Salsa

This is what I was doing yesterday! It was very unplanned, but when nature gives you abundance, you take it! Yesterday morning when I went out to water, I saw that there were three ripe tomatoes. I started picking them, and then noticed there were more. There were so many covered completely with green foliage, and by the time I was finished picking tomatoes, I had nearly 40 pounds! With my freezers full, I had to can them somehow--so I made salsa. I used the Super Salsa recipe, but substituted lemon juice for the vinegar. It won't be sweet this time, and I hope the flavor is good. I spent 8 hours working on it (lots of time preparing the tomatoes) and ended up with 17 pints of salsa. We don't eat that much salsa, so my son and his family will get some. The leftover tomatoes are in the refrigerator hoping to make it into the freezer!

Mexican and Super Salsas

I was thinking about the salsas I made and that the recipe was in the canning binder. I realized last night that not everyone has that binder, so I am including the recipes here. In the picture the salsa on the left is the Mexican, and the salsa on the right is the Super. They actually look the same, it just looks different in the picture.

Mexican Salsa—about 5 pints

5 lbs. ripe tomatoes, skinned, cored, chopped
3 c. onions, chopped
1 1/4 c. chili peppers, seeded, chopped
1 c. fresh cilantro, snipped
1 c. apple cider or apple cider flavored vinegar
2 tbsp. garlic, about 6 cloves, minced
1 tbsp. salt

In a 6-quart saucepot, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 30 minutes or to desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Immediately fill hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: boiling water bath for 15 minutes

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Super Salsa

20 c. tomatoes, peeled, cored
10 c. green bell peppers, seeded, chopped
10 c. onions, chopped
2 c. jalapenos, seeded, diced (use habanero peppers for hotter salsa)
3-6 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 tbsp. cilantro, minced
2 1/2 c. white vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, simmer 10 minutes. Ladle salsa into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Add hot lids, tighten rings.

Process: hot water bath
—1/2 pints or pints 15 minutes

[Note: I did my own taste-test and both of these were good--both are kind of sweet. I will be looking for a salsa recipe that isn't so sweet, maybe made without vinegar. I am comparing the taste to Ortega salsa (what I had in the refrigerator)].

More Canning

Bill has been at it again! He canned 12 quarts and 4 pints of Kosher Dill Pickles, and 18 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles, AFTER THE SEMINAR!!! He must have an iron will, or maybe it's iron legs, to be able to stand all day at the seminar, and then into the night canning pickles! My question is--where is he going to stash all of the canned goodies and how long will it take for him and his wife to eat it all?!?! Actually, he gives away a lot of what he makes, so really he has to keep restocking his shelves!

Last week I canned 10 pints of Mexican Salsa and 11 pints of Super Salsa (recipes in the canning binder). The vegetables came from my garden, and I wanted to see which salsa I liked better.