Tomato soup, now condensed

I made this soup two weeks ago. Over the course of that week, I processed 75 pounds of tomatoes: 50 lbs of which were for stewed tomatoes and the rest were for this soup. Somehow I forgot that for the soup I didn’t need to peel the tomatoes first. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I realized I could have skipped that step.

This recipe requires a pressure canner. If you don’t pressure can, use last year’s tomato soup recipe and your water bath canner. It was amaaaaazing. The flavours are very similar. I just added some garlic this year because I had it on hand.

You'll need:

• Approx 25 lbs ripe tomatoes (half-bushel)

• 3 cups celery, diced

• 6 cups onion, diced

• 3 cups fresh parsley, chopped

• 2 cups ClearJel - no substitutes

• Black pepper

• Salt (optional)

• Fresh garlic, 4 or 5 cloves, diced (optional)

• Bay leaves (optional)

• 18 or so pint (500 ml) Mason jars with rings and snap lids

• 1/2 teaspoon citric acid PER JAR

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar PER JAR (optional)

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Wash your tomatoes well; chop them in quarters and throw the cores into your compost bucket. (Or peel them first if you have lots of spare time like me, apparently…)

3. Place tomatoes, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves and parsley in a large pot.

4. Cook gently, until very tender, stirring as needed. 

5. Once it is well cooked, press through a food strainer or sieve, making sure you’re getting all the liquid. (Because I had already removed the tomato skins, I had less veggie matter left than I would otherwise have. I saved it and used it to make vegetable broth. I am thrifty!).

6. Return all the liquid to the large pot and turn heat to medium. Gradually whisk in 2 cups of ClearJel while the soup heats.

7. Heat to a boil, continuing to stir or whisk until the soup thickens. [Pro tip: Don’t follow the ClearJel instructions and wait for the soup to boil before adding the ClearJel. I did, and it clumped like crazy. I had to use my immersion blender to set it to rights.]  

8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

9. Place 1/2 teaspoon citric acid in each jar. Add equivalent amount of sugar if you are concerned about tartness. 

10. Put the snap lids in hot water for a couple of minutes to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.

11. Ladle hot, thickened soup into pint jars, leaving about 1 inch headspace. 

12. As usual, "bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on fingertip tight.

13. Add hot water to your pressure canner. Mine requires 3 quarts; check your instructions to be sure for yours. Load up the canner and close it, following manufacturer instructions. Here’s the best thing – with my pressure canner, I can stack jars. I could fit all 18 jars in a single canner load. Beauty, eh?

14. At sea level, and Great Lakes level, process pints or half-prints for 25 minutes at 11 pounds pressure.

This soup is much thicker than last year’s version, but not gloppy like Campbell’s condensed. When I heat and enjoy, I do add milk but not an equivalent amount to the soup. I also often cook up some noodles and throw them in, and sometimes grate some cheese on top. A full delicious meal, and oh my heavens, heavenly! Treat yo’self!

Seriously simple peach jam

Life hack here people: YOU DON'T NEED TO PEEL PEACHES BEFORE MAKING JAM WiTH THEM. Whaaaaat? I know! It sounds crazy. Peach skin is controversial at the best of times, but in jam? That sounds like madness. That's why I made a fairly small batch. I did not believe. I am now a believer. No more peach peeling for me, pardner. Try it.  

You’ll need:

• ~12ish fresh peaches, pitted and chopped (leave the peel on, seriously!)

• 3 ½ cups white sugar

• 2 T lemon juice OR 1 pinch per jar of citric acid

• Light Certo pectin

• 7 half-pint (250 mL) Mason jars

• 7 snap lids and screw rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

Do you see any peel? This was about three-quarters of the way cooked if I recall correctly. I mashed it a bit more after this shot. I like some chunky peach texture, but no big hunks. Next time, I would chop it a little smaller to begin with.

1. Use a potato masher to crush about one cup chopped peaches in the bottom of a large saucepan. Add the remaining chopped peaches, and heat pan on medium-low setting.

2. Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.

3. Bring the peaches to a low boil, and cook for about 20 minutes. As the peaches cook, mash them occasionally (or just stir them) so you get the texture you prefer.

4. Pour the cooked peaches into another bowl, and then measure 6 cups back into the pan. Stir in the lemon juice, if using. (Look! The peel seems to have disappeared. It’s freakin’ magic I tell ya. So easy.)

5. Gradually add the sugar and pectin mixture to the peaches, and bring to a boil over medium–high heat.

6. Stir in the remaining sugar, and return to the boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.

7. Put the snap lids in hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.

8. Stir the jam frequently for 5 minutes, skimming foam.

9. If you are using citric acid instead of lemon juice, put a pinch (like a pinch, I don’t know – an eighth of a teaspoon?) of citric acid in each Mason jar.

10. Quickly ladle hot jam into jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace. 

11. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

12. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the canner lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. That's a rule.

So simple. So good. Enjoy!

Strawberry dessert cups

I made the strawberry pie filling last year, and it was a certified hit. To be quite honest though, I’m not sure if any of the jars’ contents actually made their way into pie. Maaaaaybe once? Much more often, it was scooped into a bowl for dessert – or out of my range of vision, directly from jar into mouth. So this year, I decided to preserve them in smaller portions so that if the teenagers (looking at you, Aaron) in my house were on the quest for a sweet treat, they could enjoy the whole thing without falling into a sugar coma. I was also so pleased with the jam flavour I made yesterday, I used similar flavours here too. 

You'll need:

• 11 cups halved or chopped strawberries 

• 2 1/2 cups sugar (you can up or lower the amount of sugar to your taste)

• 1 cup, 2 T ClearJel (do not substitute!)

• 2 1/2 cups water

• 5 T lemon juice

• 3 T balsamic vinegar

• 1 T vanilla extract

• A pile of 1/4 pint  (125 ml) or 1/2 pint (250 ml) Mason jars: I used 11 of the wee ones and 8 1/2 pints  

• Equivalent number of snap lids and rings

Directions for canning:

Mise en place. Hey, don't judge. Messy, yet clean.

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Make sure your jars, water bath, and everything else are ready because it comes together quickly.

3. Combine sugar, ClearJel, water, vinegar, lemon juice, and vanilla in a large pot. Whisk it all together thoroughly until well combined. Heat on medium until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. The balsamic vinegar gives it a bit of a caramelly colour, but the strawberries brought it back to red. (I was worried for a minute.)

4. Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften.

5. Fold strawberries, a few cups at a time, into the hot mixture.

6. Scoop hot strawberry dessert filling into jars leaving a good 1.5 cm room. Jam needs headspace. Anything with Clear Jel seems to need a little shoulder room too. (Badum tss!)  

7. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim thoroughly with a clean paper towel, dampened with white vinegar.  Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

8. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil for 30 minutes. I had enough filling for two batches – 13 jars in the first canner load and 5 in the second. You know you can't do two layers in a water bath canner, right? Just checking. 

Use it as dessert on its own, as a topping for ice cream or angelfood cake, as a pie filling, or in a tart. You can eat it on a bus, you can eat it with a friend, you can.... (oh no, the Seuss is loose)

Even-better strawberry jam

Super similar to last year's triumph with two more additions to the balsamic vinegar: a little lemon juice, and a little vanilla. This isn't a stunt jam. No one will taste it and say, "what did you do to this strawberry jam?!" Each of these ingredients simply bring a little depth or brightness to the party. 

Now, you will notice from the photo above that this jam looks runny. It is, indeed, runny. The strawberries were super bursting with delicious fresh-picked-Ontario-strawberries-in-June juiciness. Oh my heart, so incredibly good. I probably should have cooked the jam down further. Or something. I don't know. I definitely didn't want to drain off any of that tastiness. But the flavour is freaking incredible, so I'm keeping the recipe as is and letting the strawberries do their thing. Next year (or next week, or one field over) the strawberries will be different. I kind of love that.

You'll need:

• 6 cups crushed strawberries (it was about 12 cups this year; last year it took more)

• 4 1/2 cups white sugar 

• 1 pkg (57 g box) light pectin (Certo Light)

• 3 T balsamic vinegar

• 1 T lemon juice

• 1 T vanilla extract

• 8 half-pint (250 ml) Mason jars  

• 8 snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Since your jam will be boiling in the water bath for 10 minutes, you don't need to pre-sterilize. 

2. Start heating your water bath now. Add a splash of white vinegar for hard water. 

3. Wash and hull your berries. (Leave the hulls on for washing or they'll get waterlogged.)

4. Mash your berries in layers with a potato masher.  

5. Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.

6. Put your mashed strawberries and sugar/pectin mix in a large pot and bring to boil, stirring frequently.

7. Add remaining sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and vanilla, and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.

8. Put the snap lids in hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.

9. Continue to stir your berry mix frequently, skimming foam, for about 5 minutes.

10. Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace. 

11. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

12. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the canner lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

13. Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. 

Dandelion jelly

You may be wondering what the heck I've been up to. Six months without making anything in jars?? Well, not exactly. I made a bazillion jars of various wine jellies from this recipe for Christmas gifts for friends at work and home – huge hit. And I just recently made a big batch of rhubarb pie filling from this recipe to restock the shelves for next winter. But yes, mostly I've been knitting – have I mentioned the delightful baby boom amongst my colleagues? – working, sleeping, and just being. Life, it happens. 

I have, however, also been waiting anxiously for dandelion season to roll around (bet that's a sentence you've never heard before!) since last summer when I tried dandelion jelly at my aunt and uncle's in Nova Scotia. It was so lovely tasting and so gorgeously light yellow. My version is deeper in colour and and I think not quite the same in flavour (maybe somehow wilder tasting? is that a thing?), but altogether a success in my opinion as well.   

You'll need:

• Crapload of herbicide-free dandelions (4 cups of just petals and fluff) 

• 4 1/2 cups sugar

• Light Certo (my preference, anyway)

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

• 6 250 mL (half-pint) mason jars

• 6 snap lids and rings

Preparing the tea:

1. Snip the blossoms off your dandelions, ensuring that you are removing almost all of the green bits. Apparently the green makes it bitter. This step took a long time. I sat on the deck and listened to podcasts and drank chilled bevvies. Can't complain. You want 4 cups of just yellow and white fluffy petals. I suspect you can probably be a little less exact on the amount than I was, but you don't want weak tea. 

2. Put your petals in a pot and pour boiling water over them. I think I used exactly 4 cups of water. I would use more next time. 

3. Let the tea steep at least until it returns to room temperature. I let it sit for 24 hours because that was convenient for me. I'm guessing this is why my jelly is fairly rich in colour. 

4. Strain your tea well. I used a fine mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth. 

Directions for canning:

1. When you are ready to get canning, wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Measure your dandelion tea. If you have 4 cups, huzzah! If you have less, top up with water. If you have more, only use 4 cups. (Maybe you have enough to make another batch? Or if you are concerned your tea looks weak, you could boil it down to 4 cups to make the flavour stronger.) Put your tea along with the 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a large pot. 

3. Combine pectin with a small amount of your sugar in a bowl. Mix it up, then stir it into your pot of dandelion tea and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.

4. Gradually stir in the remainder of your sugar. Bring back to a boil, while stirring.

5. Lower heat and continue to stir frequently, skimming any foam that develops, for about 5 minutes. 

6. Quickly ladle jelly into your jars using a wide mouth funnel. Leave approx 1 cm headspace.

7. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar or lemon juice. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

8. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

9. Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. 

So good tomato soup

You'll need:

• Approx 25 lbs ripe tomatoes (half-bushel, aka one of these boxes in the photo)

• 3 cups celery, diced

• 6 cups onion, diced

• 3 cups fresh parsley

• Black pepper

• Bay leaves (optional)

• Salt (optional)

• 16 or so pint Mason jars with rings and snap lids

• 1/2 teaspoon citric acid PER JAR

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar PER JAR (optional)

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Wash your tomatoes well; chop them in quarters and throw the cores into your compost bucket.

3. Place tomatoes, celery, onion, and parsley in a large pot. You could also throw in a handful of bay leaves. I don't think I did, but I might have.

4. Cook gently, uncovered, until tender, stirring as needed. 

5. Once it is very well cooked, press through a food strainer or sieve. I used my food mill. The first insert I used had too-large holes so the tomato seeds went right through. I had to go with the finer mesh insert, which worked fine.

6.  Put soup back in large pot and heat to the boil again. Add salt to taste.

7. Place 1/2 teaspoon citric acid in each jar. Add equivalent amount of sugar if you are concerned about tartness. 

8. Ladle hot soup into pint jars, leaving about 1 inch headspace. 

9. As usual, "bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

10. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Put the pot lid on and boil pints for 45 minutes.

Now the story behind the story: I only had my water bath canner to use as a big pot and didn't have my pressure canner. So I had to cook all the ingredients in the big pot, then transfer it to a series of smaller pots after straining, wash the canner, fill it with water, then heat it, then heat the soup back up... Probably that's why I have few pictures of the process. It was, frankly, a gong show. 

The soup turned out delicious though. I stashed the jars away in the pantry in early September, thinking that they would last through at least some of the winter. As of today, I think there is one maaaaybe two jars left. The boy loves it. 

Next year, I'm going to try this recipe: https://commonsensehome.com/home-canned-tomato-soup/  It has very similar ingredients, but it uses Ultra gel to thicken it like concentrate. Might be gross? Reviews are good; worth a try! 

Slow cooked, super-tasty peach preserves

You'll need:

Peaches
White sugar (if you wish)
Lemon juice (a Tablespoon or two)
Buncha ½ pint (250ml) jars
Buncha lids and screw tops

I love preserving peaches because they are just so perfect as they come off the tree. I wanted to make preserves that captured that summery flavour, while being more integrated and less watery than the canned peaches I've made before. (Which are delish, mind you, just not what I was looking for this year.) 

I should also mention that I made this recipe in August so if you're wondering where I found quality fresh peaches in abundance in Ontario in October, I didn't. 

One source I consulted for this recipe called for a whopping 4 cups of sugar to 11 lbs of peaches. I am honestly not sure how many pounds of peaches I started with - no measuring needed for this recipe - but I believe it was a half-bushel, which wouldbe roughly 25 lbs. And for that, I used maybe a half cup of sugar. Really relying on the natural sweetness here. 

This recipe is easy-peasy but you'll want to do it when you're planning to stick around the kitchen for a couple of days in a row. Read the instructions, and you'll see why.

1. If your peaches have a very clingy skin, you'll want to blanch them before peeling. Mine were quite ripe and I found them quite easy to peel with a veggie peeler so I skipped this step. 

2. Peel, peel, peel. Chop 'em up and put them in a large pot. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice.

3. Bring the uncovered pot to a light boil, stirring occasionally and throughly to prevent scorching. Once the reaches a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.

4. Have a little taste and add sugar if you wish. 

5. Bring the pot to a light boil, simmer for 10 minutes, and cool down again.

6. Do that again. 

7. And again. For those counting, that's four times you bring to a light boil, simmer, then cool down.

8. Now, get your jars ready. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

9. Heat water in a small pot and put your snap lids in there to soften.

10. Aaaaand one more time with the boil of the peaches. EXCEPT this last time you bring them to a boil, you won't be cooling them down before ladling them into your clean, room temperature (or hotter) jars. 

11. Scoop peaches into each jar, leaving about 1/2 inch head space. 

12. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel, dampened with vinegar. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

13. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and bring to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling.

Use them as preserves on toast, as a topping for vanilla ice cream, or as an absolutely dreamy filling for homemade biscuits. Really, you can't go wrong. 

Aaron made the biscuits, and I think he used this recipe from Cook's Illustrated, Talent kid I've got, eh?? (Apologies, it's behind a pay wall.)

Strawberry balsamic jam

Alright, I'm saying it - jam recipes that don't include the water bath step are the biggest reason that not every jar seals properly and, therefore, therefore are a dumb stupid idea. This is a hill I am prepared to die on. Come at me, Certo. 

Anyhow, for this jam I followed non-water bath directions enclosed with the pectin (yes, Certo), and I had a couple jars that didn't pop. So I've decided not to do that again, and the instructions below include the waterbath step because fool me once etc. 

The balsamic adds a deep flavour to the jam, without making it taste "vinegary' at all. 

You'll need:

• 6 cups crushed strawberries (16ish cups whole)
• 4 1/2(ish) cups white sugar 
• 1 pkg (57 g box) light pectin (Certo Light)
• 3 T balsamic vinegar
• 8 half-pint (250 ml) Mason jars  
• 8 snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Since your jam will be boiling in the water bath for 10 minutes, you don't need to pre-sterilize. 
2. Start heating your waterbath now. Add a splash of vinegar if your water is hard like ours in Waterloo. 
3. Wash and hull your berries. 
4. Mash your berries in layers with a potato masher. So satisfying! 
5. Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.
6. Put your strawberries and sugar/pectin mix in a large pot and bring to boil, stirring frequently.
7. Add remaining sugar and the vinegar, and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.
8. Put the snap lids in hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.
9. Continue to stir your berry mix frequently, skimming foam, for about 5 minutes.
10. Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace. 
11. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.
12. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the canner lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 
13. Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. 

Strawberry pie filling

I said I was going to make strawberry pie filling, and I did indeed do so the first week of July when strawberries were in their prime. I'm really behind on posting because I've been in a making-not-writing kind of mindset. That said, when strawberry season rolls around again, here's the recipe just a-waitin' for you. 

A berry nice haul...

You'll need:

• 15 cups halved strawberries 

• 3 cups sugar (you can up or lower the amount of sugar to your taste)

• 1 1/2 cup ClearJel (do not substitute!)

• 3 cups water

• 12 T lemon juice

• 6 or 7 pint  (500 ml) Mason jars

• 6 or 7 snap lids and rings

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Make sure your jars and water bath are ready because it comes together quickly.

3. Combine sugar, ClearJel, water in a large pot. Whisk it all together thoroughly until well combined. Heat on medium until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

4. Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften.

5. Fold strawberries, a few cups at a time, into the hot mixture.

6. Scoop hot strawberry pie filling into jars leaving a good 1.5 inch headspace. 

7. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim thoroughly with a clean paper towel, dampened with vinegar. (The vinegar works really well to clean up the sticky, sticky filling.) Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

8. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil for 30 minutes. 

Ta da! I plan to use one pint of strawberry filling with one pint of rhubarb filling per pie. Haven't tried it yet, but that is the plan, man.

Strawberry-mint jam

Last year, I went classic with the strawberry jam, so I wanted to try something a little different this year. But not, like, crazy different* and still a sweet breakfasty jam. The mint that grows like crazy along the side of our house gave me the inspiration. I basically used the recipe out of the Certo box, with two major adjustments. I added the mint, and I water bath canned it.

The Certo recipe recommends pre-sterilizing the jars in the oven, then ladling piping hot jam into hot jars with hot lids. As they cool, they seal. I've done it, and it works just fine. The truth is, though, I already had the canner out and the water heating before I looked at the instructions. At that point, I figured I might as well use it.    

I originally thought about using some lemon juice to bring a little tang to the party, but then I decided not to. Good story, huh?

You'll need:

• 6 cups prepared strawberries (about 3L basket)

• 4 1/2 cups white sugar 

• 1 pkg (57 g box) light pectin (Certo Light)

• 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped fine

• 8 half-pint (250 ml) Mason jars or 

• Equivalent number of snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. I've probably never going to not say this!

2. If you're going to use a water bath, start heating your water now. Add a splash of vinegar if your water is hard like ours in Waterloo. If you're not going to use a water bath, put your jars on a tray in 225F oven for at least 10 minutes. You can shut off the oven but leave the jars in there until you're ready to use them to keep them hot. 

3. Wash and hull your berries. (This little strawberry hulling gadget from Lee Valley does a GREAT job. Yes, it's expensive for what it is. But every June I sing its praises.)

4. I mashed about 4 cups of strawberries with a potato masher and, just for funsies, sliced the remaining 2 cups into larger chunks. 

5. Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.

6. Put your strawberries and sugar/pectin mix in a large pot and bring to boil, stirring frequently.

7. Add remaining sugar and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.

8. Put the snap lids in hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.

9. Continue to stir your berry mix frequently, skimming foam, for about 5 minutes. Do not discard the foam. It is delish, and you've earned it. (My kids always ask for the skims.) 

10. Stir in finely chopped mint. 

11. Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace. I had a little too much for 8 jars, but not nearly enough for a ninth. That's tomorrow's Father's Day breakfast jam. Dave's a lucky guy!

12. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

13. If you are not using a water bath, you are done. Leave them and listen for pops. Or put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the canner lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

14. Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. Ta da! So gorgeous and so tasty.

Write here...

*I made strawberry-pineapple one year. It tasted grand, but the colour became a little, uh, off-putting after several months in the pantry. Live and learn! 

Rhubarb pie filling

Since I still have a jar or two of the delish rhubarb chutney I made last year, I wanted to do something different this rhubarb season. And, of course, rhubarb is a classic, often combined with strawberries in tart-sweet-glorious desserts, so my mind quickly turned to pie.

The apple pie filling was a nice proof of concept. Turns out, we're really enjoying having the option of a quick homemade baked dessert. The challenge is that our rhubarb season and strawberry season don't quite overlap. Here's where Dave's brainstorm came in. Why not can rhubarb pie filling in May, then strawberry pie filling in June? One pint of each, et voila! you have a perfect strawberry-rhubarb pie.

So that's the plan. Here's the recipe for rhubarb. Stay tuned for strawberry.

You'll need:

• 8 cups chopped rhubarb 

• 1 3/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 cup + 2 T ClearJel (do not substitute!)

• 2 cups water

• 6 T lemon juice

• 4 pint  (500 ml) Mason jars

• 4 snap lids and rings

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Blanch your rhubarb in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Put drained rhubarb in a covered bowl or pot. You may need to do it in more than one batch.

3. Make sure your jars are ready to be filled cause it all happens pretty quickly from here on out.

4. Combine sugar, ClearJel, water in a large pot. Whisk it all together thoroughly until well combined. Heat on medium until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

5. Add the lemon juice to the thickened mixture and bring it back up to bubble.

6. Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften, if recommended by the manufacturer.

7. Fold drained rhubarb, a few cups at a time, into the hot mixture.

8. Scoop hot rhubarb pie filling into jars leaving a good 1.5 inch headspace. 

9. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim thoroughly with a clean paper towel, dampened with vinegar. (The vinegar works really well to clean up the sticky, sticky filling.) Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

10. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil for 30 minutes. 

Remove jars from the canner. Repeat with the next batch. Commence beauty shots.

Edited to add instructions for lemon juice. Oops!

Wine jelly

Another wonderful off-season recipe. From the recipes I looked at, you can pretty much use any wine. I imagine the better the wine, the better the results. I used an inexpensive Rioja because A/ it's what I had on hand and B/ it's an easy-drinker, so I figured there was no way it wouldn't be delicious. It absolutely is, and it's gorgeous. 

You'll need:

• 750 ml bottle of wine 

• 3 1/4 cups white sugar 

• 3 T lemon juice

• 1 pkg (57 g box) pectin

• 4 half-pint (250 ml) Mason jars or 8 125 ml jars, or whatever combo works for you

• Equivalent number of snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.

2. Fill your canning pot halfway-ish with water and put it on to heat. Put your jars in there to get all sterilized and hygienic while you do the rest. (Don't skip this step with this recipe because your jelly won't be in the boiling water bath long enough to compensate.)

3. Put 1/3 cup of water in a small pot. Eyeball it to see about how much 1/3 cup of liquid looks like in this pot. Okay, you're done with this water. You can use it to water a plant, maybe?

4. Put 1 1/4 cup of the wine into this same small pot and boil it down over med-high heat until it's about a 1/3 of a cup. No measuring required. Set it aside.

5. Combine your packet of pectin with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small bowl and mix it together well.

6. Bring remaining wine, lemon juice and sugar/pectin mix to a boil in a large pot, stirring frequently.

7. Add remaining sugar and reduced wine, and bring back to a hard boil, stirring constantly, for one minute. Remove from heat.

8. This is a good time to fish your jars out of your water bath and set them up to fill. Put the snap lids in the hot water to soften. It doesn't have to be boiling.

9. Continue to stir frequently, skimming foam, for about 5 minutes. Do not discard the foam. It is delish. 

10. Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace.

11. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean paper towel dipped in vinegar. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

12. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 5 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

13. Remove jars from the canner or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down. Ta da!

Pickled red onions (or pink pickled onions, as the case may be...)

I've been meaning to make these for a while as a good project for long-storing vegetables when there's nothing fresh and local, but I hadn't found the ambition. Then, a couple of weeks ago I had a steak salad that was topped with delicate slices of pickled red onions. A very nice touch, especially since I often find fresh red onion in a salad overpowering. I skimmed a bunch of recipes and MacGyvered my own based on the spices that appealed to me. So here we are.

You'll need:

• 3 lbs red onions (I was a bit short on reds, so I supplemented with a couple of small cooking onions we had on hand)

• 4 cups red wine vinegar

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 4 T salt

• 6 pint (500 ml) jars

• 6 snap lids and rings

And per jar:

• 5 peppercorns

• 2 whole allspice

• 1/4 t celery seed

• 1 t whole mustard seed

• 1 bay leaf

• Pinch red pepper flakes

I am equal parts in love and terrified by this device. 

1. Wash your jars in hot, sudsy water. Rinse well. They'll get sterile in the water bath.

2. Peel and slice onions thinly into half moons. For the first slice, the mandoline was set at  1/4 " and that was way too thick. I ended up between 1/16" and 1/32". (What is that, 3/64 of an inch? I think my brain just broke.) Anyway, thin.

3. Start heating the water in your canner now, so it'll be getting hot when you need it. 

4. Place your chosen spices into each jar. Lots of options for spices in different recipes, and some advocated for no spices at all. I went with a medley of favourites. 

5. Stuff your onion slices evenly into each jar. Pack them in pretty tight. You'll get shrinkage and it'll be more roomy once you add the brine.

6. Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and salt into a large pot and bring to a boil. Stir and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. 

7. Put your snap lids in hot water to soften. 

8. Using a ladle and wide mouth funnel, fill your jars with brine to within 1/4 inch of the jar's rim.

9. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

10. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling.

11. Remove jars from the canner. 

12. Admire and wait for the pops. If any jars don't seal properly, they'll keep for quite a long while in the fridge. 

Edited to add that the spice choices have turned out to be good ones! I thought they would be, but I'm relieved to say that they actually are for sure. So far these onions have been enjoyed on fish tacos, meatball subs, and (at least by Dave) mixed with yellow mustard as some weird sort of side dish. Chacun à son goût!

Zesty cranberry chutney

This post has been waiting since DECEMBER. Yeah. It's been 2 full months since I canned anything. 'Tis not the season for anything around here. But fresh cranberries were in grocery stores in December, and I made something with them. And without further ado, here's what I made. 

You'll need:

• 36 ounces (3 x 340 g bags) fresh cranberries

• 4 cups chopped white or yellow onion (the onion I used was massive)

• 3 cups (or less) raisins (I might omit these the next time, though I guess then it wouldn't be a chutney...)

• 2 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed

• 2 1/4 cups white sugar

• 6 fresh serrano or jalapeno peppers, stems and seeds removed, finely minced (I used four of the giant jalapenos from my garden that I froze this fall, and they worked great) 

• 3 cups white wine vinegar

• 1 1/2 cups orange juice

• Zest of an orange

• 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

• 4 cinnamon sticks

• 12ish  1/2 pint (1 cup/250 ml) mason jars [I didn't have enough matching jars so I used what I had on hand: 8 1/2 pint  jars; 2 pint  jars; 1 1/4 pint (125 ml) jar]

• Enough snap lids and rings

So pretty, aren't they?

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your jars  in hot soap water and rinse well. 

2. Combine all of your ingredients in a large pot. 

3. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently.

4. Once it comes to a boil, drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until most of the cranberries have popped and the rest are quite tender.

5. This is where I usually get a small pot out to heat water for the snap lids. This year, Santa brought me a nifty little gadget to lower the snap lids into the canner and use that water. Handy dandy! If you have one of those, heat water to the almost boil in the canner and place your snap lids in there to soften.

6. Scoop chutney into jars leaving a centimetre or so headspace. 

7. Bubble each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel. (This recipe suggests using a paper towel dampened with vinegar, and it works like a charm to remove the stickiness.) Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

8. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil for 15 minutes. 

9. Remove jars from the canner. Repeat with the next batch if you have more jars. 

Obviously it would be lovely to serve with a holiday turkey dinner. The mild heat and tartness of the chutney would compliment a typically rich festive meal quite nicely. 

It's also delish on a roast beef sandwich. Enjoy!

I adapted this recipe from a fabulous canning cookbook I got this year for Christmas. If you're looking for some interesting recipes and a thoughtful approach to canning, check out Not Your Mama’s Canning Book by Rebecca Lindamood. 

Apple pie filling

The idea of home-canned apple pie filling is new to me. To be honest, I don't think I've even seen apple pie made out of store-bought pie filling. My mom uses her extra apples to assemble and freeze pies prior to baking, so she almost always has a homemade pie available to whip out and bake in no time flat. (She's fancy like that.)

But we bought 20 lbs of apples to support a school fundraiser, and I made applesauce with half of them, have zero extra freezer space (fruitcake, yo), and wanted to try something new. Enter the Google machine and a trillion ideas for canning apples. This recipe is simplified from the Ball version. I got two full batches and a third-sized batch out of the 10 lb bag of apples. 

You'll need:

• 12 cups apples (about 12 or 13 medium) 

• 2 3/4 cups sugar

• 3/4 cup ClearJel (click through to the kind I used; it's not easy to find in stores but it's not substitutable with other similar things like cornstarch. Cornstarch can cause uneven heating and affect food safety so do not substitute because science)

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice (I used cider)

• 1 1/4 cups cold water

• 1/2 cup lemon juice

• 8 pint  (500 ml) Mason jars

• 8 snap lids and rings

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Peel and slice your apples. There are several companies that will happily sell you some sort of product to prevent your apple slices from browning. If you love to purchase extra things to clutter up your cupboards, go nuts. If you do not, soak your apple slices for at least 10 minutes in a cold lemon water (1/4 cup lemon juice per 4 cups water) or salt water (1 teaspoon per 2 cups water) bath. I used lemon water, but I just read that salt is better so I'm going to try it next time. Either way, rinse them in fresh water before using.

3. Combine sugar, ClearJel, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large pot. Whisk it all together thoroughly until well combined. 

4. Make sure your jars are ready to be filled cause it all happens pretty quickly from here on out.

5. Stir in apple juice/cider and cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble.

6. Add 1/2 cup lemon juice, return to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

7. Immediately fold the apple slices, a few cups at a time, into the hot mixture.

8. Put the pot back on the stove and heat, stirring, until apples are heated through.

9. Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften.

10. Scoop hot apple pie filling into jars leaving a good 1.5 inch headspace. (Apparently canned apple pie filling is notorious for oozing out from under the lid, so I left extra head room and that seemed to avoid the problem.)

11. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim thoroughly with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

12. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil for 25 minutes. 

13. Remove jars from the canner. Repeat with the next batch. Commence beauty shots.

Criss-cross applesauce

You'll need:

• Apples, any kind really - I used a 10lb bag of Jonagolds 

• 1/2 pint (250 ml) jars

• Snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

I brought all my empty Mason jars up from the pantry to take a head count and give them all a good bath. 

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.

2. Rinse your apples well with water. 

3. Chop 'em up. When you're going to use a food mill to blend them, everything but cores and stems goes in the pot. So easy and I enjoy the pinkiness the peels contribute to the colour of the finished sauce. I added a splash of apple cider to the pot with the first of the apples to provide a bit of liquid to start. Totally not necessary though. 

4. Cook gently on low-med heat until nice and squooshy. Stir occasionally. 

5. When nicely squooshy, scoop apples into the food mill and blend to extract all the delicious applesauce into a fresh pot. The skins will remain behind. Start heating your waterbath canner anytime now. 

6. Taste your applesauce and add sugar or cinnamon to your preference. I prefer to leave it plain. 

7. Heat water to the almost boil in a small pot and place your snap lids in there to soften.

8. Put your applesauce back on the stove and heat to the boil. 

9. Ladle your applesauce into jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head space. 

10. As usual, "bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

11. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Boil quarts for 20 minutes, pints for 15 minutes. I didn't have any officially tested times for half-pints, so I went with the time for pints. If you're mixing jar sizes in the same load, process to the longest requirement. 

12. Remove jars from the canner. Repeat with the next batch.

Grandma's* Christmas Cake (no jars involved!)

This recipe was Dave and my wedding cake. We made it in my Grandma's kitchen under her supervision, the same way my parents had made theirs 28 years previously – probably even using the same pans. There was a lot of love baked into that cake, and I hear my Grandma's coaching voice every time I use this recipe. It's a dense, rich, wonderful fruitcake. 

I highly recommend you make and freeze 4–6 weeks or so before you want to start serving it because it gets so much better over time. This recipe makes a lot of cake, so you may want to half it. Half was enough for our smallish 3-tiered wedding cake. This time around, I made the full amount, and I had to use my large pressure canner as the mixing bowl. 

*Oh, I should probably mention – since Grandma always did when someone tried to give her credit for this recipe – that the original was Grandma's sister-in-law's mother's recipe. Mrs Manion, wherever you are, we thank you. 

You'll need:

• 4 cups sugar

• 2 tsp each cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice

• 8 cups flour

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 3 cups butter

• 2 cups molasses

• 10 eggs

• 2 cups sweet milk (2%)

• 2 lbs currants

• 1 lb walnuts, chopped 

• 1 lb dates, chopped

• 3 lbs raisins

• 1 lb mixed peel (my Grandma didn't use so I don't either, but you might love it)

• 1 lb glace cherries, red and green, chopped

• Canola spray

• If you're me, a rag-tag bunch of loaf or cake pans 

Before baking. I covered them with tea towels and left them on the counter overnight.

1. Mix sugar, flour, spices, and soda. Cut in butter and mix well.

2. Add molasses and mix well. (If you lightly grease your measuring cup with canola before putting the molasses in it, it will pour our out so much more easily without having to scrape.)

3. Add milk and mix well. That voice you hear in your head might be my Grandma telling you to mix a little more because she can tell your arm is getting tired, but you shouldn't stop quite yet. 

4. Add eggs and mix well. If you get your batter all well-mixed before you start adding your chunky ingredients, it is so much easier!

5. Add all the fruits and nuts and, you guessed it, mix well. Careful you don't break your wooden spoon (the voice is mine this time, speaking from experience); this batter is heavy!

6. Grease/spray your pans and fill with batter. Leave some room for the cake to rise. Allow to stand overnight in cake tins. Grandma said doing this makes the cakes not so apt to fall.

7. Several hours later, bake at 300F or 280F for longer. The original recipe, which assumes you are using very large pans for a wedding cake, says bake for 3–4 hours. My mini loaf pans were done in 45 mins, and the others took from 1 hour and 35 minutes to 2 hours and 5 minutes. The key is to check for doneness with a toothpick.  

8. Let them cool thoroughly on baking racks before removing them from the pans. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for freezing. They'll keep beautifully for months, even years.  

After baking. Hello gorgeous!

Simple stewed tomatoes

I'm a little late with this post. It's been about a month since I made these, and it was getting to the tail end of tomato season then. It's been busy!

You'll need:

• Roma tomatoes, a 1/2 bushel or so (or however many you have of whatever kind of tomato)

• Quart (1 L)  or Pint (500 ml) Mason jars

• An equivalent number of snap lids and rings

And per jar:

• 1/2 t citric acid per quart or 1/4 t per pint

Directions for canning:

1. Wash your jars in hot soapy water and rinse well. 

2. Put a good-size pot of water on to boil. Put ice and/or very cold water in a large bowl or your clean sink. Our new fridge has an ice maker. I had no idea how much I would love this feature for canning.  

3. Rinse your tomatoes well and rub off any bits of field dirt. 

4. Take a sharp paring knife and cut an X into each tomato.

5. Working with about a half-dozen tomatoes at a time, put them in the boiling water for about a minute, then remove them to the ice bath. 

6. Once they've cooled, their skins will slip off quite easily, especially if you've given them a starting place with that X.

7. Core each tomato and slice or rough chop. Put tomatoes into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and heat on medium. Let the tomatoes simmer happily while continuing to peel, core, and chop the rest.

8. Once the tomatoes are all in the pot and lovely and soft and juicy, squish them up with a potato masher. Cook until you like how they look. Add a sprinkle of salt if you wish, or not. 

9. Prepare your jars with citric acid. 

10. Heat water in a small pot and put your snap lids in there. They don't have to come to a boil. It's just to soften them a smidge to help them seal. 

11. Ladle your tomatoes into jars, leaving about 1/2 inch head space. 

12. As usual, "bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place a heated snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight.

13. Put the filled jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. Put the pot lid on and boil quarts for 45 minutes, pints for 35 minutes. If you're mixing jar sizes in the same load, be sure to process to the longest requirement. 

14. Remove jars from the canner.

15. Repeat the process with the next batch. So simple and gorgeous and just waiting for your favourite chili, pasta, or soup recipe.

Jalapeno Jammy Jelly

First, I'll tell you what you should do, and what I have done many times in the past, to create a beautiful, tasty jalapeno jam. Then, I'll tell you what I did do this time around as a what not to do. Servicey!

The Right Way

With thanks to My Kitchen Addiction for the fabulous recipe that I started with.

You'll need:

• 4 cups of seeded and finely diced peppers (whatever ya got, long as they're hot but not, you know, too hot – and you'll want a mix of red and green for the pretty; say about 10 green jalapeños, 2 red peppers, 4 smaller, hotter red peppers)

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 package of low-sugar powdered pectin*

• 2–3 cups granulated sugar 

• 6 1/2 pint (250 ml) jars

• 6 snap lids and rings

*You can substitute regular pectin and use about 5 cups of sugar. That would be delish. I would definitely steer away from the no-sugar pectin for this recipe though. I tried it once and it had sort of a chemically taste to me. 

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.

2. Combine your diced peppers and vinegar in your cooking pot. As it heats, add the pectin and stir it in well until dissolved. 

3. Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Add the sugar. 

4. Stirring constantly, return mixture to full rolling boil that doesn't calm down even when you stir it.

5. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

6. Quickly ladle hot jam into jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace. Important: make sure your jars aren't cold or they might react quite dramatically to hot jam. I find this is not a problem in a hot summer kitchen, but you may be a fan of frigid air conditioning, in which case you might want to heat your jars in the oven or water bath before filling.

7. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

8. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 15 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

9. Remove jars from the canner (or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down).

Enjoy! This spread is fabulous on brie and crackers. It's one of my go-to's whenever I'm looking for a snack or hors d'oeuvres that feel a little special for guests. I also gave a jar as a thank-you gift to a friend, who said he enjoyed it served on vanilla ice cream! You do you. It's fail-safe.

The not-as-right way to make jalapeno jelly

And now for a version that is not as good, but I tried it so I want to share. I won't be making it this way again. Live and learn. 

You'll need:

• 12 medium (about 3/4 lb) jalapeno peppers or other peppers (again, follow your bliss), stems and seeds removed   

• 6 cups sugar

• 2 cups white or cider vinegar

• 2 packets (1 box) liquid pectin

• 5 1/2 pint (250 ml) jars

• 5 snap lids and rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Wash your Mason jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well.

2. Heat 1 cup vinegar in pot with peppers. Boil for a couple of minutes. I'm not sure why I felt like this was a good idea. I think I was thinking it would soften the peppers and make them easier to puree. Or maybe I was planning to strain the liquid and thought this would give more flavour?

3. Puree peppers and vinegar. If you've cooked them first, you are now dealing with a hot mixture in your food processor. This wasn't my best idea. Also, the mixture just wouldn't fully puree, so I really just ended up with finely minced peppers in vinegar.

4. Put mixture back in pot. Add remaining cup of vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

5. Add liquid pectin and boil for 1 minute.

6.  Heat snap lids in a small pot of water. 

7. Quickly ladle hot jam into jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm headspace.

8. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

9. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 10 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

10. Remove jars from the canner (or let them sit in the canner until everything calms down).

Here's this rather muddy looking jam. I gotta take a pic of jam made with the other recipe. It's lighter and more golden in colour with gorgeous green and red flecks. 

So... this is sort of pretty much like the directions that came with the pectin, except for the extra boiling at the beginning. It's really not your best way to go. It didn't set perfectly; it's a little runny. Plus, it's a little muddier in colour and not as attractive as the recipe above makes. I probably could have improved it by adding food colour, but that's not really my preference. It tastes good. It's just not as good as the my fave version. 

Rainy Saturday Onion–Apple Jam

I've had a hankering to make this concoction for a couple of weeks, ever since one of the characters mentioned a similar recipe in a book I was reading. I found a few recipes for jams or chutneys with both onion and apple, then came up with my own. Since apples are a high-acid, safe-for-canning food and I was using vinegar as well, I was confident in free-styling a bit.  

This recipe is perfect when you’re looking for a productive yet low effort (at least compared to salsa!) way to spend your Saturday. No fancy ingredients, so you probably have all this stuff in your kitchen already.

You’ll need:

• 5 cups apples, peeled and chopped (about 7 apples; I used a mix of Gala and Granny Smith)

• 5 cups onions, peeled and sliced (1.5 big red onions and 2 smaller white onions)

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced fine

• 2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced fine

• 3 T lemon juice

• 1 T mustard seed

• 3 cups apple cider vinegar

• 4 cups brown sugar

• 3 t salt

• 7 ½ pint (250ml) jars

• Lids and canning rings

Directions for cooking and canning:

1. Combine apples, onions, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, mustard seed, salt, and 2 cups vinegar in a large pot.

2. Heat until boiling, then reduce to a simmer.

3. Stirring occasionally, cook for at least 90 minutes. Once the apples are softened, used a potato masher to really smush 'em up. Or don't, if you like it chunky. 

4. Add sugar and the last cup of cider vinegar. Continue to cook down until the consistency is thick and jammy. Probably another 30 minutes or so.

5. When you’re getting close-ish, fill your canner with water and add your empty jars. Bring to a boil for at least 10 minutes. Don't skip this step with this recipe, since the canning time is less than 10 minutes. 

6. Remove jars from canner. Empty the boiling water from one of them into a small pot and place the snap lids in there to soften.

7. Quickly ladle hot jam into hot jars, using a wide mouth funnel. Leave 0.5 cm or a little more headspace.

8. "Bubble" each jar with a skewer or chopstick to release any trapped air. Wipe each rim with a clean damp paper towel. Place the snap lid down and screw the ring on finger tip tight. 

9. Put the jars into your water bath canner. Make sure there is at least an inch of water above the top of your jars. Put the pot lid on and return to the boil for 5 minutes. Don't start your timer until the water is boiling. 

10. Remove jars from the canner. Enjoy the pops!