Chili Sauce Day

 My house currently smells like (to me) abundance, contentment, love, goodness, harvest, autumn, and the happy parts of childhood.

Yes, it's chili sauce day. I have posted about this before. This concoction is not a hot, spicy type of condiment. It is more like a cinnamon spice sweet / tomato-y slightly thick sauce that pairs perfectly with sausage or roast pork or roast chicken thighs. 

Clean jars awaiting their contents.

It is a perfect way to use up some tomatoes and it does not require a lot of ingredients. I will share my mother's recipe for those who are interested:

Ingredients being brought up to a boil.

After boiling down for about an hour.

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Maureen's Chili Sauce

Ingredients for a small batch (can easily be doubled):

-9 good sized tomatoes

-1 large yellow onion

-1 tbsp salt

-1/2 cup white vinegar

-2 cups white sugar

1/4 tsp allspice (or more if desired)

1 tsp cinnamon

Drop clean tomatoes into a boiling water bath for a minute or so, then place in cold water so they can be cored and peeled. I also de-seed some of them as I'm doing this. Chop roughly.

Chop onion into medium to small pieces.

Put all ingredients into a large pot (like a small soup /stock pot) and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a low boil/ brisk simmer and occasionally stir for aprx. 2 hours (you want a lot of the liquid to boil away and for it to be somewhat "thick")

Ladle into 1/2 pint, or 1 pint jars - process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

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I double the recipe and it makes aprx. 9 1/2 pint jars. I like to give these away to family members. 

I do realize that I am canning on perhaps the hottest day that we have had since July. But that's all part of the process. These beautiful early September days are when all the good things happen. I might also do yet another batch of zucchini muffins (chocolate chip this time), to stick in a large freezer bag and freeze for later. 

(Yes, I made these while I was waiting for the sauce to boil down.)

This last one is for Joanne, whose tea towels are still as perfect as the day I received them as a gift!

It made 6 half pints and 2 full pints.

On a whole other note, and yes, this is where we get personal, I've been dealing with digestive issues for five, yes five, weeks. I'm not going to go into detail, but whatever you guess is probably correct. And if you are from Ontario, you know that I can't see my doctor for 4 weeks (at the time I tried to make the appointment). I stopped taking supplements that were somewhat new to me, as I thought perhaps that was what was causing my gut angst. I stopped coffee and the minimal amount of alcohol that I was consuming. Parasites, etc. were ruled out. To not avail, I decided to take matters in my own hands while waiting the weeks and weeks to see my actual doctor (I did get to see a nurse practitioner who ordered the tests to rule out creepy crawlies, but that's all she did).

I researched (because I'm good at researching and learning and applying and all that) the low FODMAP diet and the elimination diet. So as of six days ago I am religiously following this elimination diet (basically eliminates all foods in five categories that are known to cause intestinal distress). After you follow this for at least two weeks, or more, if you are seeing that your symptoms have significantly calmed down, then you move onto the reintroduction phase. It's all laid out and easy for me to follow and I'm keeping meticulous notes. In fact, my digestive issues have already 90% settled down. I am now VERY curious to determine what the heck it was that put me in the place I was in for 5 weeks. 

My question to you, dear readers, is have you ever "suddenly" developed a sensitivity to something that was never an issue before, but now absolutely is? I know it happens. I know people can develop hay fever having never had problems before. I know allergies can occur for no particular reason ( or for reasons that people suspect but will be called out on if uttered publicly). I wonder if some of my medications to suppress estrogen and progesterone, or my bone-builder infusions (Zometa) (all a result of my breast cancer this past year) have contributed? (No, I did not have chemo). My sister, for those who regularly read, almost died last year and was in the ICU and for a while, it was unknown what the actual cause was until finally a targeted allergy test determined that she is now deathly allergic to ibuprofen!! Yup, good old Advil that people take for their aches and pains all the time! She had never, ever had problems before. 

So please chime in if you've discovered you suddenly can't consume dairy, or wheat, or onions (lord, I already miss onions and garlic, which I have to currently eliminate), or whatever. Also, tell me if you are canning anything right now. We homesteaders need to stick together!