Canning

Most years I usually bake a lot of cookies, some to have for our family for Christmas and some to give away to friends and neighbors as a gift. This year I wanted to try making something different. I found a great recipe for a pepper relish that claimed it tasted just like the Harry and David brand, which I love ! The hardest part at this time of year was finding the canning jars. i had to go to or call at least 6 or 7 stores before finding some only a week before Christmas. The actual process was not difficult at all, however the pectin I bought (the stuff that makes the relish firm up) did not work, as my pepper relish turned out runny like salsa, but still yummy !
The first step was to cut up and add all the ingredients to a large pot and then bring to a boil.
simmering....
Once the relish was cooked, I filled the jars.

The final step was to put the jars in boiling water to seal the lids. I had to do this twice because all the jars wouldn't fit in the pot at one time.The whole process from start to finish was about 3 hours, which wasn't too bad except for the fact that I began at 10:30pm ! I finished this project at 1:30am, but I was happy with the results as were several of the recipients of this gift !