My journey of cooking, gardening, preserving and more
This is a power-packed soup made with antioxidant-rich winter squash, carrots, red lentils, ginger, garlic, and immunity-boosting spices. It’s a rich, flavorful soup and the spices can be adjusted to suit your personal taste. I roast the vegetables for a deep, caramelized flavor that pairs …
This is a throw-it-together on a weeknight recipe, a serve-it-up as a get-together dish, and a makes-a-perfect-accompaniment to a sexy dinner for two alongside just about anything dish. Are you with me here? This recipe is so easy and so forgiving; change up the spinach …
Who loves hot salsa? I love hot salsa! I’ve canned Ghost Chili Pepper Salsa and Trinidad Scorpion Pepper Salsa and now I want to share my Scotch Bonnet Salsa canning recipe. These are all a riff on my popular Chunky Tomato Salsa Canning Recipe because honestly, who likes runny salsa?
If you don’t have any of these hot peppers, choose your own or better yet, add a variety. Just be sure you continue to taste your salsa as you put it together because the heat will intensify as it sits in your pantry. Also, I added lots of garlic to this batch but feel free to adjust it to your taste.
First, make sure you’ve got your jars, lids, and bands sterilized first so everything is ready to go. If you’re new to canning, this means you need to boil your clean jars for a minimum of 10 minutes in your canner. Sterilize your lids and rings in a separate pan for 10 minutes. If you have any questions, please drop me a comment and let me know.
Makes 5 Pints
Directions
Canning your own salsa isn’t difficult and it’s the vinegar that makes it safe to can in a water bath canner. I’ve gotten to where I prefer to add fresh cilantro right before serving it (when I have it) but you can add some to the canning recipe as well.
Life should be spicy! Enjoy!
This flavorful shrimp & scallop coconut curry soup is full of veggies and a little bit of heat. Perfection!
What to make with a ton of hot peppers? Hot sauce, of course! This one gets its kick from black Hungarian peppers & orange jalapenos. Delicious!
Fresh fennel has an incredibly distinctive flavor that tastes one way when it’s fresh and a different way when it’s roasted or cooked. Even if you’re not a huge fan of the anise flavor of fresh fennel, I urge you to try it pickled which brings out an entirely new nuance to the flavor of it.
Directions
This is a quick and easy way to preserve fresh fennel. The sugar adds just a bit of sweetness and the lemon adds a little brightness. If you don’t have rice vinegar, try white balsamic instead.
If you’re wondering how to use your newly-pickled fennel, it’s delicious with grilled or steamed white fish or served alongside roast beef or better yet, just toss it into your next salad. It’s a perfect pairing with summer tomatoes and I hope to share my salad recipe for that with you soon.
Fennel is easy to grow in the garden too, at least here in zone 5; just be sure to give each plant lots of space to grow. The fresh fronds from the fennel plant also make a fragrant bouquet as a centerpiece for your next get-together.
As a final note, this stores well in the fridge for weeks, so it’s easy to prepare and have on hand.
Enjoy!
There’s just nothing more beautiful or delicious than eggplant and tomatoes picked fresh from your garden or selected at your local farmer’s market. But, if you’re anything like me, you grow (or purchase) too many and then you’re scrambling for something to make with them. …