• 1 qt. ripe cucumbers, cut up
• 1 pt. onions, cut up
• 1 qt. ripe tomatoes, cut up
• 1 pt. vinegar
• 2 c. sugar

• 1 heaping tbsp. flour
• 1 tbsp. celery seed
• 2 tbsp. dry mustard
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

Peel cucumbers and take out the seeds. Chop with onions in chopper. Skin tomatoes and add to onion and cucumber mixture. Add vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Then add flour, celery seed, mustard, salt and turmeric to a little water to make a runny paste. Add to simmered pot of cucumbers. Bring to a boil and then simmer, stirring constantly for 15-20 minutes. Seal hot in clean jars. Excellent with roast beef.

• 18 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 green peppers
• 3 large onions
• 1 large stock celery

• 1 1/2 tbsp. pickling salt
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed

Wash tomatoes; scald and remove skins. Wash peppers and remove stem, pulp and seeds. Peel onions and wash celery. Slice and dice all of the above and place in large bowl. Add salt, sugar, vinegar and mashed garlic. Mix well. Fill jars, making sure you divide the juice evenly. Seal. Preserve by canning in hot water bath (boiling water) for 40 minutes. Store in cool room or fridge. Nice in chili con carne, stews or sauces.

• 1 c. white sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. pickling salt
• 2 c. vinegar

• 2 c. water
• 2 tsp. pickling spice tied to a cheesecloth
• Small beets to fill 4 to 5 qt jars

To make brine, bring sugar to boil, pickling salt, vinegar, water and pickling spice. Cook beets in their skins until tender. Drain, pour cold water over, then peel. Cut into pieces and place in jars. Pour brine over and seal.

• 4 c. mashed raspberries
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 pkg. Certo

• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 c. corn syrup
• 3 c. sugar

Mix berries and 1 cup sugar. Cook until very hot but not boiling. Simmer for 1 hour. Add Certo and stir to dissolve. Simmer 1/2 hour, add lemon juice. Stir in corn syrup and 3 cups sugar; leave 1/2 hour on simmer. Cool, put in jars and freeze.

• 3 c. fresh peaches (mashed)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp grated lemon rind

• 5 c. sugar
• 1/2 bottle liquid pectin

Mash peaches, mix with lemon juice and rind; add sugar. Stir 5 minutes until sugar dissolves. Let stand for 20 minutes. Stir in pectin. Ladle into rigid containers. Cover with cloth and let stand until jellied. Freeze.

For best results, leave in freezer for about a month before using.

• 3 c. crushed strawberries
• 1 c. mashed bananas

• 3 c. sugar
• 1 box Certo light fruit pectin crystals

Measure fruits into a large bowl. Measure sugar and set aside. Combine Certo with 1/4 c. sugar. Gradually add to fruit, stirring well. Let stand for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually stir in remaining sugar and continue stirring for 3 minutes, until most of the sugar is dissolved. Pour into clean jars or plastic containers. Cover with lids.

Let stand at room temperature until set (may take up to 24 hours). Store in freezer or up to 3 weeks in refrigerator. Makes 6 cups.

This recipe comes from my pal, Brent. He tells me that it's from the "Brent can cook" series. :-)

• 4 lbs firm Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 4 lbs white onions, quartered
• 3 large green bell pepper, seeded and quartered
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and quartered
• 1 large orange bell pepper, seeded and quartered
• 2 yellow banana peppers, seeded and coarsely sliced
• 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and coarsely sliced

• 2 habenero peppers, seeded and coarsely sliced
• 32 oz. of your favorite garlic spaghetti sauce
• 6 oz? tomato paste (small can)
• 3 well rounded ("Dare I say heaping?", says Brent) tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 oz white wine balsamic vinegar
• 15 sprigs cilantro
• seasonings: salt/fresh ground black pepper/cumin

Process (chunky) and mix in bowl; the onions, green-yellow-orange bell peppers and all but about 4 of the tomatoes. Brent prefers a chunky mix as the colors of these base ingredients really make this relish please the eyes of your salsa lover. It also provides the ability to make each bite different from another as the contents of each dip varies.

Add and mix the spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, garlic, some seasonings, and some vinegar. Brent prefers to add seasonings as he goes along.

Process (finely but not puréed) and mix in bowl; the remaining tomatoes, all of the peppers and cilantro. Add to until you’ve reached your desired amounts; more vinegar and seasonings. If it’s not hot enough after you’ve added all of your pepper, simply add some Louisiana hot sauce. "Be careful though", says Brent "this stuff changes your forehead’s color in a hurry…I personally don’t go over 10 drops at a time."

• 2 medium onions
• 3 peppers

• 6 celery stalks
• 1 Dutch oven full of tomatoes

Add 1/2 c. sugar and 2 tsp. pickling salt. Cook 20 - 30 minutes.

Put into jars and seal.