<p>picalilly (aka pickalili, piccalilli ) is an English mustard and tumeric vegetable relish .A leftover from the British Raj. My mom grew up in a British household and she really misses it. I though it might make a nice end of summer surprise for her.</p>
<p>And it’s really really tasty. Great on hot dogs.</p>
<p>How about this one: [River</a> Cottage - River Cottage Community Recipes](<a href=“http://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/pams-piccalilli/]River”>Pam's piccalilli | River Cottage)</p>
<p>When I grew up, my dad was the gardener/canner. My mom told him he could grow whatever he liked, but he was responsible to disposing of it. Gave tons away, but also made pickles, tomato sauce/juice (this was before salsa was popular), watermelon pickles, homemade horseradish, all sorts of jams/jellies. I remember making crabapple jelly with him. When I find good fruit/veggies, I occasionally get the urge. I still have the canning pots and all the jars. </p>
<p>This year, the peaches I found were just wonderful. S2 and I made peach jam and peach butter. The peach butter was heavenly, but half a peck of fruit got 5 half pints (of course, there was probably another half pint that we ate before it made the jars!).</p>
<p>Chardonnay jelly with fresh basil or tarragon is delicious. Other favorites of mine, besides the Rhubarb Ginger Jam, were Brandied Apricot Jam, Plum Rum Conserve, and Blueberry Jam, which I make from Maine wild blueberries (and always add a little spice). My favorite chutney was a mango chutney recipe that I made with apples and pears instead, since it was delicious and much cheaper. I used to make Vidalia Onion Pickles that were so good that people would just sit and pass a jar around. (One person remarked that it was like people passing a joint. 
) After a while, I switched to making oniony bread and butter pickles instead. The same flavor, very good, significantly less labor intensive and easier on the tear ducts. (Cutting up all of those onions, oy!)</p>
<p>I make spaghetti sauce in batches and freeze it. I’ve never canned it, although I might consider it since it would be easier to give it to S to use that way. I’m another person who makes pesto (without the cheese and pignoli nuts) in large batches and freezes it. I cut an 8" pan of pesto into cubes and transfer them to a plastic bag for easy use. (I know some people freeze it in an ice tray, but since we’ve had an icemaker we no longer have ice trays to use.)</p>
<p>In my experience, people are delighted to receive some of my preserves as gifts, especially teachers. Of course, for the last decade, I’ve been giving boxes of truffles, which they also like! :)</p>
<p>ummmm I’ll take some Brandied Apricot Jam. Sounds delicious.</p>
<p>It is, and it is made with dried apricots, to boot. The recipe is in the priceless book Better Than Store Bought.</p>
<p>Milkandsugar, You certainly went at canning in a big way! Blueberry lemon sounds heavenly as does chardonnay jelly. Both sound like they would be perfect on a scone.</p>
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<p>I don’t use ice trays for my pesto either; I’ve got a set of very small plastic containers that I use specifically for making pesto. Why don’t you put the pine nuts in the pesto you freeze, Consolation? I use Marcella Hazan’s recipe for pesto and she has you leave out the cheese when freezing pesto, but you do put in the pignoli.</p>
<p>I enjoy harvesting tomatoes and basil and canning/preserving it all. To me, it’s really relaxing and makes me feel like a real “eatth mother” when I’m doing it.</p>
<p>Anyone willing to share your recipes or a link to them? I’d like any favorites, but particularly Chardonnay jelly and Blueberry lemon jam.</p>
<p>Bromfield how do you preserve your basil. Last year I took some and froze it, but my neighbors just hang their to dry. My frozen basil has been misplaced in the freezer and I haven’t seen it for months.</p>
<p>tip of the day for basil, I grow it in my back yard.</p>
<p>Throw it in a food processor with a little olive oil, then you can freeze it without turning colors or getting mushy.</p>
<p>I find a lot of interesting and good jelly and jam recipes on Pinterest.
I have even created a board just for the jam recipes.</p>
<p>This is the Blueberry Lemon Jam recipe that I found on Pinterest. Took me awhile to get the link for it.
[blueberry</a> jam recipe | use real butter](<a href=“http://userealbutter.com/2013/06/05/blueberry-jam-recipe/]blueberry”>blueberry jam recipe – use real butter)</p>
<p>Bromfield2, I make the pesto without the nuts mostly because they are expensive, but also because I use the cubes in things like soups and sauces where I wouldn’t really want them. Right now, I have a couple batches of pesto made with pistachios in the freezer. It’s supposed to be good–we’ll see.</p>
<p>Consolation–Let me know what you think of using pistachios instead of pine nuts. I think pesto is best with pine nuts. I’ve tried it with walnuts and IMO it’s just not as good.</p>
<p>I use the basil that I harvest from my garden primarily for pesto; as long as I’ve got some leaves on the plants I’ll also use them in recipes that call for basil. I haven’t had much luck drying basil. I just tied up the basil and let it hang in a dark room. Result was awful.</p>
<p>I got a case of beautiful peaches this afternoon for $15 from a local farm. I’m making more jam unless someone has a better idea. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>kathie - I made peach salsa which is so good on grilled pork chops and just with chips.</p>
<p>I want to make applesauce for someone going through chemo who says salt really hurts his throat and has some issues with more solid food. Does anyone have some tips for applesauce?</p>
<p>I used to make brandied peaches. Delish. Also smoky peach bourbon bbq sauce. And peaches make a great Indian-style chutney. Just get a good recipe for mango chutney and sub peaches.</p>
<p>I pit, skin, and slice fresh peaches–add ascorbic acid to keep them from turning brown and freeze them in small snack bags. I eat them with plain yogurt or put them in protein shakes or smoothies, so if they clump together it isn’t so bad. I usually freeze enough for 5-6 months.</p>
<p>I don’t can anymore. (Moved to high alltitude and have been nervous about the waterbath timing, moreso ever since I was talking with one of the food judges at the State Fair more than a decade ago who explained that they no longer taste anything home-canned due to botulism potential.) But I do freeze like crazy. I have standalone freezer just for this. </p>
<p>My experiment this year is freezing green beans without blanching & shocking them first. I was reading a canning forum and a poster said she freezes beans by washing, drying thoroughly, then placing them in double bags with white paper toweling to absorb moisture from any ice crystals that form. It’s sure a lot less work.</p>
<p>eyemamom, My Mom has problems with spicy (or what she considers spicy) and what I do is just to go mild with any seasonings. She also has trouble with chunky food so I blend it up more with my immersion blender. </p>
<p>I decided to make Vanilla flavored peach butter. The plus is I get to throw the peaches in the crock pot and it just cooks down. I’ve already frozen peaches and made salsa, and jam… Smoky peach bourbon bbq sauce sounds heavenly, Consolation. Any chance you can dig up that recipe?</p>