This past weekend I finally made it to our local farmer’s market. The four year-old wasn’t hard to convince to ride along, her knows there are fresh donuts at the end of the trip. I was pleasantly surprised there was no line! Peaches is what I was after, though I could not pass up the pitted frozen cherries either, oh and some cheese. I have to bring limited funds when I go or I end up buying way too much.
I knew I wanted to try out some peach recipes to preserve. Salsa was the obvious choice given the tomatoes, onions, and peppers I already had on hand.
| Spicy Peach Salsa |
- 3 pounds peaches, diced
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 pound tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- Pour vinegar in a large nonreactive pot. Add in peaches and you dice them to prevent browning.
- Add remaining ingredients (except cilantro) into peaches and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Stir in cilantro.
- Ladle the salsa into clean, hot half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Release trapped air.
- Wipe the rims clean, center lids on the jars and screw on jar bands.
- Using the boiling-water method, process for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat, remove pot lid, and let jars rest in the water for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours.
- Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
Makes 2 pints
Recipe adapted from Put ’em Up!
This is sure to inject some sunshine into a cold winter day. I made a fresh version too so we could enjoy now on a beautiful summer day. I used the same recipe above and omitted the vinegar and sugar and skipped the cooking and canning. Yummy stuff, great on fish or just as a salsa for chips.
After both of those salsas I still had a few peaches and of course lotsa peppers. After pursuing my cookbooks and the Interwebs I decided on a jam. The recipe ended up being a hybrid of a few different recipes. Turned out deliciously spicy and was just what my boring turkey roll-up lunch needed. I processed 6 4-oz canning jars and set aside some in the fridge to have on grilled pork chops later in the week. This would make a great appetizer too mixed with cream cheese and served with crackers.
I have been sporadically cooking and more often just throwing together what I have in the fridge and freezer. We are back to school this week and should be back to a regular routine, in and out of the kitchen.
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