Tomato Butter

5 quarts (20 cups) peeled, seeded tomatoes
3 medium onions
2 cups vinegar
3 cups brown sugar
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tbl salt

Grind tomatoes and onions.  Combine vinegar, sugars, spices, and salt in heavy stainless or enameled pan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugars dissolve.  Add tomatoes and onions and simmer over low heat until thick, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or burning.  Volume will reduce significantly as the mixture cooks and thickens.  Ladle into prepared canning jars, cap, and boiling water bathe for 20 minutes.  Makes about 5 pints.

Serve with the cracker of your choice; ours is Club Crackers.

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Apricot Sauce (for meats)

A sweet and sour sauce to serve with rice over chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, or meatballs

Makes approximately six pints

10 cups fresh apricots, pitted and sliced or diced
¼ cup lemon juice
Juice of 1 lime (approx 1/8 cup)
½ can pineapple tidbits, or hand-sliced chunks
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
1 large onion, or 2 small to medium, diced or quartered and sliced
2 large, or 3 small, Roma tomatoes, diced
5 - 7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbl chopped cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 box regular pectin
1 cup brown sugar
4 to 5 cups granulated sugar (according to taste)
1 heaping tsp butter

(Note: Eliminate, increase, or decrease ingredients to suit your personal taste.)

Prepare canning jars.

No need to remove the tender skins of the apricots; pit and slice or dice.  Stir lemon and lime juices into the fruits to preserve color while you prepare the vegetables.  Place in stainless or enamel pot.

Add pineapple, jalapenos, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and cumin.  Stir 1/4 cup granulated sugar into pectin, then add the pectin mixture to the pot.  Stir well.  Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring frequently to avoid scorching.

Add remainder of sugars, granulated and brown, and butter.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for 3 minutes, continuing to stir.  Remove from range top.

Ladle into jars, cap, and process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
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Candied Dill Pickles

1 quart dill pickles (hamburger sliced, or you-slice whole)
1 tbl pickling spice
2 cups sugar
¼ cup vinegar

Drain pickles (slice, if you're using whole), then cover with cold water and soak for 10 minutes; drain again.

Put pickling spice in a triple layer of cheesecloth or a square of sturdy paper towel and bind with kitchen twine or a new rubber band.

Place pickles in a jar with a tight fitting lid, nestling the spice parcel in amongst them.  If you remove a few pickle slices (store separately for burgers), you can re-use the original jar.  You want enough space within the jar to allow for movement of the contents.

Pour sugar into the jar.  Pour vinegar over all.

Cap the jar and gently shake and roll to distribute the sugar and vinegar.

The sugar won't dissolve at this point, and there will be crystals stuck to the sides of the jar.  This is fine for now. 

Refrigerate.

At least once-a-day, gently shake and roll the jar to redistribute the undissolved sugar.  I recommend the shake-and-roll be done at least 3 times per day until all of the sugar is dissolved.  The original recipe for these candied dills suggests they are ready to eat on the 11th day, but we've eaten them on the 5th with no discernible difference.

Notes:  I usually make a double batch, because we're pickle pigs.  These photos result from using ¾ of a gallon of pickles, packed into two 2-quart pickle jars.  The original recipe called for 3 cups of sugar per batch, but I make it with 2 cups, and the only difference is in the amount of juice the pickles produce.  This requires that I do the shake-and-roll more than once daily, for a few pickle chips are above the liquid line, but saving a cup of sugar is, to me, worth the extra tending.  I use apple cider vinegar, because it's more healthful than white — not so much as to offset that dump truck full of sugar, but there you have it. Ü  These are no-fail pickles.

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