There are always lessons to learn and improvements to make.

Earlier this summer, I got very inspired to preserve/can as many different fresh produce as I could.  My motivation was both for my own benefit as well as for an idea I stole from a friend to give home-canned goods away as wedding gifts.  (At this rate I have 3 wedding showers in August alone and will be broke if I don't come up with an economical way to give people a thoughtful and valuable gift.)  My plan was to can a new recipe every weekend until school starts, but a busy schedule and the slow recovery from having my wisdom teeth removed kept my good intentions at bay.  UNTIL... this weekend when I put 3 weekends of intentions and completed them in one afternoon/evening.  

I brought tomatoes and a few peppers home from the farm where I work and decided to buy fresh peaches and more red peppers at the farmer's market in Lexington.  I had three potential recipes: Peach Pie filling, Salsa, and Red Roasted Peppers.  The salsa I had made before and the only ingredient I was lacking was cilantro, which I picked up at the Coop.  After picking up some extra lemon juice and my red peppers, I was also ready for the roasted peppers.  

Of course I should have known it couldn't all be that easy and I am slowly learning that I have a bad habit of picking out a recipe and not researching ingredients of which I have no prior knowledge.   This time the ingredient that almost became my downfall was: Clear Jel.  A trip into the Good Foods Coop, Meijer, and Whole Foods and many google searches later revealed that Clear Jel is a necessary additive which provides a lasting, thickening agent and it is only found online or in Amish communities.  Having already bought around 20lbs of beautiful and somewhat expensive peaches, I was determined to find another route.  I must make a disclaimer that is unnecessary and probably obvious to anyone who knows me very well at all, "I am stubborn, Stotts woman to the core."  This is of course is why I didn't abandon my pie filling recipe for use my peaches for something else.  However, my stubbornness (and much help from Google) lead the way to a breakthrough.  Did you know that instant Tapioca can be used as a substitute for Clear Jel?  Well I didn't either, but that is what I was able to find and use.  

Ok, so one lesson was learned before I even got back home to my kitchen.  Always make sure you can actually find ALL the ingredients you need before you purchase any of them.  The second lesson I am learning as I try any new recipes, but especially canning recipes that will be stored for long periods of time and therefore need to be done correctly for multiple reasons.  That lesson I suppose has two parts the first being to read all the instructions thoroughly before and while you are cooking.  The second part is when doubling a recipe, a safety measure it to make one batch at a time to be able to improve on any mistakes or realizations made during the first batch.  The peach pie filling recipe below is the one that I found which calls for tapioca.  If you use this recipe, I highly recommend that you mix the first 3 dry ingredients first (also, I ground the tapioca to keep from have little gelatinous balls floating in my filling), then add the lemon juice and stir immediately.  The first batch I made I think I took too long to mix everything and the tapioca clumped together and didn't separate even after I cooked the filling.  So lessons learned, notes made, and know I can make even more improvements the next time.  

Below I've included the recipes I used for the peppers and the pie filling as well as the links to the websites where I found them.  ENJOY!

Canned Peach Pie Filling

Recipe from Old Time Cooking Recipes 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup quick cooking tapioca
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)
6 Tbs lemon juice
5 lb peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups sugar 

Preparation:

1. Combine tapioca, 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Set aside.
2. Place peaches in large pot with 2 cups sugar and enough water to prevent sticking. Heat to 190 F / 90 C (just under boiling) stirring frequently. 
3. Add tapioca mixture and, stirring, reheat to 190 F / 90 C, but do not boil.
4. Fill hot jars with mixture, leaving 1 inch head space. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath 15 minutes.

Yield: 3 Servings

(http://www.free-old-time-cooking-recipes.com/canning_and_preserving/canned_peach_pie_filling.html)

I had to put my larger peppers back in the broiler, because they were still hard to peel.

Not sure why everything separated, but hopefully it all still tastes good.

Marinated Roasted Red Bell Peppers

Recipe adapted from one in Eugenia Bone's canning book Well-Preserved and a marinated pepper recipe from Michigan State.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pounds firm, fresh, clean red bell peppers
• 1 cup lemon juice (bottled is recommended)
• 2 cups white vinegar (5%)
• 1 cup olive oil + additional for roasting the peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, quartered
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 3 pint canning jars

METHOD

1 If you are canning for shelf storage (and not just chilling in the refrigerator), place a steaming rack at the bottom of a large (12-qt) pot, fill half way with water, bring to a boil. It takes a while to get a large pot of water to boil, so while the water is heating, proceed with the recipe.

2a Broiler Method Position rack in oven so that the top surface of bell peppers placed in the oven will be 4-5 inches from the broiler heat element. Rub the surface of the peppers with a little olive oil (this will help them blister faster). Preheat broiler on high. Place peppers either directly on the top oven rack, with a pan to catch the drippings on a rack beneath, or place on a aluminum-foil or Silpat lined broiler pan (a cookie sheet will warp). As the surface of the peppers blister and blacken, turn them with tongs so that they will blacken on all sides.

2b Stovetop Method If you have a gas range (or grill) you can place the peppers directly on the range top so that the flames lick the peppers. Work carefully so that as soon as one section of a pepper is blackened, you turn it to work on a fresh side. If you have an electric stove, heat a cast iron pan on high and place the peppers in the pan, allowing the peel to blister and blacken, turning so that all sides get blackened.

3 When the peppers are all well blistered and blackened, place in a non-reactive bowl and cover. (The steam from the hot peppers will help dislodge the skins.) Once the peppers have cooled enough to handle, work with them one by one over a plate, gently peel off the blackened skins. Cut the peppers in half and remove and discard the seed pods, stems and all seeds.

4 Heat lemon juice, white vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and salt, in a saucepan until boiling.

5 Dip canning jars and lids in the boiling water from step 1. Distribute the peppers evenly among the jars. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the peppers to cover (try to make sure some garlic gets in each jar). Leave 1/2-inch head space on the jars. Wipe the rims with a clean, dampened paper towel. Place on lids and rings (do not tighten rings tight).

At this point you can store in the refrigerator for several weeks. If you want longer storage, or shelf storage, proceed.

6 Place filled jars in boiling water on a rack (from step 1). (Helps to use tongs and wear thick rubber gloves). Water should cover jars by at least an inch. Boil for 15 minutes. Let cool in pot for several minutes, remove. Let cool completely. You should hear the jars "pop" as the lids seal. If a jar does not seal, store it in the refrigerator and use up within a few weeks. Otherwise the jars should last a year.

Makes 3 pint jars.

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