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!

Lentil Cauliflower Curry

Lentil Curry is on the right, Mom's Rice Hot Dish is on the left.

Dona is really working at eating healthy right now, and it's really cramping my style. I feel guilty about eating ice cream and anything that isn't healthy. Okay, maybe not that guilty. Anyway, she is eating lots of vegetables. As you know, I'm sure, eating plain vegetables for three weeks can get a little on the boring side. Dona also can eat chicken, fish, lentils, and brown rice. Personally, I'd just kill myself and get it over with. Seriously, though, she has some aches and pains that she thinks are food-related, and if this helps her feel better, then I'm all for it.

Here's the problem: Dona doesn't like vegetables that much. So, I have tried to find some recipes that make vegetables a lot more palatable. This recipe is one of them. It is really good and provides a creamy sauce because the red lentils pretty much dissolve. Of course if you don't like curry, you probably won't like this so much.

Cauliflower & Red Lentil Curry

• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1 small (about 3 inches in diameter) onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 4 plum tomatoes, (or one regular-sized tomato) chopped
• 4 cups cauliflower florets & stalks
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh (or frozen) cilantro, chopped fine

In a 3-4 quart kettle or saucepan, combine the lentils, onion, curry powder, salt, and turmeric with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the lentils are cooked. This will take 30-45 minutes. You also should start seeing a sauce develop at this time.


Add the tomatoes and cauliflower. You also could add a small can (4 ounces) of diced green chili peppers if you want your curry to be spicy. Dona doesn't like spicy, so I left this out. Cook until the cauliflower is tender and remove from the heat.

In a small frying pan heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 10 seconds, stirring. Add the garlic and saute until the garlic is slightly browned. The original recipe says this might take as long as a minute. Stir in the ginger and then pour/scrape this mixture into the curry. Add the lemon juice and, if you really like it hot, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Eat it as is or serve it over rice!