I "relish" the days where not everything is "jam"med (and yes, I suck at puns)

In addition to cooking a few meals for next week, I spent part of the day making a half batch of strawberry jam and a full batch of corn/pepper relish.  For those that don't know, I love to can homemade goodies, for use during the non-peak growing seasons.  There's nothing as awesome as a smear of homemade jam on a hot biscuit in the middle of December.  And the relish is just as good as a side dish at a picnic as it is spooned onto a hot dog (in place of a traditional dill pickle relish.)  So, I thought I'd share these two recipes with you.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

STRAWBERRY JAM (modified recipe from Martha Stewart Living)
4 lbs. strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and cut into 1" pieces
5 C granulated sugar
*Note:  You can choose to add 2 Tbsp. pectin if you so wish.  This recipe will set correctly with or without it.

Put a small plate or saucer in the freezer.  Place berries in a non-reactive 10-quart stockpot over medium-high heat.  Using a wooden spoon, mix in 1/4 C sugar with the berries.  Cook, stirring, until berries are juicy (5 - 6 minutes.)  Stir in a third of the remaining sugar and pectin (if using) until dissolved.  Repeat until all the sugar has been added and dissolved, about 7 minutes total.

Bring mixture to a full boil and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.  Continue boiling and use a stainless-steel spoon to remove the pink foam from surface of berry mixture.  Boil until most of the liquid is absorbed, mixture thickens, and temperature registers 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer (about 30 minutes.)  If you don't have a thermometer, you can perform a "gel" test (place a spoonful of the jam on the chilled plate and return to the freezer for a minute or two.  Remove plate from freezer and gently press the jam with your finger.  It should wrinkle slightly.

After jam passes the gel test (or hits 220 degrees), remove from heat.  Pour warm jam into 10 half-pint jars and:
to refrigerate - seal, label, and refrigerate for up to 4 months
to can - process jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, cool, label, and store
Makes 10 half-pints of jam


CORN/PEPPER RELISH (from Karen Solomon, blogger for Williams-Sonoma and author of several amazing cookbooks - seriously, Google her.  You won't be disappointed!)

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 3/4 C diced sweet red bell peppers (3 or 4 peppers)
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
4 C fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1 3/4 C diced red onion (1 very large onion)
1 1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

In a large skilled over medium-high heat, warm the oil.  Add the peppers and salt, and saute, stirring often, until the peppers soften and begin to caramelize (about 12 minutes.)  Add the corn, stirring to combine, and cook the vegetables until the corn is hot (3 - 4 more minutes.)  Turn off the heat and add the onion to the pan; stir well.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, and turmeric, and stir just until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes.)

Pack the vegetables into 3 clean 1-pint jars, and pour the warm brine over the vegetables to cover completely, discarding any unused brine.  To can the relish for longer storage, process the jars for canning (10 minutes, hot water bath canning method.)  Otherwise, cover tightly and let the relish sit at room temperature for a day before moving it to the refrigerator.  Refrigerated, this will keep for up to 6 months.  Canned, it will keep for up to 1 year.  Makes three 1-pint jars.