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Don’t fret quite yet! Summer may be slowly coming to a close, but there are still a few weeks of blistering hot weather, long and listless summer evenings, trips to the beach or lake with family and friends—and even a few more encounters with those dreadful mosquitoes!

We want to help you to enjoy all the best that summer has to offer—and one way to enjoy the flavours of summer at any time of year is to preserve the fresh fruit and vegetables of the season. You’ll be surprised how the flavours will stay bright and fresh—just like it’s still summer!

Picante Salsa from Preserves is a particularly easy recipe that makes use of summer’s plethora of fresh ingredients.

Picante Salsa
The heat in this chunky salsa is adjustable. Excellent.

Ripe tomatoes, scalded and peeled, stem ends and cores removed, chopped	4 1/2 lbs.	2 kg
Whole green chilies (or 1 can, 4 oz., 114 ml, diced)	3	3
Large Spanish onion, chopped	1	1
Large green pepper, seeded and chopped	1	1
Medium red pepper, seeded and chopped	1	1
Whole jalapeño peppers, chopped (or 1 can, 4 oz., 114 mL, diced)	3-6	3-6
Canned tomato paste	51⁄2 oz.	156 mL
White vinegar	3⁄4 cup	175 mL
Brown sugar	1⁄4 cup	50 mL
Coarse (pickling) salt	1 tbsp.	15 mL
Paprika	2 tsp.	10 mL
Garlic powder (or 2 cloves, minced)	1⁄2 tsp.	2 mL

Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat stirring occasionally. Boil gently for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to desired consistency. Close to the end of cooking, taste to see if you would like to add more jalapeño peppers. Add as many more as you like. Fill hot sterilized pint jars to within 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) of top. Place sterilized metal lids on jars and screw metal bands on securely. For added assurance against spoilage, you may choose to process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Serve with nachos that have melted cheese, sour cream and green onions on them. Also good with quesadillas and sour cream, or burgers. Makes 5 pints.

You’ll find no shortage of great recipes for jams, jellies, pie fillings, sauces, chutneys, juices and pickles in Preserves—all with the added bonus of being a part of our Sizzling Summer Clearance sale! Hurry because the sale ends soon—and you won’t want to miss out on this great opportunity to capture summer’s most delightful flavours!

As a graphic designer in our Creative Department, some of my duties include creating material for our marketing department and designing new cookbooks. One book currently in development that I’m really proud of is Celebrating the Harvest: Recipes for Fall & Winter Gatherings. The reason I’m excited is not only because I worked on this book, but my picture is also shown on the back cover. Many of our readers have noticed the Jean Paré & friends photos on our back covers, and I can tell you from experience how much fun it was to have my picture taken with Jean. Spending time with Jean is wonderful because she makes you feel like family. And with a last name like Cooke, working at Company’s Coming is a natural fit for me.