I love summer when the living is easy…gardening, grilling, and maybe even a little light canning. I’m not about putting up quarts of tomatoes (although you should see how many plants we put in, lol!) but I do tinker with small batches of something special. Cowboy Candy Sweet & Hot Pickled Peppers fit the bill & bonus…they go right in the fridge and don’t have to be “processed.”

Smoky Chipotle Tomato Chutney
This year, it seems I’m all about the tomato. We’ve been tomato crazy, and now have tons of tomatoes in various stages of ripening. If you’re in the same boat, this Smoky Chipotle Tomato Chutney is gonna be a perfect way to use up a glut of red ones.
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Spicy Tomato Jam
Talk about persistent, and maybe a bit coy, spicy tomato jam came on slow for me. Before it began to whisper my name, I’d see it here and there, maybe on Pinterest, sometimes on Facebook and I think it even showed up now and again on weekly roundups of recipes.
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Garden Chili Sauce
In honor of the upcoming New Year’s (and to use up a bag of black eyed peas and a couple of ham hocks languishing in my freezer) I decided to make Black Eyed Peas. And there is no better accompaniment to Black Eyed Peas than a my home-made Chili Sauce.

Home-made Pickling Spice
Most pickling spice recipes share a number of standard ingredients with just a few variances in amounts and proportions, and many have an extra special touch or two that makes them stand out. Here’s a recipe that will work well in almost any recipe that calls for “pickling spice.”