Ping!

Well, maybe I can post a little more often than monthly here on the blog. Like a mid-month, or something. We'll see. The weather has been so perfect recently. Ken planted Roma tomatoes and another kind; both are doing well. He brought in a huge pail of Romas in last evening, and I peeled them. Then today, two kinds of salsa. The first is how Ken's mom makes it, and I fell in love with it but never really made it myself. The Roma is perfect for this.

I made two batches and this is all that's left. Ken calls it "addicting," and I agree. Mom (and now me) puts the cut up tomato chunks in the food processor, together with some onion, 2 jalapenos, and some cilantro. She adds a little lime juice, and I had some so I added it too. Just a little salt, but not too much because we're really watching the salt for Ken. Okay, all the rest of those Romas? Made 21 pints of "The Best Salsa" today, with a full quart left over.

Gosh, it's a lot of work and some mess, but I do love to hear the lids pinging sealed. Music to our ears. Today's work was made easier due to a big bag of frozen jalapenos from a couple of years ago that were ready and waiting in the freezer. Anyway, my favorite recipe for canning salsa follows. I got it years ago from someone who shared it online:
12 c. chopped tomato
2 c. jalapeno peppers
3 c. chopped onions
2 t. cilantro
2 t. ground cumin
2 T. salt
2 T. red hot sauce
2 T. olive oil
8-10 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 T. black pepper (optional)
3 green peppers, chopped (optional)
Simmer for 1 hr. and then process for 1/2 hr. Run through blender (optional). I probably used too few onions today, and I threw in more cilantro than this too. Didn't have any extra green peppers today either. I have never run it through the blender. My 21 pints were about a triple batch, and I have a huge kettle and could cook it all up at once. Yum!