Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Cafe--Wonderful Salsa

If you haven't started planning or planting your garden yet, you will be soon.  And the most commonly planted vegetable is the tomato.  And if you're even moderately successful, you will have an abundance of tomatoes.

While you rejoice in them at first, along towards the end of the season you begin to wonder what to do with them all.

Make salsa.  It's an important condiment for eggs and all things Mexican, comfort food that goes great with tortilla chips, and essential to making quick Mexican rice.  One or two batches of this will have your family set in salsa for the next year.

The basic recipe comes from GeniusKitchen.com.  Fortunately for everyone on the planet, lists and measurements of ingredients are not protected by copyright; the directions for preparing are, but mine differ substantially, so no worries there.  However, if you want to see the original, the link is provided below.

Wonderful Salsa
Yields 7-8 pints

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped, and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 cup chopped jalapeno peppers, seeded
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons canning salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white or apple cider vinegar
15 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces tomato paste

Basically, you combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil for ten minutes.  Ladle into canning jars with one inch of head space and process for ten minutes in a boiling water bath.  If you are at a higher altitude, you'll have to increase the processing time.  Consult your canning guide for information on that.

Helpful hints:  Always wear gloves for removing the seeds from hot peppers.  If you do not, you will be really sad.  Do not deceive yourself into thinking it's just one or two peppers.  If you do, plan on cursing yourself and soaking your hands in milk for the next 18 hours.

You do not have to use canning salt.  Iodized salt or plain salt will work just fine.  But the canning police will know.  (Additives in iodized and plain salt may cause cloudiness in your salsa, but are perfectly safe to use in canning.)

Do not alter the recipe, do not add in a few more tomatoes or peppers or cut back on the vinegar.  These are all very important to maintaining the proper level of acid in the salsa for safe canning and preservation.

This salsa may be canned in 1/2 pints, pints, or quarts.  If you are planning for a time of no refrigeration, you might wish to use smaller jars.

Links to related posts:
Spanish Rice
Refried Beans
Tortillas
Food Fatigue  

For further reading:
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/wonderful-salsa-9272 (Accessed on 18 January 2019)

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com