From the Kitchen: October 2006 Archives

In August, Cop Car came for a visit, and helped us can the 2006 chili sauce. Elegante Mother's chili sauce is a condiment that is used with pork roast, and can be used with leftover roast pork to make a sandwich spread. It's made of tomatoes, peppers, celery, onions, and LOTS of spices and vinegar. We've made a batch every year for at least ten years, probably longer. If you're interested in the recipe, I've posted it here.

I had to move some things in the mud room, and I needed to store this year's batch of chili sauce. Somehow FOUR BOXES of half-pint jars ended up on the counter, waiting for my attention. Meanwhile, my sisters are saying to me that they want the annual distribution of chili sauce!

I went to the mudroom closet this afternoon, and started checking out the stack of boxes filled with canning jars that I had stored there. Box after box came out of that black hole. In all there were easily ten boxes filled with home canned goods. As I looked through the boxes, I discovered that many of them don't have a date or label. Some of the jars have a little masking tape tab with the year, and some of the boxes have a date on the side, but there are 82 half-pint jars of chili sauce, and 39 of them are unmarked.

I have 16 jars of 2006 sauce, 17 jars of 2005, and 10 jars of 2003. I suspect one box of twelve jars is the 2004 vintage. I also have 11 full pints of chili sauce from 1996! AND....a dozen jars of mustard pickles from the same year, which will be thrown out. I didn't like the results of that batch and shouldn't have bothered to keep them.

I'm going to get Elegante Mother and Dear Husband to assist me, and we are going to create "gift boxes" of chili sauce for my sisters. We're going to clean the mudroom closet. YES! I think 27 little jars of chili sauce will be going down the tubes unless I can find a way to make potpourri of them. I have one of those itty bitty crock-pots that you use for simmering potpourri. I bet I could heat the chili sauce with a little water in one of those and the house would smell WONDERFUL! The clove and cinnamon scent would be perfect for the season.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. Waste not, want not. Doesn't chili sauce potpourri sound like a virtuous thing?? *G*

Cowtown Pattie is baking! She's hot on the trail of pumpkin pie recipes. I've donated my mother's recipe, and I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Pumpkin is not my all time favorite pie flavor, but Elegante Mother's recipe is sumptuous! I love all the spices, and the house smells wonderful as it's cooking!

I'm assuming that this is a 9" pie. The instructions simply begin with the words PIE CRUST. As I recall, you prepare the crust and put it in the pan, but don't bake it ahead of time. Also, prepare a narrow band of foil to cover the edge of the crust for part of the baking time.

1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
3 whole eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients well. Add to pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Use foil to cover the rim of the pie to prevent overbaking.

One large can of pumpkin will make two pies. (214 calories per slice, serves 8)

Isn't this a wonderful way to usher in Fall?!