Garlicky Pickled Pepper Rings

I bottled these in about 45 minutes...start to finish. Super easy!

Makes 6 pints

12 cups sliced peppers. Jalapenos, Hot Banana, Sweet Banana, whatever floats your boat.
6 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
24 (or more!) cloves of garlic
Ball pickle crisp, optional. It just keeps the rings crispy

Prepare jars, rings and lids
Get your water bath canner going.
This goes fast!

Bring the vinegar and water to boil.
To each jar, add 1/4 teaspoon pickle crisp, 4 cloves of garlic (more if you want) and fill to 1/2 inch of top of jar with pepper slices.
Pour hot vinegar over pickle slices, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Wipe rims of jars clean, Adjust 2 piece caps.
Process 20 minutes (in UTAH!) in boiling water bath canner.

These need to sit for 3 months before opening for best pickled effect.

Cafe Rio Style Salad Dressing

Here's a link to the recipe for the creamy tomatillo salad dressing that they serve at Cafe Rio.
I made it a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic on a fresh garden salad with grilled chicken.
Check it out!
Kalyn's Kitchen Cafe Rio Style Tomatillo Dressing

Spicy Tomatillo Lime Jam

This one will be great for holiday entertaining!

1 lb tomatillos, husked, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced and thickened to jam consistency.
This took about 1 1/2 hours for me.
It reduces to about 8 oz of jam.
Store in refrigerator.

This jam is something a little different. Delicious as it is and super yummy on top of cream cheese, served with crackers. 

Roasted Garlic and Tomatillos for the freezer

Garden member, Melissa, shared the following idea on Facebook.

Roasted garlic and tomatillos for the freezer - There have been so many tomatillos - so I've been husking and washing them, cutting them in half and placing them on a foil lined and cookie sheet. Separate fresh garlic into cloves, but leave skins on and throw about 8 on the cookie sheet. Put it in the oven on low broil until the tops of the tomatillos start to get a deep brown (about 10-15 mins). Let cool and pop the garlic out of the sleeves and scoop everything into a quart sized freezer bag. Now you have a starter for salsa, chile verde, Mexican dips, etc. Better than letting them go to waste. Quick, easy.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

You might have a lot of tomatillos, whether you wanted them or not. ;) I have a couple of recipes I've used and enjoyed that I will share here on the blog over the next few days. I am also looking for some new ideas, so if you have any, feel free to share!

1 large Poblano pepper, halved and seeded
1/2 large white onion, cut into 4 wedges
4 cloves garlic
2 1/4 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
kosher salt
3 red jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced crosswise (with seeds)

Preheat broiler.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Place the poblano halves (skin side up!), tomatillos, onion wedges and garlic on the baking sheet.
Broil for 8-10 minutes until the poblano skin is charred and the other vegetables are browned.
Peel the poblano.
Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Taste.
Adjust seasoning. If it seems too tart, add a bit of sugar to balance it.

Makes just a bit more than a quart, just as you see in the picture.
This will be eaten within a couple of weeks at our house, so we just keep it in the fridge.
But you can bottle it if you wish.

To can:
Bring salsa to a boil and simmer 3-4 minutes.
Fill prepared jars with salsa, leaving 3/4 inch headspace, then seal and process 25 minutes (in Utah) in a water bath canner.

When serving:
Add some fresh chopped cilantro to brighten the flavor a bit.

Enjoy!
Trish

Something different for your tomatoes

Last year I did a LOT of canning. When I was sick of canning and still had roma tomatoes ripening, I tried something a little different. I made slow roasted tomatoes. They turn out to have a flavor like sun dried tomatoes. They are wonderful in pasta dishes and salads. They're even good to eat all by themselves. Like tomato candy!
Give them a try and tell me what you think.
Trish

Cut in half and place skin side down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt.
Roast them for about 12 hours at 200 degrees. Check on them in the last hour or so. You don’t want them to be crispy at all. Still pliable, but not juicy either.
Romas have less water, so other varieties might take longer to roast.
Place the whole cookie sheet into the freezer. When they are frozen, place the tomatoes in a freezer bag. Store them in the freezer to enjoy all winter. Easy Peasy!

Cheryl took it a step farther last year and roasted green tomatoes. Also very delicious!

Summer Vegetable Tian

(photo by budgetbytes.blogspot.com)

I have made this recipe a couple of times and shared it on the Community Garden Facebook page earlier in the summer.
It is delicious! Uses potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, onions and tomatoes.
Find the recipe at THIS LINK (budgetbytes.blogspot.com)

Trish