FEBRUARY CAN JAM "Carrot Salsa" & "Carrot Relish"

Our February Can Jam challenge is CARROTS! After looking through a few recipes, I found two that screamed TRY ME! "Carrot Salsa" and "Carrot Relish".  I started with salsa.                   

CARROT SALSA

COARSE CHOP:

8 Cups tomatoes (skinned)

2 Cups onions

1 Cup green peppers

FINE CHOP:

1 Cup seeded jalapenos (WEAR GLOVES, adjust amount for hot or mild. Recipe is for medium.)

6 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/4 Cup cilantro 

2 Cups carrots (shredded)

ADD:

2/3 Cup lemon juice

1 TBSP salt

1 tsp. white pepper  

    

I cut the recipe in half and I also used LESS jalapeno peppers to make a mild salsa! I've never used cilantro before... I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I chopped it up on the

cutting board and added it to the bowl!

Boil the ingredients, simmer for 20 minutes removing any foam that collects. Ladle into clean, sterile pint size jars. Add lids and rings. Process using the water bath method for 20 mintues!! Yields 6-7 pints!

This salsa looks very chunky!! Can't wait to try them...

(Side Notes: I cut the recipe in half making almost 3 pints. I opted not to skin the tomatoes, instead I finely diced them. I cut and squeezed 1 lemon which turned out to be 1/3 cup of fresh juice. And finally, I did not add the white pepper since we tend to like things on the mild side!)

"Carrot Relish" another fantastic use of

shredded carrots! 

Ingredients:

18 carrots (shredded or chopped)

4 green peppers

4 red peppers

2 onions

1/2 head of cabbage

1/2 cup of salt

3 Cups sugar

6 Cups vinegar

2 TBSP mustard seed

2 TBSP celery seed

DIRECTIONS:

Finely chop all the vegetables and mix together. Pour the salt over them and let stand for 1 hour.

Drain the vegetables and then add the rest of the ingredients (vinegar, sugar, spices) in a large pot and bring this to a boil. Place in sterilized jars, seal with lids & rings

and process in a water bath for 20 minutes.

Check to make sure the seals are good and store at room temperature!

(Side Notes: Again, I cut this recipe in half. I find it wiser for me

to do this until I know we like a new recipe. Instead of using

mustard seed I used 1 tsp.of ground mustard. The spice

cabinet must have finished off the mustard seed that I

was so sure was in there! Results... the brine isn't

as clear as it would be using seeds, but the flavor is good!)

I've had alot of fun with the February challenge!! 

 THANKS for 'making' me climb further out of the box concerning carrots!   :)