End of summer canning
It is the last day of August and fall is pushing summer aside with changing colours and skies and the abundance of harvest. Tropical storm Ernesto is promising us a soggy long weekend...a perfect time to make my yearly batch of chili sauce. My mother did plenty of large batch canning for our family of seven. The amount of work involved in the family chili sauce recipe was daunting. Blanching and chopping a bushel of tomatoes was not an "after work" task . I found a book called The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp. The recipes could be easily completed in a couple of hours. As a bonus, I found the family chili sauce recipe, cut down to size. I love the mix of tomatoes, peppers, onions, peaches, pears, apples and spices in the Fruit Chili Sauce. I have tried several other jams and chutneys in this book, and they were all delicious. An early visit to the farmers' market, rain or shine, will start the day, and then the pop, pop, pop of properly sealed jars should be the successful ending.