I love marmalade, and this is a nice twist on marmalade. It's more like Carrot Cake in a jar. This is a low sugar jam so it does use a special pectin. You can get this at the Co-Op it's call Pomona's Pectin and it's easy to use. Read the instructions on Pomona's Pectin before starting.

Yields: 4-6 pints
Ingredients:
2 medium size oranges
1 1/3 c. peeled, grated carrots
1 1/3 c. chopped pineapple
 1 /4 c. golden raisins ( I used dried apricots)
1 1/3 c. water
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. calcium water
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 c. sugar ( to taste)
2 1/2 tsp. Pomona' Pectin powder

Directions:

1. Wash your jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring canner to a rolling boil, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them. Reduce heat and allow jars to remain in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan, heat to a low simmer, and hold until ready to use.
2. Wash the oranges, Peel the fruit and set aside peel from 1 orange, discarding the remaining peels. remove and discard any seeds, excess white pith, or especially fibrous parts of the membrane from the flesh of both oranges. Finely chop the flesh of both oranges.
3. Using a paring knife, scrape off and discard the inner white part of the reserved peel. Slicer the peel into thin strips, about 1 inch long.
4. Combine chopped oranges, sliced peel, grated carrots, chopped pineapple, raisins, and 1 1/3 cups of water. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, cover, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
   
5. Measure 4 cups of the cooked fruit mixture (saving any extra for another use). and return the measured quantity to the sauce pan. Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, lemon juice, and calcium water. Mix well.
6. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and pectin powder, Mix throughly and set aside.
   
7. Bring fruit mixture back to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring constantly. continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve pectin while the marmalade comes back to a boil. Once the marmalade returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.

Canning:
Remove the jars from the canner and ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head-space. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, put on lids and screw bands, and tighten to fingertip tight. Lower filled jars into canner to sit untouched for 5 minutes, then remove jars and allow to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly.

I usually make this for the Farmer's Market so come by and sample it if you like.

This is true clean out the garden recipe, gather all your tomatoes any variety will do. A truly easy way to make delicious tomato sauce. If you have a couple of peppers, garlic, onions  and herbs throw them in also

Recipe:
Suggested amount of vegetables

• 2+ lbs. large tomatoes (any variety of what ever you have is fine)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Bell Peppers (your choice on the amount)
• 1 large Onion or a few small ones
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning or fresh herbs like basil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if you want)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Roasted Tomato Sauce for Freezing:

• Preheat your oven to 425. 
• Clean your tomatoes and remove any unpleasant spots and place them on a rimmed baking tray. Use whatever fresh tomatoes you have handy.
• Cutting the tomatoes will depend on their size and the toughness of their core. Cherry tomatoes can be left whole, but halve most of the plums and just cut out the green core. The larger tomatoes, can be cored and cut down to size so those pieces were comparable to the halved plum tomatoes.
• You’ll also need a couple of small onions, a handful of basil, or dried Italian herbs  Add to this a couple of peppers, from the garden. Slice the onions and quarter the peppers, removing the seeds. Wash and clean the basil or any herbs.
  
• Place everything on a rimmed baking sheet.

• Drizzle with a little olive oil, just enough so that they don’t stick. Add a little at a time, and then use your clean hands to simply roll all of the pieces around to mix them up so that they all have a little oil. A little salt is optional here.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes – 1hr.
NOTE: This will vary somewhat depending on the size of your pieces and the amount of moisture that your tomatoes have. The level of roasting is a personal choice…if you don’t like charred food, remove them before that happens.

The skins of the tomatoes are easily removed once they are roasted but you don't have to remove the skins.  If you are putting the tomatoes in the food processor or blender the skins will be gone when you blend them.

• Spoon everything into a pan and use an immersion blender to pulverize everything. You can also put the mixture in a blender or food processor and pulse. It will depend on how chunky you like your sauce as to how much you blend it.
• Put it up in freezer bags and your set to go.
• You may also put the sauce in jars and then into the freezer. The best jars are ones with no shoulders (wide mouth jars) like the picture below. The jars with shoulders have a chance of breaking when the ingredients inside freeze and expand.
  

A friend of mine at the Farmer's Market always makes her sauce this way. She cooks it in the early morning or late evening so it does not heat up the house so much in the summer. That is a good tip!
Enjoy!
Tamara

When my garden comes to the end of the season, there is always produce that you don't want to waste but can't eat right away. This has forced me into the wonderful world of preservation. Bread and Butter pickles are the crunchy pickles you put on your hamburgers. This recipe comes from American's Test Kitchen, I have modified it a bit and added some heat with the addition of hot peppers. You can omit them if you like, it's up to you.

TIPS FOR CRISPY PICKLES

1. Freshly picked - use them as soon as you pick them.
2. Smaller is always better - use the larger pickles for relish or refrigerator pickles. This recipe is good for larger pickles since you are slicing them.
   
3. Trim off the blossom end of your cucumbers. This may seem wasteful,  but there’s an enzyme (pectinase) that will cause your pickles to become soft. Trim about 1/16 -1/4 inch from that blossom end before pickling. Some people have seen improvements with adding a grape leaf which contains tannins – a substance which is thought to inhibit the pectinase.
4. Use Pint Jars – the larger jars will require longer processing which results in a softer end product.
5. Try Low Temperature Pasteurization Treatment as described by the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Please note that you can only use this method if the recipe indicates that it is appropriate and be sure to monitor temperature carefully!

 Equipment:
Pint Canning Jars (4-5)
Large Pan - tall enough for the jars plus 1 inch of water.
Digital Candy Thermometer - A great tool if you make candies or fry often.
Food Processor - This makes the slicing a breeze

Makes: 4 pint Jars of Pickles
Time: Sliced vegetables must sit 3 hours in fridge before processing.

Recipe:
2 pounds of pickling cucumbers, ends trimmed, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion, quartered and sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into 1 1/2- inch matchsticks
2 T. canning and pickling salt
3 c. apple cider vinegar
2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 T. yellow mustard seeds
3/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. Ball Pickle Crisp

Options: I added 3 hot peppers for a little kick

FOR SHORT TERM STORAGE:

• Let the jars cool to room temperature, cover with lids, and refrigerate for 1 day before serving. The pickles can be refrigerated for up to 3 months and the flavor will continue to mature.

FOR LONG TERM STORAGE:
Using Low Temperature Pasteurization

• While the jars are warm wipe the rims clean, put on the lids and screw on the rings until fingertip tight, (do not over tighten). Before processing the jars, heat the water in the canning pot to between 120 to 140 degrees.
• Lower the jars into the water, and bring the water to 180-185 degrees  Cook for 30 minutes maintaining the water between 180-185 degrees. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain the water temperature.
  
• After processing, remove from the bath and let cool for 24 hours. Remove the rings, and check the seal. The sealed jars can be stored for up to 1 year, in a cool dark place.