How to Can Salsa - plus - A Big Batch Farm Salsa Recipe

YES! This is a post about canning salsa. BUT I have to share my exciting news first. My new novel The Black Rose, Book 3 in the Empire In Pine historical saga released YESTERDAY! I am thrilled to see completion on this series of Wisconsin logging era fiction. Isn't the cover pretty?

Please pop over to my publisher's site, read the excerpt, and investigate it if you enjoy romantic, historical fiction. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-319/Empire-in-Pines-Book/Detail.bok

AND if you pop over to my blog and leave a comment, 

you'll be entered in a drawing for a FREE E-COPY!

http://www.naomimusch.com/apps/blog/show/15434162-launch-party-leave-a-comment-to-win-a-copy

NOW ~ ON TO THE SALSA

I have been blessed this year with bushel after bushel of tomatoes. Most of them I didn't even have to grow. They came with my $25 "Share Your Surplus" food share that is hosted for our community at my church. For a $25 "share" I go home each month with $100s of dollars in groceries, mostly fruits and vegetables, but it also includes everything from breads to soy milk and frozen cookie dough. Our food share is not income based. Anyone can come. If you have such an opportunity in your area, go and be blessed! Then, share your surplus!

My $25 June Surplus

Look at those Romas!

Now, on to the salsa. With all my surplus, I make big batches of salsa because we love to eat it with abandon. So this recipe is for a 12-15 quart stock pot, and will give you at least 11 quarts of finished salsa. I use two pressure canners most of the time. One holds 7 quart jars, the other 4. So you can modify this recipe to suit your amount and your tastes -- hotter, milder, saltier, and so on. That's why I call it Farm Salsa. You know, a pinch of this, a dash of that -- like most farmer's wives cook -- and city wives too, who like to live the country life in their kitchens.

First you have to scald and skin the tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil, toss in as many tomatoes as it will hold. When the skins start to show signs of splitting, use a big dipping strainer to lift them out and place them in a big bowl of icy cold water in the sink so they can stop cooking and cool to handling. Now, they're ready to have their skins slipped right off. You might need a paring knife handy to get the core belly-button at the top (my term).

Next, start chopping, slicing, mashing, dicing, or pureeing those tomatoes, depending on how chunky you like your salsa. I use a blender, give them a quick pulse or two, and dump them in the stock pot.
When you have 2/3 - 3/4 stock pot of tomatoes, that's enough. You'll need some room at the top for other ingredients.

Now for the other ingredients:

8-10 chopped jalapeno peppers. Include 1/2 the seeds if you like your salsa medium hot. It will get hotter as it marinates, so you have to kind of play with this amount. BE SURE TO USE GLOVES WHEN HANDLING HOT PEPPERS, OR YOUR SKIN WILL BEGIN TO BURN, AND IT WILL KEEP BURNING FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
3 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped green pepper
(optional) any zucchini you happen to have taking up space in your refrigerator or garden
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons seasoning salt or other salt (adjust to taste)
2 Tablespoons sugar
One whole garlic - chopped, or if you use dry, a generous sprinkling. I love garlic, and I don't think you can add too much, but you might feel differently (adjust to taste).

Bring to near boil, then simmer on low heat, stirring often to keep from burning, 15 minutes- 1/2 hour.
Ladle into sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Screw on lids. Place in hot water bath, boil for 45 minutes, or place in pressure cooker at 15# pressure, timing for 10 minutes after it reaches 10# pressure. (Follow your pressure cooker instruction book.)

Ah -- enjoy the taste of summer!
Naomi
I write novels of adventure and romance, and blog about other things at:

http://www.naomimusch.com