. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

 Create a fresh twist on those can goods gift giving this year.

Some encouragement? Make those jars sparkle even more with the extra effort of label Glam.

This is the form we will be using this year. I discovered this style while searching for ideas on a twist for my Honey we are harvesting. The Cotton Ribbon behind the circle label on jar front as well as the lid. Just that little extra something that makes your jar gems shine.

 Now get yourself out there to the U Pick farms* { http://pickyourown.org/ } to get some on YOUR Pantry shelf.

Now back to roasting all those tomatoes & peppers covering my kitchen counter...