Now is the fun time of gardening - the picking, and eating and canning and sharing. Lately we have been able to start using the the things from our garden. Last night, Janene spent the whole night (literally, getting up every 20 minutes to stir the pot) making 16 pints of her mom's chili sauce. First you start with 20 pounds of freshly picked vine-ripened tomatoes, and then you add all the other secret ingredients we grow in our garden.
Then you grind them all up in the food processor, add all the spices and put it all into two giant pots and cook it all down until it is the right consistency. The flavors and aromas that permeate the house during this process remind Janene of her young life with her mother making the same sauce. Then it is into the bottles, to be canned for saving and using throughout the year.
With all the peppers we have ripening right now, we decided to roast up a bunch of peppers so that we can have them all year long as well. We didn't grow any really hot peppers this year, but we got a lot of Poblanos (shown here on the grill) and Anaheims, Yellow Wax Peppers and two new varieties, the Marconi Giant Pepper and the Fiesta. Now all we have to do is figure out how we are going to make our one hundred some odd onions last the whole year. And just what are we supposed to do with our tomatillos? Any suggestions for recipes would be greatly appreciated.
4 comments:
Hi, this is Mary - Brooke's BYU roommate - remember taking me to St. George? :) So, I was passing by your blog and couldn't help but give you the best recipe I know that uses tomatillos. Enjoy!
Café Rio Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing
¼ c. Traditional Hidden Valley Ranch Mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
½ bunch fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 lime (juice only)
1 jalapeño (remove the seeds for mild dressing)
Mix all ingredients together in the blender until smooth. That's it!
[Combine this dressing with other Café Rio dishes for a really tasty meal!!]
Even after all these years of knowing you guys, I don't recall ever having tasted the chili sauce! It must be good.
Crystal makes a killer tomatillo salsa.
I love chili sauce, but never know what to use it on... let me know. Our house is smelling of good things too. I'll trade you a jar of sweet pickle relish for a jar of chili sauce! Would you like a pumpkin or two? I planted them too early and now they are ready. I guess I will can some and freeze some for pumpkin bread later.
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