Preserving Summer's Goodness

My cold cellar is filled with jars and jars of summer's goodness.

This year's garden was the best ever.

I am guessing that the garden boxes made all the difference.

Who knows.

The garden sure has kept me busy....

and has kept me out of the sewing room.

Yesterday marked the last day of food preservation,

and today I start to sew again!

Frost is right around the corner

and so is the demise of the garden.

I picked the last of the peppers,

hot and sweet.

I cleaned them...

removing stems and seeds

(took me about 3 hours).

This is truly a labor of love,

as I was crying, sneezing, coughing and nearly peeing myself 

from the hot pepper vapors!

Next I chopped the peppers finely...

still sneezing, crying, coughing.

I have learned that wearing latex gloves

keeps one from spreading this hotness onto 

other parts of the body that are even more unpleasant!

Into the kettle with vinegar, salt and sugar.

I use half the amount of sugar that I do vinegar,

and add anywhere from a tsp. to a tbsp. of salt.

Then I bring the mixture to a boil, 

pour into sterilized canning jars,

and process in a water bath.

Hot and sweet pepper relish...

Yummy!

We use it on everything...

it is our favorite condiment.

Next I sliced Asian pears and apples.

(I had to cover my red eyes from cleaning peppers.)

Placed the slices in a dehydrator....

Dried fruit slices make a nutritious and delicious snack!

And now, off to my sewing room...

so many projects to do...

so little time!