I made it exactly by the recipe, including the cloves. I saved out enough of the batch for supper that night and processed the rest (a full canner load). I had never used the dried beans (rehydrated per the recipe) before, and thought they tasted rather bland in the unprocessed supper batch of chili. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened one of the processed jars--the flavors and texture were much improved and matured by the pressure canning. If you do a taste test prior to processing and are thinking of adjusting the seasonings--I would wait. You can always adjust seasonings after opening the jars, but you can't take it back once you put it in! I've heard that cloves can give a strong taste in canning, but this is a small amount in the recipe. It does NOT give it a clove taste, and after tasting it, I doubt I could even identify that it had cloves in it. On the other hand, when I make this again, I won't leave it out because the whole recipe works as-is. I hope you like it as much as I did. Jill

Peppi, here is Sharon's recipe. It already has an apple in it, and applesauce is another thing I don't usually have in the pantry! LOL I didn't make it tonight. I'll stop on the way home from work tomorrow and get the apple juice. Chase, I was just going to make it for me, not to go with dinner because Tim won't eat it. So I was going to have some for lunch! LOL I know, I'm strange, but before I was married I used to have just a veggie for dinner all the time. (I was skinny, then, too....Hmmmmmmm....) BRAISED SWEET AND SOUR RED CABBAGE Serves 4 - 6 1 TBS olive oil 1 onion, sliced 1 large apple, cored and chopped 1 small red cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly shredded - (6 cups shredded) 1 full cup (9 fl oz) apple juice (250 ml) 3 TBS balsamic vinegar 1 TBS sugar substitute 1 teasp sea salt 1/2 teasp freshly ground black pepper 1. Heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat in a deep frying pan. Cook the onion and apple for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the cabbage and toss well. Add the apple juice, vinegar, sugar substitute and seasoning and stir. 2. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until the liquid reduces completely and the cabbage is tender. Check seasoning and serve. Leftovers can be chilled for one day and reheated over a moderate heat. Source: Adapted from Rick Gallop's GI Diet Green-Light Cookbook (posted by Canarybird) Linda

I had the same situation last week. I ended up composting it:( Meanwhile...I am making WW Cabbage Soup today - bet that would have worked great. Garden Vegetable Soup - Weight Watchers 3 cups nonfat beef broth or nonfat nonfat vegetable broth or nonfat chicken broth (beef is the best) 2 garlic cloves , minced 1 tablespoon tomato paste 2 cups chopped cabbage 1/2 yellow onion 1/2 cup chopped carrots 1/2 cup green beans 1/2 cup chopped zucchini 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano salt & pepper Directions Spray pot with non stick cooking spray saute onions carrots and garlic for 5 minutes. Add broth, Tomato paste, cabbage, green beans, basil, oregano and Salt & Pepper to taste. Simmer for a about 5-10 minutes until all vegetables are tender then add the zucchini and simmer for another 5 or so minutes.

Yes, marinating overnight helps. And slicing as thin as possible, as thin as fettuccine, or at least try. : ) You could also cut out/away some of the tougher ribs like you would prep collards, then stack and slice. Since you are gardening, try the red kalibos. It is a torpedo type and much more tender as you can see by the cross section cut. Another tenderizing method is to cut into wedges, about 3inch, then slow roast on a sheet pan, 325ish with some onion quarters and cauliflower florets, (just did that). 1/2 hour - 45 minutes. Still firm but mellows the flavors away from the raw bite. Then use your usual dressing or pickle. I use ac vinegar, olives, artichoke hearts and fresh parsley/cilantro, etc. cukes and celery. I've got a load of meyer lemons at the moment so that went in this batch. Here is a link that might be useful: red kalibos cabbage