There are some moments in my young adult life that really kick me in the emotional butt. Specifically when a big change happens. Lesley, my partner in sewing-crime and my baking-twin is moving on to an adventure life of travel. I helped her pack up her house on the 31st (in one day too! We're house cleaning/packing ninjas) and then said goodbye at her farewell party. And while I'm happy that she's following her adventurous soul, I'm also super sad that my remaining time in the prairies won't be filled with sewing Sundays or Lesley Muffin Specials: chia seed banana muffins with pecans.
It was last summer that we made salsa together (wine included, of course). And after I reminisced a bit, I thought this would be the perfect time to write all about it.
The processing is much like the jams and jellies I've done: Boil the jars, pour boiling food-stuffs into jars, and then boil jars again. The difference is in the recipe. The recipe below isn't the one we used - we were so expert at cooking that I forgot to write it down (haha, maybe to much wine). So instead below is an approximation of the salsa we made, if memory serves.
Wine, tomatoes and smiles!
Salsa
6 ripe Roma tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped (seeded if you want a milder salsa)
2 banana peppers, chopped
2 cups red onions, chopped
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
5 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 cups yellow, green or red peppers, chopped
- Blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins. To do this, boil some water in a sauce pan. When boiling, drop in a couple tomatoes. Boil them for 30 secs to 1 min. Remove from the boiling water and place them in a bowl of ice water - this stops the cooking. Once cool enough to touch, the skins should slip right off.
- Chop the things!
- Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer salsa for minimum an hour till all ingredients are cooked through and liquid is reduced.
- **Process jars in boiling water bath. Fill jars with boiling salsa (making sure to get out any air bubbles). Place on lids and screw bands till only finger tight. Placed filled jars in boiling water bath.
- Process filled jars for appropriate time. (Edmonton - 15 minutes)
- Remove jars from boiling water bath and let cool.
** Check out my jam post for all the processing specifics and reasoning.
Delicious salsa. I believe it make between 3 - 4 500mL jars. We got 3 because we ate the remainder. Mmmm.
But yah, I'm going to miss you Lesley! Stay safe. Love you lady.
-Andrea
The Half-Assed Hobbyist