Pick a Peck of Pickled Peppers! [or Doing the Salsa!]

I've grown a variety of peppers, hot, mild, medium spicy, any pepper plant I found I planted! Rather strange considering John nor I either one like hot. But the plants were so tempting and the descriptions so enticing that I just bought all of them so now I have the challenge of deciding what to do with them. I'm like my mother, I can't waste them! After giving tons of them away I jumped on the salsa bandwagon and that's been the solution--Salsas of every description! Mild salsa, hot salsa, green tomato and lime salsa, ripe tomato salsa, even  "just pepper" salsa!

Southerners do love sweet pepper jelly for their cream cheese and crackers so I've got lots of little jars prepared and ready to sell. I made it in red and also green because I thought they would make great Christmas presents, hostess gifts, or just pretty to have on hand. I use my vegetables for my kitchen table centerpieces. Whatever I've picked that day ends up on a platter in the middle of the table. I'm really in the mood to make more green tomato and lime salsa today but I have to go to work, instead! So the tomatoes can get a bit larger, the peppers plumper, and they will be there when I can get to them!

The CARE Cannery has been born!

Hence The CARE Cannery has been born. Because you all know I get obsessive compulsive about things I like doing. And to my surprise I have LOVED canning! It's inconvenient, it's time consuming [and I have NO extra time as it is!], it's costly [I have spent a small fortune on jars, Sure Gel, pickling spices, and all the canning necessities], not to mention the planting, growing, and gathering! It was horribly hot and miserable cutting that prickly, tall okra in 100 plus degree weather, reaching in through the foliage to get the perfect pods for my endeavor. But still--I've loved it. It's been gratifying and comforting to know I will have something to contribute to the CARE Bake Sales that I feel will help our struggling bank account. However, I may have sabotaged my plan. Because Now I have decided we Must have a new event! The CARE "Tasting Event"! That I will host! At my house! Now I don't have time to make my bed much less plan on hosting an "event" but there I go. Oh, yes. I've advertised it on face book. It's a done deal now! October seems a lovely time for a nice gathering, don't you think? A little barbecue and perhaps a pot of black eyed peas to taste with the relishes, lots of jams and jellies to try on cream cheese, chips to taste with the salsas! Yes, I can just see it now. Chrysanthemums blooming, a crispness in the air encouraging potential buyers, charming Fall decorations! Yes, I can see it. Now, to just Do it!

Canning for CARE

So although we've had this unbearably hot summer my garden has performed magnificently! It still is. I had an unbelievable number of cucumbers, the okra is still going strong, early tomatoes, late tomatoes, squash, peppers, gorgeous eggplants, you name it! I've never considered my self much of a canner, I do a little picked asparagus and okra, but that's been about it. Not this year. I am canning for CARE! My Fall and Holiday schedule is crazy and our two good bake sales are before Thanksgiving and Christmas. I started canning thinking it would be something for me to sell without having to cook the whole week before the bake sales.

I