In my household, fall means canning season. My grandmothers were big advocates of canning and making preserves; I didn’t really get into the practice until about seven years ago when we started spending more time on our farm in downstate Illinois. I’ve always been a bit of a city/suburban girl, so if you stick me in a more rural environment I’m apt to get restless real fast. Realizing I had to create my own entertainment—and inspired by all the lovely fresh fruits and vegetables that were in season—I decided to put my free time to good use. I picked up a book on canning and started making preserves. Our neighbors kindly gave me some guidance on picking the best produce, as they had a substantial garden of their own. I particularly focused on corn as there were lots of fresh bushels that were easy to come by.

This tasty corn relish recipe has since become a fall staple of mine. You can give my corn relish an extra picante kick of flavor and color by using a red Serrano chile pepper. If that’s still not enough heat for you, try adding some of the pepper seeds.

Don't have time for relish? Try my Freezer Corn Recipe!