One of the great advantages with home cooking, is that often a really great meal can be prepared & at a very low cost. It's a lot of fun when that happens. With the high cost of living these days, anyway that you can cut corners is great.
Preparing your own tomato relish can save you money & make that burger taste a lot better! Take 8 lbs of tomatoes & boiling water, add 3 large chopped onions, 5 large green apples-peeled, cored, & sliced, 3 whole lemons, 4 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons of whole mustard seed, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne, 1 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar & honey. Bring all this to a boil & simmer for 6 hours uncovered. Stir regularly.
Have lots of boiling water handy & scald your canning lids before using them. Your jars should be clean & hot. Fill your jars with boiling relish to within 1/4" of the top. Use a spatula to release any air bubbles. Carefully wipe the rim of jar with clean cloth, put the lid on. When all is done add boiling water to fill the jars.
Preparing your own recipes & doing this with a little bit of quantity will save you a lot of money. And in the long run you will end up eating a lot healthier. Pickling is your next project once you have mastered the relish making. Pickled Egg is quite a luxury when it has been properly prepared.
There are many different recipes for making relish & once you have experimented a few times, it might be a good idea to get a book. Books are full of ideas & suggestions & can help make cooking even more fun!
