We picked tomatoes the other day - I tried to get them myself but I finally had to send a kid in to the tomato jungle to get the ones I just couldn't reach. I think Adam quite enjoyed himself!
Last year I made salsa from some of our tomatoes. We are not huge salsa eaters, but I have a couple of recipes that the kids like which require a 16oz jar of salsa, so it's useful to have in the pantry. Jeff said that last year's salsa was too mild, and he wanted some with more kick next time.
So this year I started with a basic recipe that looked good, and changed the quantities around a little... it called for banana peppers which are not hot at all! So I went for jalapenos and serranos... I am not sure, but it may have been too much.
Once it was all mixed up and in the pot, I asked Jeff to take a taste to see what he thought. We were dashing out of the door at the time, so I wasn't watching too closely. I'm pretty sure he took a bite because the next thing I registered as I was shooing kids into the car was his frantic search for a clean cup to get a drink of water!
They say that gardening teaches you patience.... I am learning that canning the fruits of your garden teaches you patience as well, because I won't be able to tweak this recipe for another year! And I think maybe I can lose the serranos for a couple more jalapenos... we will see.
For now, here's my fiery salsa recipe, put here purely so that I can pin it and keep it!
3 1/2 quarts of tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 10lbs)
l large red onion, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 small yellow onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 green bell peppers, chopped (3 cups)
6 jalapenos, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2 serrano peppers, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
The method is simple - throw it all in a pot, simmer until it reaches the required consistency, put in jars and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes. Easy peasy.
I need to get some ph test strips. I am pretty sure that I have enough lemon juice in this to make it safe, but I would like to know for sure. Maybe I'll get some and test the first batch before we eat it. It made 11 pints so it's going to last for a while!
1 comment:
Canning is so intimidating to me. I'm impressed at how good you are at it!
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