Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard...........10/11/2012

Although most of the preserving is finished, I still have a few/many things to make or finish taking care of. Since the peppers are still going strong, I have made some pepper mash and will be experimenting with making hot sauces when we get back from vacation. I ordered the mustard seed for making mustard. That will also be started when we get back.

Presently there are two containers of pears sitting in the kitchen awaiting to be canned this Saturday. I will can them the same as the peaches with a mixture of fresh juice and light syrup. There's also the balance of the dry beans lying on racks drying in the spare bedroom. Hopefully they will be dry soon so I can finish shelling them, weigh them and put them away for later use. 

I haven't decided what I'm going to do about the popcorn. Most of the white corn is hanging in a mesh bag on the back of the door leading to the basement and most of the strawberry corn is hanging from the pot rack in the kitchen. I suppose that I will shell and weigh the white corn. However, we really like the look of the strawberry corn hanging in the kitchen. That corn may stay there for awhile since it's so pretty. There's also dried herbs and dried peppers hanging in the kitchen awaiting to be processed and put away for storage.  

It may sound like a lot and I'm sure that there is something I forgetting. With the exception of the canning of the pears, what's left to do really isn't all that bad. Most of it is fun and easy stuff, unlike the never ending canning and freezing of the summer crops this year!

Since I really didn't do any canning or preserving this week, I thought I would share a recipe and a tip. 

Hot Pepper Jelly

• 2 Cups of finely chopped and seeded sweet peppers. I use a combination of colors to give the jelly a festive look
• 3/4 Cup of finely chopped and seeded hot peppers. You can adjust the sweet/hot ratio if you prefer hotter jelly or you can add a Tablespoon of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 1/2 Cups Cider Vinegar
• 6 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Pouch of Liquid Pectin

1. Place all of the Peppers and Vinegar in a large saucepot
2. Stir in Sugar and bring to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly
3. Stir pectin in quickly and pepper flakes (if you are using them)
4. Return to a full rolling boil and boil one minute
5. Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of the top. Cover with hot lids and process in a boiling bath for ten minutes

Once the jelly is finished processing, I put the jars on a wire rack. Once they cool down a bit, I turn them upside down. Then I continue to turn and shake them until the jelly has jelled enough to keep the pepper pieces suspended throughout the jelly. If you don't do this, the pepper pieces will float to the top.

Isn't it pretty???

What's been going in or out of your Kitchen Cupboard lately....and are you finished preserving your harvest???

Since we will be on vacation for the next two Thursday's, Jody & Belle at Spring Garden Acre will be hosting Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard.