Season of Preservation

Rhubarb Salsa

When life gives you lemons; make lemonade. But what do you do when life gives you rhubarb?

After making strawberry rhubarb pie and rhubarb snack cake and canned 7 half pint jars of rhubarb salsa. Made with strawberries and dried cranberries, it's a great snack with cinnamon pita chips (or leftover pie crust pieces.)

I also had a big bag of Vidalia onions to use up so I made Vidalia maple conserve. I canned 7 4oz jars and reserved enough for an onion tart appetizer. I topped frozen puff pastry with the onion mixture and some mozzarella cheese and baked it. This would also be good with pork roast or in quesadillas.

Vidalia Onion and Maple Conserve, before it went into jars

Canning is a relatively simple way to preserve extra fruits and vegetables, but it's important to follow the recipe and canning times exactly. Done properly, the jars are shelf stable for 12 to 18 months, not that they ever go unused that long at my house!