Monday, January 6, 2014

40 x 40 - 29. Master a Homemade Salsa Recipe

In previous blogs you have learned about my new hobby of canning.  I am enjoying trying new recipes, processes, and ingredients.  I love feeding my family food that I know exactly where it comes from and how it was processed.  I am proud to give my canned food as gifts.  It's definitely something that I plan to keep experimenting with.

I decided that I wanted to make a great salsa recipe and I knew exactly where I wanted to start:

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You cannot get great produce like you can at the local market, grown by the local farmers.  No offense to the grocery stores around here, but I have yet to find a tomato that actually tastes like a tomato should on any shelf in this town.

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Again, buying local produce also means that I know where the food comes from and what was done to it during the growing process.

The next step is the longest.  Prepping all of the ingredients.  I chopped three different colors of bell peppers.

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The dogs held down the front porch.

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I chopped five cups of jalapenos.

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My husband and the cat held down the couch.

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I chopped eight cups of onions. (My least favorite part of the process!)

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Add that all to a pot with 16 cups of fresh diced tomatoes.

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Toss in some garlic, salt, sugar, vinegar, and cilantro. 

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Now we're ready to start cooking. 

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 I love watching the process of how the ingredients meld together.

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After about 45 minutes the salsa was ready to can.  Using the jars that had been sterilizing while the salsa was cooking.

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This is my favorite picture from the whole canning process.  What it says to me is "you have worked hard to make good food for your family.  Take a break while I finish the process."

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One last step, the waiting.  Waiting to hear that glorious "popping" sound of the jars cooling down and sealing.  No matter where I am in the house, or how faint the sound, I count in my head how many pops I hear.  I tend to hold my breath until the last one seals.

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And now we are set for a winter of homemade salsa.