Rainy days and Salsa

As Brenda mentioned, it rained all weekend long. Our crop of tomatoes and onions are coming on strong, so I decided it was a perfect time to make a batch of salsa for my food storage. I've done salsa a few times, but I tried a new recipe this year. Since once upon a time I was a novice at bottling salsa (and making a good salsa for that matter), I thought I'd post a few pointers:

Start with fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. They give the best flavor. Wash and cut off stems.

Blanch tomatoes in a boiling water bath for 1 minute.

Remove quickly to a cold water bath.

Skins are now loosened and can easily be peeled off. Remove skins.

Crush tomatoes (10 cups), added diced onion (4 cups),

peppers (6 cups--a combination of green bell, Anaheim, and jalapeno),

cilantro (1 cup), salt (3 tsp), pepper (1.5 tsp), garlic (5 tsp), cumin (2 tsp), and vinegar (1 cup).

Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Proceed with bottling or eat immediately with chips or tacos. Mmmm!

The blanching/peeling of the tomatoes is also great when making your own spaghetti or pizza sauce.

If you are bottling your salsa, the recipe must be followed exactly to ensure food safety! If you're just going to eat it with dinner, be creative and vary things up a bit to see what you like and don't like.

For additional recipes and for important food safety bottling tips, please read some important information from the experts at New Mexico State University: http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_e/e-323.html