It is a mess…

Everything including the floor is tomato dirty.  Why would I put myself through this trouble?  Why would anyone put themselves through the work of canning tomatoes?  Most people look at the mess and say “ya, I’m just going to buy salsa in town.”  It tastes good every time and its relatively inexpensive. Plus, if you put all the work into it and your family doesn’t like it, you end up throwing it out at the end of the year.  I can tell you from experience, that after I watched my husband dump several jars of my LABOR into the trash, I was a store salsa lover.  No mess and no work.  Everyone is happy!

The truth is

my brother-n-law Clyde had fabulous tomatoes this year and he dropped a few off on his way to the farmers market.  There were too many to just eat so I needed to find a new salsa recipe.  While searching the internet I came across a recipe.  To me, the taste is equivalent to the store brands.  In fact, it taste even better.  Also, I know where the tomatoes were raised.  They are ripe and have that home-grown yummy flavor.  There is no sugar, vinegar or preservatives added. So, for me it was worth the effort to try one more time.  I started by making one small batch, not enough to can, just enough to eat.  I served it at lunch and to my surprise everyone loved it. I take that back.  I wasn’t really surprised because I liked it. I just wanted to make sure the real critics, my family, who are the main consumers liked it as much as I did.

The recipe

I wish the recipe was crafted by me but it wasn’t.  I did make a couple of alterations to the original just because of personal preferences.  I have noted in my own writing on the side of the recipe.  The recipe  can be found at Food.com “Fresh Homemade Salsa For Canning” by KKleinRN.  I guess the reason I went with the food.com recipe is because my shelves are full of cookbooks from churches, communities and the store but, the only way one really knows if the recipe is good is to try it or talk to someone who has.  The internet is a great source.  What I liked about Food.com was that the recipe came rated.  Many people had already tried it. They, NOT me, had already put blood sweat and tears into seeing if it tasted good and I liked that.

Fresh pico de gallo

is what it tasted like even after being canned.  In this method a hot water bath is used to remove the skin off of the tomatoes.   What the recipe doesn’t tell you to do is to put them in an ice bath after, the hot water bath, for quicker results. Then, all the parts are put into the food processor and pulsed.  Add the spices and you are done making the salsa.  It can be served just like it is or you can take the extra steps to can it.

A variation

 

 

roast the tomatoes and peppers on the grill till they get a little char.  You can then let them cool and peel off the skin but, I found the skin not to be unintrusive and it holds the smokey flavor.   Chop all the ingredients in the food processor and serve or can.  The men in my family really like the way this version tastes.

I Am Done With Tomatoes…..

until next year.