Chinese Dipping Sauce

Chinese Dipping Sauce is a wonderful mixture of sweet, tart and spicy.  This would make a great housewarming gift for someone who enjoys Chinese food.

Here's the ingredients:
Makes about 3 cups or 5 1/2 pint jars and a little extra for tasting.

5 14 oz. cans of quartered Artichoke Hearts

3 Lbs. Fresh Button Mushrooms sliced

1 Lbs. chopped onion

1 Lbs. frozen spinach

12 cups beef broth

1/2 cup Olive Oil

Tbs. Salt

Tbs. Pepper

tsp. red pepper flakes

tsp. thyme

tsp. garlic powder

pureed onion/mushroom mix

Saute onions in Olive Oil for a few minutes and then add in half of the fresh mushrooms.  Stir until slightly soft.  Add pepper, salt, garlic, thyme and 2-3 cups of beef broth.  I used beef bullion cubes with 12 cups of water.  Cook until mushrooms are getting soft.  Puree cooked mushrooms until smooth like soup.  Okay if there are some mushroom pieces still in the mix.  Add in the rest of the broth, the spinach, mushrooms and stir.  Cook another few minutes while you drain the Artichoke cans.  Add in Artichokes (try not to stir too much so they will stay together more in the jars) and keep warm until canning.

Fill 7 quart jars with 1/2 inch head space.  Process jars 50 minutes at 10 Lbs of pressure or your own location's pressure.

When serving the soup, stir in plenty of graded Parmesan and some pasta or small ravioli.  Serve with hot bread or as a side.

2 pounds apricots (or plums), pitted and chopped
1/ 2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari, if you’re gluten intolerant)
1 2×1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 3 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 star anise pod                                                            
Tbs. red pepper flakes
Method
Place all of the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a simmer, until fruit has broken down and mixture has  thickened, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking to bottom of pan.  Remove star anise. With an immersion stick blender, puree the mixture. (You may also use a standing blender.)
To process for canning: Ladle sauce into sterilized, hot 4-ounce or half-pint canning jars, leaving a head space of about 1/4 inch.
With a damp clean towel, wipe jar rims clean. Place lids on jars and lightly tighten jar bands.  Process for 10 minutes.  Remove jars and transfer to a towel-lined work surface.  Allow to completely cool for 24 hours and check for a proper seal before storing in a cool, dark place. Don’t forget to label your jars with date!