Salsa Day!

After months of waiting and the battle against blight (a virus tomatoes all over the nation are succumbing to this summer) my tomatoes are finally ripening in full force. After picking a couple times the past few days or so I already had about 30 Romas on the counter, enough to finally justify a batch of salsa. I also had several of the largest jalapenos I've ever seen waiting in the fridge.
As I got the water boiling (you dunk the tomatoes in boiling water to help remove their skin before canning) I decided to just make a quick trip out to the garden to gather any others that might be ready to join this batch and came back with more than my basket could hold! I ended up doing a double batch of salsa plus a few cans of plain tomatoes! It's amazing how tomatoes sometimes seem to ripen overnight.
I know a few folks who can things they buy at the farmers market because they aren't able to garden. It's a great way to preserve the freshest things of the season. (Many of my tomatoes today went from vine to jar with in a couple hours!) Plus there are no added preservatives or even salt in my salsa recipe! I plan to give some to my father-in-law who is cutting salt out of his diet.
In fact many of the recipes I plan to make this fall have particular people in mind. This salsa recipe is a favorite of my sister-in-law. Brandon requested some jalepeno jelly. And I think my dad will love the peach BBQ sauce I made last week. I know I'm walking a thin line between normal and weird aunt status when I start giving salsas and jellys as gifts(between that and my knitting I might just have to deal with the label). But today when I ran into a friend who'd been away all summer one of his first questions was, "how's your garden? I've been thinking about it all summer." Hopefully my friends and family love me in spite of, if not because of it all.

Here's the Salsa recipe I used today, from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:
Fresh Vegetable Salsa
(makes about ten 8oz. jars or five pint jars)
7 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes
(to peel tomatoes cut an "x" in the bottom end and submerge in boiling water for about 1 min. immediately place in ice water to stop cooking, peel and chop)
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
1 cup coarsely chopped bell pepper
8 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can(5 oz) tomato paste (or make your own)
3/4 cup white vinegar (I subsituted apple cider vinegar and bottled lime juice, but make sure you add at least this much acid to keep the recipe safe for canning!)
1/2 cup lossely packed finely chopped fresh cilantro (half that if you're using dried herbs)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1) In a large stainless steel sauce pan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until thickened about 30 min.
2) Meanwhile prepare canner, jars, and lids (wash, and place jars and lids in warm water on the stove; no need to boil, but they should be warm. Leave the screw top part of the lid out so you can handle it to tighten)
3) Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 in. (1cm) headspace. Remove air bubbles with a knive and adjust headspace if necessary by adding more salsa. Wipe jar rim, center the lid and screw the band to finger-tip tight.
4) Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process jars for 20 min. (You start counting when it finally gets boiling hard). Remove canner lid and allow to cool 5 min. Remove jars carefully and allow to cool. After 4-6 hours or more remove screw top lids, check to make sure they sealed, clean jars with a damp cloth and store.