Hot Hot Sauce

72 hot red peppers, stemmed & washed
2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. grated horseradish
2 cups water
2 cups vinegar

Combine the garlic, peppers, and water. Cover and cook until tender. Press through a sieve.

Add remaining ingredients to strained mixture. Cook until well blended and thickened.

Pour into half pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Seal and process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

Freezer Tomato Sauce

20 tomatoes, washed, cored, cut in chunks. Place in large kettle with:

4 onions, chopped (4 cups)
4 large carrots, pared and shredded
1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix well. Slowly bring to boil stirring often. Lower heat and simmer 30 minutes (till thick) stirring often. Cool slightly. Measure 3 cups at a time. Blend in blender till smooth. Place in containers (1/2 inch head space). Seal and freeze.

Chili Sauce

30 ripe tomatoes
3 large onions
2 red peppers
3 green peppers
4 1/2 cups vinegar
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons all spice
2 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons mustard

Scald and peal tomatoes. Chop or mash to a pulp with onions and peppers.

Place in kettle with vinegar, sugar, salt and spices.

Tie spices in a bag. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Boil sauce until it begins to thicken. Usually takes about an hour.

Place in bottles or jars and seal hot.

TOMATO PUREE

1 onion
3 stalks celery
3 sweet peppers
12 cups tomatoes (quartered)

SIMMER all ingredients until soft. Press through sieve, season with salt and pepper. Fill jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Yield: 4 pints. Process in Boiling Water Bath 45 minutes.

TOMATO SAUCE

18 Tomatoes
2 green peppers
2 medium onions
3 tablespoons artificial sweetener, or to taste
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cups vinegar

PEEL, core, and chop tomatoes. Chop peppers and onions fine. Combine all ingredients. Boil slowly 4 hours or until thick. Fill boiling hot to within 1/2 inch of top of jar. Process 10 minutes in Boiling Water Bath.

MARINARA SAUCE

A light, fresh-tasting sauce with quintessential tomato flavor. Worth stocking up on when tomatoes are dead-ripe and abundant.

(Makes 3 pints)

6 pounds ripe Italian-type tomatoes
1 cup very finely minced onion
1/2 cup very finely minced celery
1 cup very finely minced carrots
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar

Ground white pepper to taste.
Optional seasoning (any one of the following): 2 teaspoons ground coriander; 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried marjoram; 1 teaspoon dried basil; 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 to 2 teaspoons salt, to taste

1. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water, a few at a time. Let the water return to a boil, then remove the tomatoes and drain. Peel and chop.

2. In a large saucepan, cook the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil, covered, over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Uncover and stir, over the heat, for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the vegetables are very soft and lightly gold.

3. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and pepper and simmer gently, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Puree the sauce through the medium disc of food mill. Add the optional seasoning and cook at a bare simmer until a desirable consistency is reached, about 20 minutes, stirring often. Add salt to taste.

5. If you prefer a smooth sauce, work the sauce through the fine disc of a food mill.

6. Cool the sauce and refrigerate it. It will keep, refrigerated, for about a week, or for several months if frozen.

TOMATO COCKTAIL (Bloody Mary Base)

Served straight and iced, or spiked with vodka to make a Bloody Mary, this spicy brew has the freshness of good vegetables and none of the strong flavoring additives found in many canned or bottled cocktail bases.

(Makes about 1 quart of juice from each 2 quarts of whole tomatoes)

Fully ripped Italian-type plum or pear tomatoes, without spoiled spots or bruises

For each 2 quarts of whole tomatoes:

1/2 medium red or green sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
1/2 to 1 rib celery (depending on size), with leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 small dried hot red pepper (about 1 1/2 inches long) or a 1/2-inch slice fresh hot pepper (use more if you like "hotter" juice, or add bottled hot pepper sauce to the finished juice, as described in the directions)
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds or 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 bay leaf
2 or 3 small sprigs parsley
3 or 4 fresh basil leaves or 1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried basil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Strained fresh lemon or lime juice to taste (see note below)

1. Wash the tomatoes well. Cut away any green or yellow parts and remove white or green cores. Quarter the tomatoes and measure them into a stainless-steel or enameled kettle; each 2 quarts of whole tomatoes should yield about 5 cups, cut up.

2. Add to the tomatoes the sweet pepper, onion, garlic, celery, peppercorns, hot pepper (if used), coriander, bay leaf, parsley, basil, and mustard seeds. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft.

3. Force the vegetables through the finest disc of a food mill. Sieve the juice if it isn't smooth enough, or if any seeds have passed into it. If the juice seems too thin, let it settle, then skim off and discard the thin liquid on top.

4. Taste the juice for seasoning and add sugar, salt, pepper sauce (if you are including it), and strained lemon or lime juice to taste.

5. Return the juice to the rinsed-out kettle and bring it to a boil, then ladle it into clean, hot canning bars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, put on two-piece lids, and fasten the screw bands.

6. Set the jars on a rack in a deep kettle half filled with boiling water. Add boiling water to cover the jars by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil hard (process) for 15 minutes for quarts, 10 minutes for pints.

7. Remove the jars from the boiling-water bath and cool.

Note: Because you want highly seasoned cocktail juice, you'll undoubtedly add enough lemon or lime juice to ensure that the juice is acid enough to be canned safely in a boiling-water bath.

A Note On Canning Safety: Tomatoes, because of their acid content, have in past years been considered safe to can in a boiling-water bath. However, in recent years hybridizers have developed "sub-acid" varieties that may be on the borderline of acid content where the safe canning of tomatoes or their juice is concerned. to be on the safe side, taste the juice before canning it. If it lacks tartness, be sure to add enough lemon juice to re-create the characteristic pleasant tomato sharpness.

Jalapeño Sauce
5-6 hot jalapeño peppers (9-12 TAM mild)
1 gallon tomato, peeled
3 onions
4 bell peppers
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup canning salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 cup white vinegar

(Makes: 11-12 pints)

Peel and cut up tomatoes. To peel tomatoes drop into boiling water, leave for 1 1/2 or 2 minutes, put into ice water. Chop other ingredients in food processor or by hand. Combine all ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours. Pour into jars, then seal.

CHILI SAUCE

3 quarts chopped tomatoes
* 1 cup hot peppers (without seeds)
measure, then chop fine
4 bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 large onions, chopped
7-8 garlic cloves
2 Tablespoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
*1/2 Tablespoon red pepper
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoon oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon cumin powder
1 Teaspoon paprika
1 Teaspoon chili powder

Mix all together and cook (simmer) until the desired thickness is reached (25-30 minutes). * adjust to taste.