Getting Worn and Weary
I was supposed to walk one mile a day, and had been doing quite well until the past month, then canning season set in. Between helping in a friend’s garden with harvesting and doing the actual canning, I’ve been too busy. Most days my friend, her sister-in-law, and occasional help from another friend who wants to learn how to can, we start at 9 in the morning and work until three in the afternoon, sometimes longer, depending on what we are working on. The woman who allows us to use her kitchen, often she finishes the canning much later into the evening. The fruits and vegetables that must be pressure canned take longer. She has to carefully watch the pressure gages to be sure the canners don’t explode or that the temperature doesn’t waiver during the process.
We have already canned salsa, tomato sauce, ketchup peppers, sweet corn, dill pickles, sweet pickles, bread & butter pickles, green beans, dilly beans, tomato soup, pickled beets, peppers stuffed with hotdogs, peppers stuffed with smoked sausage, and applesauce.
We have also frozen sausage stuffed peppers and we have a large bucket of cabbage fermenting into sauerkraut that will need to be canned. Tomorrow will be a real “Labor Day.” Tomatoes are on the agenda, but not sure what we will make from it. The carrots have been pulled and are waiting to be cut into “wheels” and canned. I know that there are more peppers to be gathered and because the ketchup peppers are so popular, we will be making a third batch. The ketchup peppers make a wonderful sauce to pour over chicken or beef and allow it to flavor the meat as it cooks. It also makes a great sloppy Joe sauce or it can be placed on a hamburger, almost like a relish.
The ketchup Pepper recipe was given to me by an older widow woman that my wife and I used to visit and drop off some fruit on our way home from shopping.
Marie’s Ketchup Peppers
1 large onion diced    1 garlic clove minced    30 hot peppers (Strips or small chunks)        25 green peppers (Strips or small chunks)    2 Kegs of ketchup    2 cups of sugar        1 cup vegetable oil     Small chunks are best if you use it on burgers.
Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Mix, stir frequently and bring to boil.
Place mixture into canning jars, wipe rims, seat lids and screw on rings. Cold pack for 15 to 20 minutes.