Salsa!

Just like a lot of other Americans I like salsa. The tomato-onion-peppers sauce. The music is all right, but I'm more of a classic rock guy. Like a lot of Americans I also have a garden, in which I grow tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Whoa! I bet you can see where I'm going with this. I found recipes on the web through the extension offices of several different states. I have made salsa before when we had a garden and we liked it very much, so since we have a bunch of tomatoes and the onions are in the basement, I thought I would try another batch of salsa.

This is a canning recipe, so if you are new to it, here are a couple of good places to start looking for information.  

One thing that the recipes tell you to do is peel the peppers by roasting them and then peeling them. I don't do this for a couple of reasons. 1) I'm lazy. 2)It seems like a lot of work for primarily an aesthetic thing. I know, you'll get these little transparent pieces of skin in your teeth occasionally, but I really don't care about that. If you do, then fire-roast your peppers.

Salsa

• 7 quarts of paste tomatoes (about 11 pounds); peeled, cored, and chopped
• 4 cups of peppers seeded and chopped (Use the heat that you desire)
• 5 cups of onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup jalapeno peppers, cored and diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups lemon or lime juice
• 2 tablespoons of salt (I use pickling salt)
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced

Wash and peel the tomatoes. Like peaches, you can drop them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, then dip in cold water and their skins should come off. Wash and prepare onions, peppers, and garlic.  Put all ingredients except cumin, oregano, and cilantro in a large kettle and bring to a boil.

If you used paste tomatoes (like Roma) you probably can get by simmering for about 20 minutes to a half hour. I didn't have enough of those, so my tomatoes were juicier than paste tomatoes. I let it cook down about an hour or so because I hate watery salsa. Add the cumin, oregano, and cilantro for the last 20 minutes or so.

Then, prepare your jars and lids, fire up your water-bath canner (which you should have had warming up for awhile), and put the salsa in jars. Process in boiling water for a time appropriate to your altitude. It's usually 20 minutes where I'm at in Wyoming. Enjoy!

Tomatillo Salsa

This is another post about home canning. See my post on grape jelly for more specific information about some of the process. 

Dona and I signed up for Bountiful Baskets this summer so that we could get more fresh vegetables as well as increase our access to organic vegetables. One of the first baskets we received included a "Mexican bag." I don't remember what other things it included, but I know there were a bunch of tomatillos. I had seen tomatillos before, and I have had tomatillo salsa in the past, but I have never actually tried to make it. Since I had tomatillos, and I didn't know what else to do with them, I decided to try making some salsa. Since I couldn't find any recipes somewhere else, I used one from the food network.

Tomatillo Salsa

• 1 Large poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges 
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 1/4 pounds tomatillos,
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• kosher salt
• 3 jalapeno peppers

 Husk the tomatillos and cut into quarters. Put them in a blender or food processor and chop them coarsely. Transfer them to a bowl.  

Coarsely chop the pepper and onion. You can do this by hand or with a machine. Put them in a large saucepan or kettle. Add the cumin, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil and and allow to reduce slightly. 


Add the tomatillos and jalapenos, cover, and return to a boil.

Once heated,  it will look like this. 

Fill your jars with the mixture, leaving 3/4 inch headspace, seal and process in a boiling water bath canner for the amount of time appropriate for your altitude.