There are a lot of things my mama and daddy taught me.
Mom taught me from a young age how to cook and can even though she could’ve gotten it done way quicker if she’d done it herself. And that in itself was a lesson in patience and love.
She and my dad made us help in the garden and taught us how to work. And I am grateful they did. At the time I would’ve rather been sitting on the couch watching one of the three TV channels we were able to receive. (Yes, only 3, and that’s with someone turning the antenna so you could catch the signal – can you imagine?)
But now, thanks to them, I know how to garden and how to preserve that food for winter. Knowing these “old ways” is a privilege to me. Knowing how to “make do”, how to not waste, how to be mindful of being prepared are all gifts they gave. They took the time to teach – by example and by patiently showing my sisters and I how to do things.
Both were raised “poor” as some would call it – not much money in either household in the midst of a rural community still recovering from a depression ten plus years later. But what got them through was their work ethic and their parents love and their knowledge of how to make use of anything and everything to not only survive, but make things taste good.
This recipe is for pepper sauce. As soon as peppers (mostly cayenne) begin to grow in early summer, they can be jarred as pepper sauce. But it is a great way to use up excess peppers at the end of the growing season so that all those peppers aren’t lost to the first frost.
It adds a little something extra to an ordinary bowl of black eyed peas, pinto beans, or any bean really. I also use a couple tablespoons in my meat marinades for a spicy flavor without tongue-burning heat.

Pepper Sauce
Use any kind you grew and make however many jars you want. For this recipe, I used 6-7 cups of cayenne to make 7 pints of pepper sauce.

6-7 cups cayenne peppers, washed and left whole
7 pint jars with lids
2 quarts water
1 quart white vinegar, 5% acidity
1 cup canning salt (NOT iodized or sea or kosher)
Large pot for boiling liquid and small one for boiling lids.

Pick your peppers and wash them.
Place jar rings and flats into small pan of water and heat at medium high heat to boiling.

Pour water, vinegar, and salt into large pot and heat at high heat to boiling.
While this is coming to a boil, pack your peppers into jars. You can pack them tightly or loosely – the more peppers, the hotter the sauce will be.

When the liquid has boiled, pour over the peppers and immediately place jar flat and ring onto jar.
Repeat until all jars have liquid and lids.

Hot water bath the jars. This is how:
Fill a large pot about halfway with water and place jars into pot.
Heat on medium heat until the water starts to boil.
Let the jars sit in the bubbling water for about 6 minutes.
Remove from heat and sit on a clean towel.
Cover the tops with a second clean towel and allow to sit 24-48 hours undisturbed while the jars seal. You’ll hear them sealing and popping. If one doesn’t seal (the little circle in the middle stays up), simply use that jar first (within 3 months) or refrigerate.

You can also slice jalapenos and jar them for a hotter sauce.