Dave, thanks for your help. I do have the ball blue book and just got home with ball complete book and better homes and gardens (you can can)book. In that book I found this recipe for corn relish:). The book says all the recipes are tested and approved. What do you think. Thanks again Mike corn relish Tangy, sweet corn relish perks up the mild-tasting meats, such as roast pork, chicken, or turkey. the recipe If you're lucky enough to have fresh corn, by all means use it. But if fresh corn isn't readily available, you can substitute frozen whole kernel corn. Corn relish adds pleasing flavor and texture. Ingredients: 12 to 16 fresh ears of corn 2 cups water 3 cups chopped celery (6 stalks) 1-1/2 cups chopped red sweet pepper (2) 1-1/2 cups chopped green sweet pepper (2) 1 cup chopped onion (2 medium) 2-1/2 cups vinegar 1-3/4 cups sugar 4 teaspoons dry mustard 2 teaspoons pickling salt 2 teaspoons celery seed 1 teaspoon ground turmeric 3 tablespoons cornstarch 2 tablespoons water Step 1. Instructions: 1. Remove husks and cut corn from cob. To prepare the corn, pull the husks from the ears and remove as much of the silks as you can. Use a stiff brush to remove any remaining silks. To cut the kernels from the cobs, hold the ear of corn so an end rests on a cutting board. Using a sharp utility knife cut a strip of the kernel from the cob, moving the knife from the top of the ear toward the cutting board. Do not scrape the cob. When you have finished, you should have 8 cups of corn. 2. Chop the vegetables. When cutting the celery, sweet peppers and onion, chop them into pieces about the same size as the corn kernels. Cut celery and peppers into strips; then gather several strips in a bunch and cut crosswise into small pieces. 3. Cooking the corn and vegetables. Combine the corn and the two cups water in an 8- to 10-quart Dutch oven or kettle. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 4 to minutes or until corn is nearly tender. Drain the corn and return it to the Dutch oven. Add the celery, red and green sweet pepper, and onion. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, mustard, pickling salt, celery seed and turmeric. Bring the mixture to boiling. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Step 4. 4. Cook relish until thickened and bubbly. Stir together the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and the 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the corn mixture. Cook and stir until the mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly; continue to cook and stir for 1 minute more. The additional cooking ensures that the cornstarch is completely cooked. 5. Filling jars and processing. Ladle the corn relish into hot, clean pint canning jars. Use a wide-mouth plastic funnel and fill the jars to within 1/2-inch from the top. Remove the funnel. Release any trapped air bubbles in each jar by gently pushing a narrow rubber spatula down into the jar around the sides. If necessary, add more corn relish to maintain the headspace. Wipe off the jar rim with a clean, damp paper towel. Any food left on the rim will prevent a perfect seal. Add the lid and screw band, tightening the band according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place each jar into the canner as it is filled. Leave enough room between the jars so they do not touch. Cover the canner. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. Begin timing when the water returns to boiling. Remove jars from canner and cool on a wire rack. 6. Makes about 5 pints. 7. Serving relish. When the jars have cooled, press the center of each lid to check the seal. If the dip in the lid holds, the jar is sealed. If the lid bounces up and down, the jar isn't sealed. Unsealed jars should be stored in the refrigerator and used within 2 weeks. Label the sealed jars with content and date. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

Wolflover. It is so wonderful to see you here! I know you're there, but you don't post as often as you used to and I miss you when you aren't posting. That was an important pepper tidbit I learned shortly after moving here, and I did find, too, that not letting the plants be exposed to cold temps below 50 degrees did make a huge difference in how well/how early they produce. I wish I'd learned it 10 or 15 years earlier. My peppers are a lot more pampered...carried in and out just like yours...but they don't seem to mind being planted later. Even though I plant them about a month later than I used to, they produce earlier than they used to. Seems odd, doesn't it, but I'll keep doing it since it works. I haven't tried Aji Dulce. I'll have to put it on my list. The habaneros I grow are for DH and his friends. I barely survive inhaling the fumes when I'm cutting them up, and I don't eat them at all except in pepper jellies. Aji Dulce probably would be just right for a 'pepper wimp' like me. You've made a lot more salsa than I have, but I've been bogged down in fruit. Now that the fruit is over, I can spend more time on peppers, pepper jellies and salsa. I canned about 85 jars of salsa last year and it wasn't enough, so I'm shooting for 120-130 this year. I still have a long way to go to reach that goal though. Adellabedella, I can see why several glasses of milk and lots of bread would be required. I grew a yellow habanero type pepper called 'Fatali' (beware any pepper with the word fatal as part of its name) for several years and thought all our friends knew it was really, really, really hot. DH gave some Fatali peppers to a coworker who took them home. Before he could even warn his wife "Watch out, they're really hot", she'd taken one out of the bag and popped it into her mouth. It made blisters in her mouth. Blisters! She could laught about it later, but she was in all kinds of misery at the time. She thought it was one of those sweet squash peppers or mushroom peppers and never dreamed it was a habanero type. Dawn

Grilled Tomato Sauce From Steven Raichlen Like soup, tomato sauce is one of the dishes you're least likely to think of grilling. But there is a powerful reason to try this sauce. Beyond the mere novelty factor, grilling imparts a gutsy smoke flavor to the sauce and heightens the natural sweetness of the vegetables. Don't take just my word for it. For thousands of years, Mexicans have grilled tomatoes, onions and peppers to make rich-tasting salsas. I have adapted the technique to make an exceptionally flavorful tomato sauce. Serve the sauce over grilled polenta, with any simple grilled fish, or with just about any cooked pasta. Makes about 3 1/2 cups. 5 lucious, ripe red tomatoes 2 - 2 1/4 pounds total, cut in half crosswise, and stem ends removed 1 medium size white onion, peeled and cut into quarters 1 rib celery 4 cloves garlic, peeled and skewered on a wooden toothpick or small bamboo skewer 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes 1 bay leaf 6 fresh basil leaves coarse salt (Kosher or Sea salt) freshly ground black pepper 1/4 to 3/4 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water Cook the tomatoes, onions, celery and garlic in greased and preheated grill (George Foreman grill) until nicely browned. You may need to cook the vegetables in more than one batch. Transfer the grilled vegetables and let cool. Finely chop the onions, celery and garlic by hand or in a food processor. If using a food processor, run machine in spurts. Heat olive oil in large non-reactive sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic, oregano, hot pepper flakes and bay leaf and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Coarsely puree tomatoes and juices with the basil in a food processor. Add the tomato mixture to the sauce pan, with the vegetables. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then let sauce simmer gently until thick and richly flavored 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. The sauce should be thick but pourable. If it is too thick, add a little stock or water. Remove and discard the bay leaf. The sauce can be refrigerated, covered up to 4 days. Or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the sauce come to room temperature then reheat it in a non-reactive sauce pan over medium heat, stirring often.

plllog, does this mean I will never like the taste cilantro? I am doomed to never taste some dishes that cilantro is an integral part? I use parsley as an alternate. Lars, have to agree, those itty bitty thyme leaves are a booger, and anyone who says to pull the leaves off the stem with your nails hasn't encountered my thyme! I grow both regular thyme and lemon thyme (lovely on fish), but I have to make time to pull/pluck the leaves. Sleevendog, you had to mentioned fried sage! Mmmm! I make chicken cutlets to which I add the sage in the saucepan, flavoring the cutlets gently, and serve the delicate crisp sage on top with white wine brown butter sauce. Also a roasted butternut squash filled ravioli with a fried sage and brown butter sauce. Feathers11, I know what you mean... I used to add rosemary to steaming water and sit with my face over the steaming bowl... loved the scent and heat, but it made me think it was for cleansing only! Now I love it, especially with chicken. I'll even heat a bundle on the grill to smoking. I've heard it keeps mosquitoes away but all I know is it smells lovely : ) Love oregano... as I said, I love all herbs, really. I long for summer now!