Salsa Time

Three years ago we decided to try our hand at homemade salsa. We had an abundance of fresh tomatoes and jalapenos and wanted to make certain they did not go to waste.




Yum Yum was the result. My dear friend Stacy has her own Cookbook and had a recipe entitled "Rod's Hot Sauce." As always, I see a recipe and do some personal tweeking. The problem with my tweeking is that I usually NEVER write down the changes. This makes for a difficult time when it is time to try the recipe for the second time. This particular recipe has been tweeked three different summers and twice each summer. It seems that each and every batch we make comes out different in some way or another. This year was no exception to that fact. I am already planning to make more salsa this year and tweek this years version.

Different taste buds abound in our home. The one thing we all agree on is that none of us like bell pepper in our salsa. We like to stick with the onion and jalapeno peppers. And as is always the case I don't measure. But since my dear friend has a cook book and I know that I left out bell peppers - then I will give you the recipe as it is written. Now my son will not appreciate this post. He believes that our recipe should be a family secret. But I love it and want to share it with you!

Fresh Salsa a/k/a a version of Rod's Hot Sauce

1 gallon of fresh homegrown tomatoes
1 1/4 T garlic powder
3 cans tomato paste
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 large onions
10 large jalapeno peppers
3/4 cup vinegar
2 1/2 T cilantro
6 t. salt
7 quart canning jars

Tomatoes need to be peeled. Just in case you don't know how to do this the easiest way - I'll tell you. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Put tomatoes into the boiling water for a minute or two until you see the skin peeling and cracking. Remove and set aside to cool. Once you have done this with all of the tomatoes and you have scalded your hands trying to get them peeled immediately (as we do) then put them in your food processor to chop finely. UNLESS you like chunky salsa. Then simply put them in to a large stockpot and chop and mash them with a potato masher. I also chop the onions and jalapenos in the food processor in order to have "no chunk salsa". BUT once again if you like chunks then simply chop both finely as you can without a processor and add to the stockpot of tomatoes. Add in all other ingredients (and don't forget the salt as I did in the last batch) and bring to a boil stirring often for 15 minutes.



Pour salsa into jars and seal. Put the jars in a water bath and boil for 30-35 minutes in order to seal the jars. Remove and let cool. Makes 7 quarts.



Stock the pantry and enjoy all year long!